Architectural Digest Launches Home Improvement Vertical

Architectural Digest wants to help its readers turn their house into a home page. The Condé Nast property announced this morning the launch of its new do-it-yourself-focused vertical, called AD It Yourself, equipping readers with all they need to tackle the home renovation projects of their dreams. “This is a really logical time to launch AD It Yourself,” David Kaufman, global digital director of Architectural Digest, told Adweek. “We have the authority to lead the D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) space, we’ve seen record traffic in recent months and this kind of content has always over-performed for us as a brand.” As people have been confined to their homes over the last 18 months, there has been an uptick in average homeowner spending on home renovations from $9,081 in 2019 to $13,138 in 2020, according to home services website Angi. Architectural Digest readers are particularly prone to investing in home improvement projects, said Kaufman. In fact, AD readers are 1.5 times more likely to have both spent at least $500 on renovation projects and completed three or more such undertakings in 2020, according to the publisher. AD It Yourself will lead with new video series The new vertical will highlight elevated do-it-yourself projects and actionable advice from AD editors, providing readers with inspiration, instruction and resources. AD It Yourself will feature three new video series: Replace This Space and Room Refresh, which will launch this August, and Brad Builds, which will debut this fall. AD has found some success with its YouTube presence, where its 4.58 million subscribers have helped its celebrity-studded Open Door series amass hundreds of millions of views. In Replace This Space, celebrity interior designer Erick Garcia will help his influencer clients transform their homes in one day, while Room Refresh will follow a designer who has a one-hour consultation to guide a decorating novice through the simplest, most impactful changes they can make to improve their home. Brad Builds, which will star Bon Appétit celebrity chef Brad Leone, will track the former fermenting guru as he refurbishes a property in coastal Connecticut. Striking while the iron is hot The pandemic created the perfect conditions for a rise in remodeling activity: It grounded everyone at home, squeezed supply chains, raised the price of labor and normalized large online purchases, explained Oisin Hanrahan, CEO of Angi. As people spent more time at home, increased wear and tear led to more maintenance repairs. At the same time, people needed their homes to accommodate their new lifestyles, which led to projects like kitchen expansions, Zoom rooms and deck construction. In total, the average number of home renovation projects rose from 8.1 to 11 among homeowners, according to Angi. Demand for home improvement shows no signs of slowing down, either. An annual study from Houzz, a home remodeling and design platform, found that 56% of homeowners plan to renovate this year, the highest percentage since 2017. Traffic to Architectural Digest has reflected this demand. The site has averaged 10.7 million monthly unique visitors per month in 2021, according to Comscore, and its three newsletters have seen a 20% year-over-year increase in total opens. In April, AD recorded its highest-ever traffic date and had its second-best day for subscriber acquisition this month, according to the publisher. AD declined to name how many total subscribers it has or its revenue figures. New content means new brand partners The new vertical has already drummed up brand interest, including launch sponsors Behr and Williams Sonoma Home, and Crate & Barrel, which is sponsoring the first two episodes of Replace This Space. AD has long been an aspirational publisher, but AD It Yourself allows fans to imitate some of what they see in the publication, creating opportunities for new brand partners, said Steven Bloom, the managing director of enterprise partnerships and published media at Omnicom Media Group. “Between the legacy halo of the AD brand and relatability of [do-it-yourself], you get a very interesting marriage,” Bloom said. “It opens it up to a whole new category of advertisers.” Architectural Digest’s Newest Digital Site Is Starting a Unique Ecommerce Relationship

Ad Tech Industry News

Architectural Digest Launches Home Improvement Vertical, AD It Yourself

The new section hopes to capitalize on property renovation fever

Mark Stenberg

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mark Stenberg