XO Group Inc. Announces Ijie.com and Sina Partnership to Launch Leading Destination for Weddings in China

From the #1 U.S. Wedding Website TheKnot.com, Ijie.com and Leading Chinese News and Lifestyle Portal Sina.com to Target Affluent Chinese Consumer with “Weddings” Channel

NEW YORK (July 6, 2011) – XO Group Inc. (NYSE: XOXO; www.theknotworldwide.com), formerly The Knot Inc., a global media and technology leader with the number one wedding website TheKnot.com, today announced that Ijie.com (爱结, Ijie.com), a multiplatform resource providing Western inspiration and local advice for weddings, relationships and pregnancy for the Chinese consumer, has exclusively partnered with SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading online media company in China, to launch a “Weddings” channel on Sina.com.

Through this partnership, Ijie.com will be the exclusive wedding and lifestyle content provider on a newly launched, cobranded “Weddings” channel on Sina.com – one of the most-trafficked news and lifestyle portals in China, with 170 million daily unique visitors and 1.3 billion daily page views. This strategic alliance will enable Ijie.com to further access the rapidly growing affluent Chinese wedding market, which is valued at $62 billion (400 billion RMB), by bringing its stylish inspirations, expert content and interactive tools to millions of young women in China – women who are increasingly incorporating Western traditions into their own lifestyle.

“News portals are the number one online category that commands the largest share of time spent online for consumers, so our partnership with news and lifestyle portal Sina will enable us to extend the Ijie.com brand to a huge audience of Chinese women,” said David Liu, CEO and cofounder of XO Group. “The strategy at XO Group has always been to align ourselves with best-in-class brands, and a partnership such as this is central to a successful media strategy. We’re thrilled to work with Sina as we achieve our goal of being the number one leader in providing high-value Chinese couples the best information and resources needed to plan their lives together.”

On the Sina.com and Ijie.com “Weddings” channel, visitors can find:

• Inspirational Photos & Videos: From wedding dresses and cakes to wedding venues and honeymoon destinations, women can search through thousands of photos. Plus, Real Wedding profiles and weekly fashion & beauty, style and nesting videos provide women with all the inspiration they need.
• Online Community & Free Interactive Tools: Along with access to some of the most popular wedding tools, such as My Bride Avatar Builder and My Wedding Website Builder, women can easily connect with other like-minded women via a team of bloggers chronicling their real-life experiences and 24/7 community message boards.
• Local Vendor Listings & Special Deals: Instantly tap into an extensive directory of the top vendors in each of the major Chinese cities – Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou – along with ongoing special offers.

“As the leading online portal in China, it only made sense to partner with the world’s largest wedding resource,” said Wen Jin, executive editor of Sina. “With Sina’s large user base and the unique content and resources on Ijie.com, the ‘Weddings’ channel will quickly become the leading online destination for weddings in China.”

“In less than a year, Ijie.com has seen significant growth as young, aspiring Chinese women embrace Western traditions and inspiration as a sign of affluence and education – in fact, 80% of Chinese couples incorporate Western traditions into their wedding,” added Liu. “Ijie.com is the only brand in China that offers a unique blend of modern ideas and innovative products that are localized for the affluent and discerning Chinese consumer, making it perfectly positioned to be the leading lifestyle and weddings website in China.”

About XO Group Inc.
XO Group Inc. (NYSE: XOXO; http://www.theknotworldwide.com), formerly The Knot Inc., is the premier media and technology company devoted to weddings, pregnancy and everything in between, providing young women with the trusted information, products and advice they need to guide them through the most transformative events of their lives. Our family of premium brands began with the #1 wedding brand, The Knot, and has grown to include WeddingChannel.com, The Nest, The Bump and Ijie.com. XO Group is recognized by the industry for being innovative in all media – from the web to social media and mobile, magazines and books, and video – and our groundbreaking social platforms have ignited passionate communities across the world. XO Group has leveraged its customer loyalty into successful businesses in online sponsorship and advertising, registry services, ecommerce and publishing. The company is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (XOXO) and is headquartered in New York City.

About SINA
SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA) is a leading online media company and mobile value-added service provider for China and for the global Chinese communities. With a branded network of localized websites targeting Greater China and overseas Chinese, the Company provides services through five major business lines including SINA.com (online news and content), SINA Mobile (MVAS), SINA Community (Web 2.0-based services and games), SINA.net (search and enterprise services) and SINA E-Commerce (online shopping). Together these business lines provide an array of services, including region-focused online portals, MVAS, social networking service (SNS), blog, audio and video streaming, album, online games, email, search, classified listings, fee-based services, e-commerce and enterprise e-solutions. The Company generates the majority of its revenues from online advertising and MVAS offerings, and, to a lesser extent, from search and other fee-based services.

 

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