The company behind Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars started as a clothing catalog for teenage girls. In 1999 teenagers were the first generation to grow up online, and marketers wanted to reach them. Alloy mailed a fashion catalog to millions of homes, aimed at girls aged roughly 10 to 24. Its website offered quizzes, chat, and content written in their voice. The catalog paid the bills, and the website built loyalty. Alloy went public in May 1999.

A Store and a Hangout

Matt Diamond and James Johnson founded Alloy in New York in 1996. The bet was that one brand could be both a store and a gathering place for young people. Alloy used its website to grow its customer list. It used its catalog to turn that audience into sales. Advertisers that wanted to reach teens also paid for access to the community. Wall Street saw Alloy as the company that understood teens on the web.

The Book Packager Pays Off

Alloy priced its offering at $15 a share in May 1999. As the dot-com market cooled, it moved toward marketing and media services. It bought magazines, school marketing programs, and a book packager. That unit, Alloy Entertainment, developed series such as Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. A business that began with a catalog and a chat room had become a media company. In 2010 ZelnickMedia took Alloy private.

Cover: Young Girl with Hat, Berthe Morisot. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a young girl (the teen audience).