Magazine nostalgia harnessed innovatively through WeChat

Swedish luxury fashion brand Acne Studios has revitalized the magazine concept in China, updating its branded periodical Acne Paper for the digital age.

Context

Acne Studios uses little paid advertising, but distributes a branded magazine – an extension of the brand's image – as a way of building a deeper relationship with its customers. The magazine looks at culture in the broadest sense, giving it mass appeal, while modern distribution methods in China have allowed Chinese consumers to get to know the low-key luxury brand quickly.

What’s happening?

• The digital version of Acne's branded publication, reintroduced to China in 2021, interprets the brand with mobile-friendly aesthetics in a digital-first market.
• Leveraging WeChat's interactive potential through its mini-programs, Acne Studios drew the Chinese audience's attention to the latest 500-page issue, House of Acne Paper, which was created around the idea of an imaginary nine-room house with a fantasy collection of furniture, decorative arts and other objects of interest.
• Ten chapters in the ‘house’ are featured in an animated, photographic story accompanied by 10 interviews with people from the world of art, design, architecture, performance, literature and interiors.

Why digitising the magazine format matters in China

• Acne Studios blends the conventional magazine medium with digital techniques popular among China's Gen-Z.
• This constitutes a strategic approach that adeptly extends the brand's humanistic storytelling while at the same time effectively reaching a broader spectrum of younger audiences.
• By also interviewing prominent figures from diverse domains in its own branded publication, the unique approach has given Acne Studios the ability to not only stand out in a competitive fashion market like China, but to also foster profound cultural connections with its audience.