1271 Avenue of the Americas
26th Floor
New York, NY 10020
212/552-1212
http://www.instyle.com
The media industry is in turmoil, with advertisers tightening belts and layoffs reported from all quarters. But the execs behind InStyle.com evidently haven't gotten the memo.
The site launched last December as a companion to the popular magazine and is going strong: With up to a million unique users and 17 million pageviews in December 2001, the site
has seen well over 1,000 percent growth since its inception in Dec. 2000. Plus, if pageviews per visit are any indication, users have become more passionate about the site's
content, doubling the number of pages they peruse during a visit.
The average user is young and affluent, with a median age of 27 (slightly younger than the average InStyle reader) and a median household income of $60,000. The site draws an
overwhelmingly female audience (98 percent), and is not the right placement for PR pros looking to pitch stay-at-home moms: 62 percent of users are single and looking for the
latest on celebs, parties, people and - naturally - style.
Content/Contacts
The Web site repurposes some content from the magazine, but its motto is "More of what you love." Original material on the site extends the content found in the magazine, with
more information on what's hot in terms of celebrities, beauty, fashion and lifestyle. The site covers hot parties and night spots, beauty transformations and other stylish topics
and especially appreciates anything that can be tied to a celebrity. "We love being pitched ideas like, 'So and so is a huge fan of this product and has given it to all her
friends,'" says Editor Lisa Gabor.
Contact Gabor's assistant, Amy Powell at [email protected] with pitches. Powell will distribute the information as needed.
Gabor can be reached at 212/522-1551.
Pitch Tips
The InStyle.com editors are particularly friendly toward PR practitioners: "We are always open to suggestions and ideas that are pitched to us," Gabor says. "We want to remain
as up to the moment and in the loop as possible, and that's why we appreciate great PR people."
There are a few caveats, however. Gabor and her team have had run-ins with publicists pitching false or misleading information. "We appreciate responsible, professional PR.
Sometimes we'll get something we spend lots of time checking only to find out it's not fact."
She also refuses to publish information vilifying a celebrity, so save the smear campaigns for the tabloids. "We're interested in style motivated by a positive spin."
Comments
Visitors love to look at hot photos and other visually appealing materially so if your story has a slick graphic angle, all the better. Particularly hot is the Beauty
Transformations feature, where a scrolling bar runs photos of celebrities from "way back when" until now. The copy that accompanies the fabulously funny photos (who would ever have
guessed Sarah Jessica Parker once sported a less than flattering perm?) includes information on the celeb's style philosophy, as well as favored products.
Although there are InStyle.com reporters across the country, Gabor and her team are particularly interested in information on a trend happening in one part of the country that
may not have come onto the New York team's radar.
In The Pipeline
This week's coverage is largely focused on the Sundance festival in Park City, Utah, with info on the hottest spots to party and what the celebs are wearing at the famously
dressed-down event.
Awards coverage will be huge for the next few months. Anything having to do with the Oscars or other awards shows will be sure to catch Gabor's attention.
The site is also planning special packages on spring trends and other seasonal pieces, and it will launch a mysterious new software tool, which Gabor declines to discuss, in
April.
In general, continue feeding the editors information on entertainment, celebs, beauty and "the look of the moment."