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Vogue Education Presents: Deborah Joseph

Vogue Education Presents: Deborah Joseph

Editor-in-Chief and European Editorial Director of Glamour UK, Deborah Joseph, joined the Condé Nast College as the Vogue Education Presents spring Keynote speaker.

 

To commence the start of the spring semester, Deborah Joseph of Glamour UK joined the Condé Nast College for an in-conversation with Sally Hunter, her Personal Assistant, Office Manager, and Condé Nast College alumni. Joseph became Editor-in-Chief of Glamour in 2017, and European Editorial Director in January 2022. She currently leads brand direction across the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany, through the global transition of Condé Nast. Her background includes celebrity and fashion tech start-ups, Daily Mail lifestyle section, and Condé Nast publications such as Easy Living and Condé Nast Brides. Joseph is is also chair of the British Society of Magazine Editors. Her impressive professional experience has made her a source of inspiration for those aspiring for a career in journalism. 

 

Glamour’s Driving Force

 

Since joining Glamour UK, Joseph has lead with an ethos of woman empowerment and bold discourse on important issues. The brand unabashedly covers topics of wellness, finances, inclusive fashion, motherhood, fertility, politics, current affairs, and more. The driving force is to illuminate and discuss the subjects that are often overlooked by traditional media. 

 

“You can’t be a feminist brand and not be intersectional.”

 

Each year, Joseph and the Glamour UK team host the Woman of the Year Awards. After taking a five year hiatus, Joseph and her team brought the highly anticipated event back last year. The event brings the magazine to life, celebrating the most powerful and influential female voices of the time. 

 

Glamour Woman of the Year Awards. Source: Glamour UK

 

“A lot of the people in the room said, ‘I get it, I get what Glamour is about’. It means a lot to people”

(On Glamour’s Woman of the Year Awards )

 

Digital Pioneers

 

Joseph was a part of the brand’s digital-fist transition, pioneering Glamour digitally across social, print, video, and experiential media. 

 

The shift to being a digital-first brand started in 2017, when Joseph was appointed Editor-in-Chief. During COVID, the publication quietly ceased all physical print publications and expanded digital offerings. Now, as a fully-digital brand, Joseph has much more autonomy to track the customer journey throughout. This is exclusive to digital, as print doesn’t have the same potential to track read time, click-throughs, and purchasing patterns in the way that digital does. These facets provide a holistic understanding of who the Glamour reader is. 

 

“Digital doesn’t have the same boundaries. The brand has to have a global messaging.” 

 

Glamour February 2023 digital cover across UK, Spain, and Germany. Source: Glamour UK

 

With regards to technical developments at Glamour UK, Joseph is particularly excited about the future of Generative AI. She believes that this technology will be an immense help for administrative tasks, creating more time for creativity and development. However, the rising trend of using Generative AI and ChatGBT to write stories can be worrisome. Joseph believes that artificial intelligence will never have the capabilities to replace human narrative. Journalism relies on real stories from real people to retain trust and credibility. 

 

Career Advice

 

Though she holds a very powerful position, Joseph carries humility in the way she approaches her professional life. The career advice she imparted on the Condé Nast College students left a lasting impression, uplifting and inspiring the audience to follow their passions and advocate for what they believe in. Some points included: 

  • Rejection is a part of life, deal with it, learn from it and move on. 
  • If you want to work for a brand like Glamour, you must be a good storyteller. Read, learn, and flex your creativity. 
  • When pitching ideas, be original. Understand the brand you are pitching for and bring something new to the table. 
  • Don’t waste your life on a career or job that you don’t love. 

 

Joseph continues to lead Glamour UK in a positive direction, leaving women feeling empowered, represented, and part of the conversation. All stories can be found on the publication’s website and social channels.

 

By Chloé Janssen, MA Luxury Brand Strategy & Business