David's Bridal Ushers in New Era With Expansion Into Tech and Media; Unveils Pearl Media Network With Acquisition of Love Stories TV, Allowing Advertisers to Tap Into Unmatched Bridal Market Reach

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., December 17, 2024 (Newswire.com) - David's Bridal, Inc. ("David's"), the nation's leading bridal, wedding planning, and special occasion authority, today announced the launch of Pearl Media Network and the acquisition of Love Stories TV (now, Love Stories by David's), the top wedding media brand taking a digital-first approach to wedding content and inspiration with over 20M viewers per month across content platforms and a library of over 30,000 real wedding videos. Taking the next step in becoming the ubiquitous leader in all things wedding, this strategic move transcends David's from the wedding industry's leading retailer to the industry's rising tech and media company helping brides, grooms and anyone looking for wedding inspiration connect the dots under one brand.

"Our customers look to David's for all things wedding and planning, and Pearl Media Network will now allow advertisers to authentically capture our audiences, tapping into consumers during the household formation - a true first for the industry," shared Elina Vilk, Chief Business Officer for David's Bridal. "It's no longer just a 12-month planning cycle-people are diving into years of planning and consuming content that sparks ideas, often via video, which outperforms every other medium. Love Stories TV is at the heart of this trend, and now David's Bridal and Pearl Media Network will serve as the ultimate inspiration network."

"For 74 years, David's Bridal has had a front-row seat to the evolution of the wedding industry, becoming the nation's leading bridal retailer; during that time, we've become acutely aware of the lack of solutions that authentically connect the dots between advertisers and our audiences," added Kelly Cook, President, Brand, Technology, & Finance and Co-Chair, Pearl Advisory Board for David's Bridal. "With the launch of Pearl Media Network and acquisition of Love Stories TV, we're innovating the category in a way that no other wedding platform, marketplace or retailer could, by connecting advertisers directly to couples during their most engaged moments through exciting and targeted content."

Engagement and wedding planning timelines are extending, according to Signet, couples on average are dating for 3.25 years before proposing, with a 25% surge in engagements taking place over the next three years. In addition, according to experts, the average length of an engagement is between 12 and 18 months. This increased proposal and wedding planning lifecycle has brides spending more time researching, planning, and curating their dream weddings, priming a targeted and engaged audience for advertisers. David's Pearl Media Network is creating an industry-first media infrastructure and advertising network that allows vendors and brands to organically connect with consumers and provide fresh, innovative, and accessible wedding inspiration and content during this hyper focused time period for consumers.

With the acquisition, Love Stories TV founder and CEO, Rachel Silver, will become the General Manager of Media for David's and Chief Product Officer for Pearl Media Network. Under Pearl Media Network, David's will be building upon Love Stories TV's content across social media platforms, YouTube, and its podcast network, as well as streaming TV (including Roku, Tubi, Vizio, Sling and others) as well as developing breakthrough content and advertising offerings from social, web, streaming TV, and in-store. Silver will be focused on amping up David's social content strategy, reaching new and targeted audiences with industry-first content and advertiser offerings. Brides and grooms are no longer flocking to Google and traditional wedding vendor directories for inspiration and research. Instead, they're turning to social platforms (Zola found that 68% of couples are vetting photographers, make-up artists and venues on Instagram and TikTok,) podcasts, and influencers for wedding planning needs - and Pearl Media Network is empowering advertisers to meet consumers exactly where they are.

Founded in 2016 by Rachel Silver, Love Stories TV has built a following of over 8M social followers, a wedding content library featuring more than 30K videos and has launched the wedding industry's first podcast network and streaming TV presence. Love Stories TV continues to build an enthusiastic audience about all weddings, making the acquisition a prime advertising vehicle for David's to connect with brides and future brides.

I am so proud of the impact Love Stories TV has made on the wedding industry over the past eight years, specifically how we've helped wedding videographers and pros build their businesses by giving them a platform to celebrate their talents and helping them connect with their ideal customers," added Rachel Silver, General Manager of Media for David's and Chief Product Officer for Pearl Media Network. "Now, as part of the David's Bridal team, we're looking forward to a new chapter focused on delivering inspiring, impactful and highly curated content for advertisers to authentically reach David's core customers while continuing to develop new products to support SMBs across the wedding industry."

This acquisition marks a strategic and pivotal moment in David's Bridal's legacy, setting the stage for the brand to tap into nascent audiences while continuing innovation, growth, and leadership in the wedding industry for years to come. To hear more from Kelly Cook, Elina Vilk and Rachel Silver about Pearl Media Network and its offerings for brands and vendors, you can watch and listen to the latest episode of Love Stories Radio on Spotify and listen on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

To learn more about David's, visit davidsbridal.com.

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About David's Bridal
With over 70 years of experience dressing people for all of life's special occasions, David's Bridal is built on the ethos of making dreams happen. David's Bridal is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that serve wedding and special occasion consumers and the industry at large. David's boasts the industry's only loyalty program, the Diamond Loyalty Program. This program, with almost 3 million members, provides perks and deals from partners like The Black Tux, Shutterfly, Little Tuxedos and much more, including the opportunity to win a free honeymoon. Additionally, Pearl by David's offers consumers a wedding website, universal wedding registry, robust wedding checklist, and a new vendor marketplace that beautifully pairs brides with their perfect vendor partners.

Pearl Media Network allows advertisers to tap into David's Bridal unmatched market reach to authentically connect with consumers through content across the web, social, podcast, streaming, video, in-store and more. Under the Pearl Media umbrella is Love Stories by David's, the top wedding media brand taking a digital-first approach to wedding content and inspiration with over 20M viewers per month across content platforms, including the wedding industry's sole podcast network, streaming TV and Snap Discover channels, and largest YouTube and TikTok channels, and a library of over 30,000 real wedding videos. Each video comes equipped with wedding data and details, contributing to a marketplace of over 60,000 wedding professionals to help couples better dream about, research and plan their big day.

With more than 190 stores across the US, Canada, and franchise locations in Mexico, David's Bridal offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for every magical event in her life, including weddings, Quinceañera, graduations, proms, communions, or simply making the world her runway and beyond. To learn more about David's Bridal, visit www.DavidsBridal.com, download the Planning App, and connect on social media through Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

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David's Bridal

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Source: David's Bridal

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