Miss O & Friends
Posted by anastasia on 03-24-2005
So the folks behind this new tween start-up Miss O & Friends gave me a sneak peek at their site, which officially launches on April 1. Here's the concept from their "about" section:
"Miss O and Friends was started in 2000 by a 10-year-old girl who then involved her friends; subsequently passed along to another (now) 10-year-old girl, who got her friends involved. These girls, (in total over 50, ages 8-12, from demographic, geographic and culturally diverse backgrounds), conceived, evolved and co-manage Miss O and Friends, a "hip and wholesome property, "by girls for girls," targeting 8 to 12 year old girls. Miss O and Friends is the only property of its kind; conceived, evolved and managed by young girls, and as such is authentic, believable and motivating in a manner heretofore nonexistent."
My take away from the site is that all of the activities (a club, diaries, point system/contests, games and zine) are designed to create a loyal tween audience for the Miss O "property" which includes a big line of Miss O "stuff," which will be sold in stores like Kmart and Meijer's. It's like a wholesome version of Bratz that's selling paper goods vs. dolls (they might have dolls too at some point). The cool thing (besides the fact that they are girl-driven/inspired) is that they are publically stating they will give some of the proceeds to girl-centric non-profits like Girls Inc.
March 25th, 2005 at 6:10 am
"Miss O & Friends" will not do dolls. The young girls who help run the company feel that dolls are not right for their group - and that type of authenticity is what makes "Miss O & Friends" so real and powerful. You can see this at the web site when it launches on April 1: http://www.missoandfriends.com.