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PUBLISHER OF BRIDE'S MAGAZINE INVESTS IN WEDDINGCHANNEL.COM
Wedding Website, WeddingChannel.com, Forms Exclusive Alliance with Bridal Publication, BRIDE'S Magazine LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO, CA/NEW YORK, NY (July 31, 2000) -- WeddingChannel.com, the most comprehensive wedding planning and content resource available online, and Advance Publications Inc., the parent company of Condé Nast Publications Inc., publisher of BRIDE'S magazine, today announced an exclusive strategic alliance. The agreement includes an $18 million investment by Advance Publications in WeddingChannel.com and the launch of extensive joint marketing programs. Steve Newhouse, Chairman of Advance.Net, the Internet division of Advance Publications, will be joining WeddingChannel.com's board. "We see great opportunities to work with WeddingChannel.com both nationally, through BRIDE'S magazine and our national Internet group, CondéNet, and locally, through our network of local Internet sites, affiliated with newspapers in 26 markets," said Steve Newhouse. "WeddingChannel.com's relationship with Advance Publications allows both companies to capitalize on the broad marketing reach of our brands," says Rebecca Patton, CEO of WeddingChannel.com. "Through joint marketing activities, using both print and online channels, WeddingChannel.com will further its position as a premier planning resource and gift registry for engaged couples and their guests." WeddingChannel.com will be the official online wedding site for BRIDE'S magazine, and BRIDE'S will become the official bridal magazine of WeddingChannel.com. Under the terms of the exclusive relationship, BRIDE'S magazine and WeddingChannel.com will pursue mutually beneficial advertising, promotions and other joint marketing programs. BRIDE'S will also feature content in the "Best of Bride's" area of the WeddingChannel.com site. "This is an interesting and modern alliance joining the publisher of a leading bridal magazine and a leading bridal website, resulting in an extremely strong cross-media opportunity for any advertiser trying to reach a young, affluent audience," said Steven T. Florio, President and CEO of Condé Nast Publications. "By joining together and leveraging the combined power of print and Internet, we are capable of reaching an enormous number of young couples at a crucial time when they are making important choices that will affect their style and habits of living for the rest of their lives," said Nina Lawrence, publisher of BRIDE'S magazine. Together, the companies are uniquely poised to answer the needs of the 2.4 million annual brides and the $70 billion wedding market. Condé Nast Publications is home to 16 of America's leading magazines, including BRIDE'S magazine, the most widely read bridal publication in the world today, attracting more than 5 million readers per issue. WeddingChannel.com is the largest wedding website and the recognized leader in the online wedding industry, serving more than 2 million brides and grooms as well as their wedding guests with a record 1.5 million unique visitors in the month of June alone. The NPD Group, a leading marketing information provider, has determined that WeddingChannel.com is the most often selected online wedding-planning destination. About WeddingChannel.com WeddingChannel.com (www.weddingchannel.com) is the world's definitive marketplace for weddings, connecting engaged couples and their guests with planning resources, vendors, and the gift registries of premier retailers. Offering engaged couples a complete menu of wedding-related services, including personalized web pages, planning tools, e-commerce, online travel planning, local business directories and the largest database of bridal fashions, WeddingChannel.com is the most comprehensive wedding planning resource available today. The company has exclusive, strategic relationships with the leaders in bridal registry, including Federated Department Stores, Inc. (the parent company of Bloomingdale's, The Bon Marché, Burdines, Goldsmith's, Lazarus, Macy's, Rich's and Stern's), Tiffany & Co., Crate and Barrel, Neiman Marcus, Williams-Sonoma, Dillard's, Restoration Hardware, REI, Gump's and many more. Through these relationships, WeddingChannel.com offers couples the best selection of branded gifts to add to their registries and provides wedding guests with a convenient way to find couples' registries and purchase gifts online. WeddingChannel.com is a private company whose investors include Amazon.com, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Federated Department Stores, Inc., Goldman Sachs, MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., idealab!, The Neiman Marcus Group, Trinity Ventures, Tiffany & Co., RRE Investors, MSD Capital, Merrill Lynch, Crate and Barrel, and Williams-Sonoma. About BRIDE'S Magazine BRIDE'S magazine is the world's #1 bridal magazine, reaching more than 5 million readers per issue. BRIDE'S is recognized as the category leader by every measure of market authority: circulation, single copy sales, audience, affluence, advertising pages, bridal tour events, and editorial authority. For over 65 years, BRIDE'S has been the country's foremost authority on engagement, weddings and marriage, reporting on new trends and changing attitudes toward weddings and romance, love and marriage. For the engaged reader seeking advice on all the pertinent issues-planning, etiquette, fashion, beauty, fitness, registry, travel, the home and relationships-BRIDE'S is the most complete resource available. BRIDE'S is published six times a year by The Condé Nast Publications Inc. About CondéNet CondéNet is the leading creator and developer of upscale lifestyle brands online, providing enjoyable, useful services that tie into and build upon the heritage of the world's most prestigious magazines. Today, CondéNet owns the deepest online brands in the vertical categories of food (Epicurious), travel (Concierge), relationships (Swoon), fitness (PHYS), and fashion (Style.com). Based in New York, CondéNet is owned by Advance Publications Inc., a privately held media company. |
