AOL is to launch a glossy new women's site as it distances itself from the ill-fated attempt to attract internet youth.
AOL has been aiming to reposition its business since being demerged from Time Warner and after an unsuccessful strategy that saw it redefine its user base with the acquisition, and subsequent fire sale, of Bebo.
The company, which has made key hires in its European operation including Marie Claire's online editor, Carla Bevan, as editor-in-chief in the UK, has been dramatically overhauling its editorial offering.
MyDaily is the company's big push to target 35- to 44-year-old women – one of three key markets AOL has decided to focus on – which aims to offer top-quality editorial content, video and pictures of the "five a day" of fashion, beauty, decor, travel, and mind and body.
"One of the holes, the white spaces, that we found was a website to really capture the attention of that smart female demographic," said David Shing, head of media and marketing for AOL in Europe. "We really wanted to anchor the offering a rich brand. 'My' denotes ownership for the user and 'Daily' gives a sense of quick and timely [information]."
Shing said that the company's aspiration is to be "the largest creator of digital content on the web" with the aim of increasing its audience three or four fold in the next few years. He said that AOL has settled on targeting three core demographics – the other two being 35- to 44-year-old men and the over-55 market – in a clear signal that the pursuit of youth is now firmly in the firm's past.
"Younger audiences, we know where they are dwelling today, they are not a bullseye," he said. "Part of it [the editorial strategy] is, where does AOL have the right to play content-wise? We have an affinity with a slightly older audience who have perhaps grown up with the brand".
MyDaily is being launched to coincide with London fashion week, with vodcasts with designers Christopher Kane and Mark Fast and interviews with Manolo Blahnik and Yasmin Le Bon. The editorial team also intends to cover the premiere of Made in Dagenham, including an interview with Rosamund Pike.
Shing said that the new website, which will include writing from Elle's former commissioning editor, Naomi Reilly, WGSN's Joanna McGinn and Independent contributor Laura Smith, did not aim to steal audience or ad revenue from magazine publishers.
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