Will Packer Media acquires Necole Kane’s xoNecole

Will Packer is an entertainment juggernaut.

On Jan. 18, news broke that prominent director Will Packer acquired lifestyle blogger Necole Kane‘s platform, xoNecole. This acquisition is Will Packer Media’s first digital platform, with plans to prepare xoNecole content for TV and film.

With his 2017 summer release of the award-winning movie, Girls Trip, it’s clear Packer is focused on empowering women, specifically women of color, and showing their beauty and boldness through different mediums.

“Necole is amazingly gifted in her ability to connect with women and deliver much-needed engaging, smart and empowering content that is aspirational and impactful,” said Packer in a statement. “We are thrilled to join forces with Necole and look forward to working together to broaden the offerings and reach of xoNecole as we continue to build it into a top lifestyle brand.”

The urban women-focused platform is Kane’s second digital venture, after the 2015 shutdown of her gossip and celebrity news blog site, NecoleBitchie.com.

“I think my purpose came to me, or at least I knew that celebrity gossip wasn’t just a lane I was supposed to excel in four years ago, but what I am trying to say is that I was a big contradiction because I was constantly trying to inspire people to not be afraid to live your dreams, but I was afraid to leave the dream I built to move on to something new,” Kane shared in an interview with Huffington Post in 2015 after the announcement of the shuttering of NecoleBitchie.com.

XoNecole’s mission is to uplift and empower women, offer positive images of women of color, and educate and inspire millennials through interviews, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, career and travel features.

As the newest member of the Will Packer Media family, xoNecole will be expanding through video, social and mobile offerings, and will soon offer a branded newsletter and multifaceted event series to further connect with the platform’s audience.

“Will Packer is someone I’ve always admired and respected, and he knows my audience. I couldn’t think of a better partnership. The acquisition has been a dream come true and I will now be able to see the xoNecole brand grow into the incredible platform I’ve always visualized it could be,” said Kane.

XoNecole will still be led by Kane, in addition to Will Packer Media co-founder and COO Alix Baudin.

Kane used instagram to express her gratitude following the official announcement.

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know the ups and downs. Lost both of my parents before I finished college. Slept on couch after couch, had job after job and finally landed success as a gossip blogger. But I knew that that wasn’t going to be the gist of my story and that wouldn’t define my legacy. And so I took the risk and left that celebrity gossip site in 2015. I risked everything not knowing what was on the other side. I launched a women’s lifestyle site @xonecole shortly afterward with hopes to create a platform that was empowering to young women. But soon after I found myself knee deep in struggle again, because my dreams were way bigger than my budget. It’s excruciating when you are feeling stuck because of the lack of resources to have a dream fully come to fruition. That’s most entrepreneurs daily struggle. If I haven’t learned anything in life, it’s that there will be a lot of risks before there are rewards. But as long as you stay the path, one day someone will enter your life that will restore all that you’ve lost. I didn’t know @willpowerpacker that well prior to this and so his call in January 2017 was unexpected. He was offering me an opportunity with his company, one that I didn’t have the confidence to do. But he stayed in touch and in June 2017, he told me he believed in what I was already doing, and he wanted to fund my dream. I cried on spot. As a father of four (two of them being teenage daughters) Will is extremely passionate about content that elevates young women of color. That is what stood out to me the most and why I knew that this was the best partnership for the brand. I want to thank everyone for the kind words and the tremendous amount of support! I’m still waking up every day wondering if it is all a dream. I have so much work ahead of me but I’m so ready. (Link in bio)

A post shared by Necole (@hellonecole) on Jan 18, 2018 at 9:16am PST