What I Learned From Advertising in Vanity Fair UK | Hillary Alexandria

My second Hillary Alexandria feature in Vanity Fair UK is officially out!!! And seeing the brand in print for the second time still feels so special!

When the first feature appeared, I was genuinely excited. There’s something completely different about seeing a brand you’ve built from the ground up printed inside a magazine you’ve known for years.

It felt like a milestone.

It also made the brand feel more established.

But once the initial excitement settled, I naturally started asking the question every small business owner eventually asks after making a marketing investment:

Was it worth it?

The answer, at least so far, isn’t completely straightforward.

Did the first Vanity Fair UK feature increase sales?

The short answer is: not in a way I can clearly measure.

I haven’t seen a sudden increase in orders that I can directly attribute to the first feature.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the placement didn’t have an impact. It simply highlights one of the challenges of print advertising: tracking is much more difficult than it is with digital marketing.

With a paid social campaign, I can look at clicks, conversions, website visits and purchases.

Someone might see Hillary Alexandria in a magazine, remember the name, see the brand again on social media weeks later and eventually make a purchase.

The magazine may have played an important role in that journey, but I may never know it.

That makes the return on investment harder to calculate.

Brand awareness can have value beyond immediate sales

While I haven’t yet seen a clear financial return from the first feature, I do believe it created another type of value.

Credibility.

For an independent brand, being featured alongside established names can help reinforce that the business is legitimate, considered and growing.

It gives potential customers another point of recognition.

Someone discovering Hillary Alexandria for the first time can visit the website and see that the brand has appeared in Vanity Fair UK. A retailer reviewing the collection sees it. A buyer sees it. A potential collaborator sees it.

That kind of brand trust and awareness is difficult to attach a number to, but it still matters.

The feature has also given me an asset I can continue using across:

• my website
• social media
• retailer and wholesale outreach
• press materials
• partnership conversations
• future brand pitches

For a growing jewelry brand, that added credibility has value even if it doesn’t result in an immediate purchase.

Why multiple placements may matter

One of the reasons I’m particularly curious about the second and third features is repetition.

Marketing rarely works because someone sees something once.

A potential customer may notice a brand several times before remembering it, visiting the website or eventually deciding to buy.

So now I’m interested in seeing whether appearing in multiple issues creates a different effect.

Will someone recognize Hillary Alexandria the second time?

Will the third appearance make the name feel familiar?

Will repeat exposure lead to increased searches, website visits or new opportunities?

That’s what I’ll be paying attention to over the next few months.

How I'm measuring the impact

Because I can’t perfectly track who discovers the brand through print, I’m looking at a combination of signals rather than one number.

I’ll be watching:

Website traffic

Are more people visiting the website during or after each feature?

Direct and branded searches

Are more people searching specifically for Hillary Alexandria rather than discovering the website through a generic search?

Sales

Even if I can’t trace every purchase back to the magazine, is there a noticeable difference in overall sales during the campaign period?

Retail and partnership opportunities

Does the Vanity Fair feature strengthen conversations with buyers, marketplaces, retailers or collaborators?

Brand perception

Does the feature make Hillary Alexandria feel more established and trustworthy to someone encountering the brand for the first time?

Not every one of these questions will have a perfect answer, but together they should give me a better idea of whether the investment created meaningful value.

Would I advertise in a print magazine again?

Right now, I’m not answering that question.

I committed to three features, and I want to experience the full campaign before deciding whether I would make the same investment again.

If I judged the campaign purely by sales after the first placement, the answer might be very different from how I evaluate it after all three have run.

Once the final feature is out, I want to look at the complete picture.

Did anything change?

Did awareness increase?

Did the feature contribute to new business opportunities?

Did the credibility and marketing value justify the cost?

And perhaps most importantly: if I had that same marketing budget again, would I choose to spend it here—or somewhere else?

That will be the real test.

The reality behind a very exciting milestone

One thing I want to document honestly as I continue building Hillary Alexandria is that business milestones don't always come with immediate financial results.

Seeing my brand in Vanity Fair UK was exciting.

I am so proud!

I’m grateful for the credibility and visibility the features have brought to Hillary Alexandria, curious to see what happens after the second placement, and waiting to see what the full three-feature campaign ultimately brings.

Two down.

One to go.

And once the final feature is out, I’ll be able to give a much better answer to the question:

Was it worth it?

Shop the featured charms here!