You may not have purchased feminine-hygiene products from HelloFlo, but you've probably heard of the company. With hits like "Camp Gyno" and "First Moon Party," HelloFlo made a name for itself with its humorous viral advertising. And that's exactly why SheKnows Media is acquiring it.
With the deal—the terms of which the companies declined to disclose—set to close later this month, SheKnows will tap into what HelloFlo does best: make effective branded content.
"It is absolutely the case that HelloFlo evolved into so much more of a content creator than what my original idea for the business was," said HelloFlo founder Naama Bloom, who now serves as SheKnows' svp of integrated marketing. "It was spurred by the community that developed around the content."
According to Bloom, after the release of "Camp Gyno," the company did get some orders for its tampon subscription service, but it received even more emails asking for more content.
"Women and girls literally all over the world were asking for more content, whether it was more funny videos or asking me to solve problems around postpartum or menopause or endometriosis," Bloom said. "It basically opened up this massive can of worms that I hadn't realized at the time was ready to emerge. So over time, I moved [the brand] more and more towards this vision where I was much more about content."
HelloFlo's content creation was a "huge draw," said Samantha Skey, president and CRO of SheKnows. "We would not have bought the company without that. Lots of people have the intent to create branded content. Very few have actually proven that they can do it and drive the viewership and the loyalty that HelloFlo can drive."
And branded content will be a major focus of SheKnows' NewFronts presentation, according to Skey. (Earlier this month, SheKnows announced it will present at the NewFronts for the first time.)
HelloFlo's three employees have been folded into SheKnows. Bloom now runs a team of 12 for the company's integrated marketing division and expects to build that team out further.
Meanwhile, HelloFlo's e-commerce business and its e-learning platform, Learn From Her, will continue.
"The most intriguing short-term opportunity for us is in Naama's exceptional work with branded content and the intuitive way that she's been able to build content for brands and advertisers," Skey said. "That's sort of the early focus largely on that aspect of that business. But there's no element of the business we don't value. We'll figure out over time where the core value to our user is."