XO Group Acquires Photo-Sharing App Veri, Offering First-Ever Mobile Autoshare Technology for Wedding Day Photos
The Knot, the #1 Wedding Brand, Marketplace and App, Strengthens Connection Between Couples and Their Guests While Providing First-of-Its-Kind Wedding Day Photo-Sharing Solution
NEW YORK, NY/September 27, 2017 – XO Group Inc. today announced the acquisition of Veri, the first and only photo-sharing app focused on weddings and events that automatically shares photos from the user’s built-in camera on their mobile device. Created for weddings and other special events, Veri uses its autoshare technology to instantly distribute photos and videos automatically with the couple and other guests—no need to open the Veri app, manually upload or post photos with a hashtag. With the acquisition of Veri, XO Group’s flagship brand The Knot continues to deepen connections between couples and guests, while providing couples with the best services and solutions to create the most enjoyable and stress-free wedding day possible.
Created by the founders of Memoir, one of the first photo-sharing apps that allows you to discover old photo memories, Veri is the only events photo-sharing app with an automatic upload capability. In addition to their professional photos, couples using Veri receive an average of 800-1,000 photos and videos from their wedding guests, while those using a wedding hashtag on Instagram receive an average of 22 photos.*
On average, guests attend two weddings per year, and 95 percent attend at least one other wedding-related event in addition to the wedding.** Guests attending multiple events and weddings can now use one app to share all their momentous photos privately. The Veri app’s autosharing simplicity requires virtually no effort for guests to share their photos; guests simply use their normal iPhone or Android camera, and photos and videos are instantly shared. Because Veri is private, photos won’t be shared with non-wedding guests like they are on social media. Additionally, couples can use Veri for all wedding-related events (engagement party, bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party), so couples and guests can share and receive hundreds of photos from the events where there’s not typically a professional photographer present.
“Professional photographers play a critical and irreplaceable part in capturing your wedding celebration, but the ability to easily and automatically receive all of your guests’ photos, in addition to your professional ones, is truly magical and valuable,” said Brent Tworetzky, Executive Vice President, Product, XO Group Inc. “Veri is the first and only app to take the work out of guest photo-sharing, and we’re thrilled to bring this one-of-a-kind service to our couples—not only those planning a wedding, but having a baby, throwing birthday parties and celebrating all of life’s special moments. We welcome cofounders Lee Hoffman and Angela Kim and the entire Veri team to our XO Group family.”
“XO Group owns and operates the best lifestage tech brands in the business. From every couple’s go-to wedding planning resource, The Knot, to the leading entertainment booking marketplace GigMasters, we couldn’t think of a better home for Veri,” said Lee Hoffman, CEO and cofounder of Veri. “We’re very excited to join this innovative team.”
Acquisition Details
The total acquisition price for Veri is $3.5 million in cash for complete ownership of the company. The acquisition closed on Friday, September 15, 2017. Additional details will be provided during the company’s third quarter 2017 earnings conference call.
*Based on internal research.
**Source: The Knot 2016 Guest Study
About XO Group Inc.
Our mission is to help people navigate and truly enjoy life’s biggest moments, together. Our multi-platform brands guide couples through transformative life stages—from getting married with The Knot, to moving in together with The Nest, to having a baby with The Bump, and helping bring important celebrations to life with entertainment vendors from GigMasters. The company is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (XOXO) and is headquartered in New York City.
About The Knot
The Knot is the nation’s leading wedding resource and marketplace that seamlessly engages, matches and connects couples with the right products, services and local wedding professionals they need to plan and pull off their wedding. The trusted brand reaches a majority of engaged couples in the US through the #1 wedding website TheKnot.com, its mobile apps, The Knot national and local wedding magazines, and The Knot book series. The Knot has inspired approximately 25 million couples to plan a wedding that’s uniquely them. The Knot is the flagship brand of XO Group Inc. (NYSE: XOXO), which helps people navigate and enjoy life’s biggest moments—from getting married to moving in together and having a baby. Please visit The Knot online at TheKnot.com and follow on social media: Facebook.com/TheKnot and @TheKnot on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and reflect our current beliefs and expectations. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements. It is routine for internal projections and expectations to change, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations may change. Although these expectations may change, we will not necessarily inform you if they do or update this release. Please refer to documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of the risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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