#

Tricia Ruane gives CNC students a masterclass in licensing

Tricia Ruane gives CNC students a masterclass in licensing

Tricia Ruane

Condé Nast College was thrilled to invite Tricia Ruane, Head of eCommerce, Merchandise and Branded Property Global Brand Licensing at Condé Nast for the final industry talk of the academic year. BA (Hons) Fashion Communication student, Antonia Centioni reports …

 

About Tricia Ruane

 

Tricia is an experienced marketeer and brand builder with a vision for launching new ventures for global brands looking to diversify their brand offering. Driven by the customer experience, Tricia has a genuine interest in helping brands strategically adapt to the ever-changing requirements of the consumer. Yet the evolving consumer landscape provides emerging opportunities across different markets for brand expansion and this is what motivates Tricia’s work process.

 

“I am a marketer by trade, someone who likes to create something and take it to market and that doesn’t change no matter what you work on”.

 

As Head of eCommerce Merchandise and Branded Property, Tricia sits within the Consumer Marketing team – the main objective of which is to identify new ways to engage and grow relationships with consumers. Tricia is responsible for the global branded property portfolio and branded eCommerce merchandise globally.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)

 

Tricia is leading Condé Nast’s step into content commerce in a fixed retail setting. For example, Allure Store will embody the future of retail, merchandised according to the most pressing headlines and curated by editors. This new curated shopping journey replicates the new digital first approach to a hybrid of both online and print experience.

 

Expanding the customer experience

 

Within Tricia’s department branded property is seen as an extension of the brand and elevates the customer experience through a permanent brick-and-mortar presence. Their portfolio of work, which includes restaurants, hotels and most recently the Allure Store examples the increasing of key brand touch points. Merchandise sold via eCommerce provides an alternative way for consumers to engage with brands. The newly launched ‘Vogue Collection’, a line of clothing is an example of this.

 

“I think people get confused as one facet of what we do is a consumer product that you wear and the other is a physical space but if you think of it from a market point of view, they’re all just brand extensions so it’s just a new way to engage with the consumer”.

 

The Global Brand Licensing team is set up of 20 people, based between London and New York, and separated into four- key areas, with five people per team. Condé Nast Global Brand Licensing leverages its world-renowned brands and editorial content through media licensing and brand collaborations.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue)

Tricia gave an overview of three important areas of licensing:

 

Media licensing, allows media brands to increase their global footprint while adapting to local market trends and specificities. Content and press licensing provides access to more than eight million assets including editorial, photography and illustration.

 

Product licensing, branded products provide consumers with new ways to interact with the brands they admire. The products range from apparel to grooming, homeware, and more.

 

Content licensing, for example for permissions, any Condé Nast title mentioned in fields, or other name drops, has been paid for.

 

The Allure Store

 

Tricia’s recent focus area for work has been the opening of ALLURE STORE; which launched this past July in New York City. Renowned as the beauty expert, the Allure brand has merged both content and commerce within an interactive store-based experience. The store is a high-tech experience that features the use of augmented reality including discovery through QR codes. A customer journey that mimics the online and print experience providing curated edits for consumers by the trusted voice in beauty. Tricia’s work further modernises the work of the trusted authorities in the magazines respective categories and allows the teams to continue to be market leaders, within the digital shift. 

 

“I like to think of it as the store with must-haves”.

 

The purpose of the partnership was to utilise round-up and review content  that already exists, but re-imagine it into a physical space. The brands featured in the Allure Store are allocated designated retail space, hosting brand events, IG Live Demos and Data Capture.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Allure Store (@theallurestore)

 

When asked by a student if publications will move towards becoming more ‘phygitally’ focused, Tricia shared, “We really want to make a success of Allure Store… the next step for us is with the vision to open branded residences in hotels, this would be a 10 property roll out within the next 10 years, that will be major for them and a huge game-changer…”.

 

Key takeaways

 

  • It is important to look beyond what exists currently, to spot new market opportunities.
  • Collaborations between different specialties is a positive thing.
  • Adaptability and an innovative mindset, will help you to future proof your career and grow with your consumer / audience.

 By Antonia Centioni, BA Fashion Communication

 

Discover the range of part-time Masters programmes at Condé Nast College

Why studying a Masters Degree is good for your job prospects