Vogue and Glamour, two of the publisher's flagship titles, have launched channels on video-sharing site YouTube. Men's style title GQ will follow and Conde Nast is in talks with Bebo, Facebook and MySpace about tie-ups, as part of an unprecedented social networking strategy.
The YouTube channels will act as an outlet for hours of video material filmed by the titles, some of which is hosted on the publisher's individual magazine websites.
The websites Conde Nast is targeting have a combined global audience of almost 200 million, while Glamour.com, GQ.com and Vogue.com have a combined reach of 250,000 unique users a month, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
Launch material for Conde Nast's Glamour channel includes extended footage of the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2007, a photo shoot for the magazine and an interview with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Vogue's catalogue of videos includes highlights from industry parties and fashion shows around the world.
One of Conde Nast's aims of tapping into the phenomenal rise in popularity of social networks is to drive traffic to its online properties.
Serena Privett, commercial director of Conde Nast Interactive, said: "This will enable us to reach a broader demographic and make people aware of our titles.
"High-end fashion is no longer exclusive. Over the years we've made fashion shows accessible to our readers through developing Vogue.com and this is the latest way to do it.
"There are so many opportunities for brands now that it's foolish for publishers to concentrate on their magazines and websites only."
Privett refused to divulge details of the contractual agreement with YouTube, but said: "We're hoping to make money from it, but the primary reason for getting involved is to reach more people and raise awareness of our titles."
Privett added that publishing high-production professional content next to user-generated content would not be a conflict of interest.
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