Girl Scouts of America Launches New Media Brand Focused on Women’s Lifestyle and Wellness
By Joelle Goldstein
CircleAround will provide “a compelling, inspiring and trusted content site” with an emphasis on “the values women share.”
The Girl Scouts of America are kicking off their newest venture.
The organization announced its plans to launch a standalone, for-profit media brand and online destination called CircleAround.
The new brand will provide “a compelling, inspiring and trusted content site” for women ages 25-54 “that is grounded in the values women share,” such as service, honesty, friendship and respect — the same values that the Girl Scouts emphasize.
Fully owned and operated by the Girl Scouts, CircleAround will cover a number of topics in various formats, including articles, long and short-form blogs, videos, podcasts and sliding galleries.
About 150 new pieces of content will be released for readers each month, along with personal stories from everyday women and prominent figures.
“CircleAround is a destination for all voices to be heard. We will deliver engaging original content for the 50+ million Girl Scout alum and all women by covering topics that include inspiration, wellness, work, money, parenting, relationships, and news with a focus on real utility and holistic viewpoints, where diversity of perspectives will be equally represented,” Chris Butler, COO of CircleAround, tells PEOPLE.
Adds Sapreet Kaur Saluja, the chief strategic partnerships and new ventures officer at Girl Scouts of the USA: “Not only is CircleAround a wholly-owned subsidiary of Girl Scouts of the USA and rooted in Girl Scouts values, but it’s also a one-stop digital media site that fills the gap in content for women by offering true usefulness and encompasses the diversity of perspectives and needs of our readers.”
“We pride ourselves on providing content that is unbiased, and shares all viewpoints while providing tangible usefulness and takeaways,” Saluja continues. “Additionally, we are thrilled this endeavor will support the next generation of girls.”
In addition to the launch plans, CircleAround announced on Tuesday that Verizon and Shutterstock were already signed on as signature launch partners.
While formal partnership details have yet to be officially released, Verizon is expected to help “support female-owned businesses through one-to-one mentorship, industry-specific panels and content celebrating the achievements and lessons from female small business owners,” while Shutterstock will provide “meaningful and inspirational visual content” for the site, according to a press release.
Additional media and signature partners are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
“We look forward to partnering with brands like Shutterstock to give our audience relevant, useful, and relatable information that can be applied to daily life. Shutterstock’s vibrant collection of more than 300 million images provides us with fresh and visual content to amplify our stories,” Butler said in the release.
“We are proud to be disrupting the media space for women and ensuring our adult alums and women, in general, have content relevant to them,” Saluja shared.
In a statement from Verizon Business, CEO Tami Erwin added: “We’re excited to partner with the exemplary National Association of Women Business Owners and CircleAround. Verizon has a long-standing commitment to assist small business customers through mentorship and financial support. It’s critical that we lean into supporting women-owned small businesses as the fog of the pandemic lifts and we reimagine what the future looks like.”
CircleAround was scheduled to launch in public beta on June 30, with a full launch set for early July.
