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Vox Media is shutting down its fashion brand Racked to launch a new publication - underwritten entirely by sponsor American Express
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Vox Media is shutting down its fashion brand Racked to launch a new publication - underwritten entirely by sponsor American Express

  • Vox Media is folding its fashion and retail-focused site Racked and launching a new site operated by Vox called The Goods.
  • A team of 11 writers and editors, including former Racked staffers, will head up the vertical.
  • The move comes after layoffs hit Vox Media in February, including Racked.
  • American Express is the site's exclusive advertiser and will sponsor 1,000 pieces of content and a dozen videos through December.

Vox Media is switching gears from covering the business of fashion to the culture of consumerism that gives readers "the information you need to be a savvy consumer."

On Friday, Vox Media will officially stop publishing to Racked's website as the site's staff transitions over to the publisher's news site Vox to run a vertical dubbed The Goods that launched on Monday. The section is launching with 11 writers and editors - including a mix of Racked employees and new hires - and will "offer a deep dive into the things people buy, and how and why they buy them, using consumer trends as yet another way to understand the world," according to a post written by Vox editor-in-chief Lauren Williams. Eleanor Barkhorn, Vox's deputy editor, will spearhead The Goods.

The switch from Racked to The Goods comes after layoffs hit Vox Media in February, including staffers from Racked, Curbed, SB Nation and Vox Media's video team.  The Goods is launching with the backing of American Express, which has agreed to sponsor 1,000 pieces of content, including branded content created with Vox Creative - the publisher's in-house advertising team.

The Goods by Vox

Vox Media

While Racked primarily focused on fashion and retail coverage, The Goods expands coverage to other areas like technology, design, food, travel and wellness. Similar to Vox's angle on news, The Goods aims to break down the complicated industry of commerce and shopping and explain it to readers. For example, a feature about Pedialyte digs into how the brand morphed from being a drink for toddlers to becoming a hangover fix for adults. Another feature examines how brands are marketing and creating anti-aging products.

"Trends and popular products offer a fascinating glimpse into people's joys and anxieties, their moments of prosperity and times of desperation, and their privileges and disadvantages," Williams wrote. "They also reflect how our way of life is changing - from the technology we invest in to the companies we choose to trust and support."

American Express is underwriting the site's launch

American Express is the launch advertiser of The Goods, which will run through December and includes sponsorship of 1,000 pieces of content, including 12 sponsored "Explainer" videos created with Vox Creative that explain the "experience economy."

The brand's campaign is part of American Express' largest custom content campaign, according to Digiday, and also includes ad buys with BuzzFeed and Bustle.

Within The Goods site, each article includes the copy "presented by American Express" and display ads promote the company's credit card with the slogan "Pay It Plan It." AmEx will also run ads on other Vox Media properties like Eater's video series called "Kitchen Gadget Test Show" that tests kitchen appliances to see how they stack up with each other.

After AmEx's sponsorship ends in December, a spokeswoman said that there will be additional advertising opportunites for the vertical since it is part of the Vox umbrella but declined to name potential other advertisers.