Gregg Zegras, Senior VP/General Manager, iVillage Parenting NetworkA division of iVillage Inc., (newly relocated to New York from Darien, CT) iVillage Parenting Network targets the expectant and new-mother market, primarily with three annual magazines and a website. The magazines, two of which are published under the Lamaze brand - Lamaze Parents and Lamaze para Padres - are distributed in childbirth education classes nationwide. The third title, Baby Steps, is distributed in hospital maternity wards. In addition, Gregg Zegras, SVP-GM of iVillage Parenting Network, said, "We are developing two new magazines that we plan to bring to market in mid-2006 that will help grow our reach into different channels." Newly elevated from Vice Chair to Chair of IMAG, MPA's Independent Magazine Group, Zegras added, "True to the Indy model, we have other businesses that support and complement the magazines." Besides the website - which he describes as "one of the largest pregnancy, baby and parenting sites in the world," they operate a TV network called the Newborn Channel, a 24/7 satellite-delivered network beamed into 1,000-plus hospital maternity wards nationwide. Beyond that, Zegras said, his operation offers sampling, direct marketing, professional marketing, event marketing - "and we are moving fast in the area of video-on-demand via the web." Q. What are one or two top priorities for you as IMAG Chairman? Planning any new wrinkles?A. No new wrinkles per se. The IMAG board has been under great leadership the past three years with John Lively and Stephanie Sandberg, and I plan on continuing with the program that we've developed. For me, the biggest challenge we face is outreach to the larger indy-publisher community that are not part of MPA and therefore are not taking advantage of everything that is now available to them through IMAG.Q. What kind of feedback are you getting from "Gregg's List"? (Click here to visit Gregg’s List: www.magazine.org/independent_publishers/).A. I am lending my name (and face) to this blog-like board on the Indy website, which is a take on the very popular Craig's List. And since you mention it, I think it's a great idea to re-brand this after our new Vice Chair Cathy Cranston from the Harvard Business Review. "Cathy's List" sounds so much better than Gregg's List - and I guarantee you she is more photogenic than I am!Q. Even though your site is targeting women, have you yourself learned any valuable pointers on parenting?A. I always pick up great tips from the website - like just the other day, I was debating names with my wife for our new arrivals. Did I mention that I'm the father of three boys with two identical twins - boys - on the way in December? Anyway, iVillage has a great baby-name tool on the site, which for me is far easier to deal with than the endless number of books on that subject.Q. What do you think of the great flip-flop debate? No, not from Campaign 2004 but rather from the Northwestern women's lacrosse team's wearing flip-flops to a White House photo opportunity with the President?A. I'm a huge fan of flip-flops - two thumbs up!
No items were found.
