Zoe Abbott, integrated marketing director for Elle, was promoted to business development director, a newly created position, on September 9.
In her new role, Abbott will be responsible for extending the Elle brand outside the magazine by forming deals with book publishers, entertainment companies, retailers and hotels. She will report directly to Carol Smith, SVP and group publishing director for Elle.
“Carol Smith felt that the time was right for Elle to expand even more and come up with other partnerships for the brand where it was more at the forefront of the partnership,” said Sheri Lapidus, executive PR director for Elle, regarding why the position was created. “There is always room to get more [readers], and expanding beyond the magazine gets a whole new set of readers to become familiar and aware of the magazine and hopefully buy it.”
Abbott’s work will build on past projects she has undertaken for the Elle brand, including tie-ins with the television shows Project Runway and Stylista, Broadway musical Legally Blonde, a clothing line at Kohl’s and publishing ventures The Little Black Book of Style and The Bikini Book.
“Zoe has been here since 2002, and she has been involved in some of the brandbuilding opportunities that Elle has pursued,” Lapidus explained.
Elle has a total paid and verified circulation of 1,082,278 — 3.1% above its guaranteed rate base of 1.05 million — according to its publisher’s statement from June 30, 2008.
