With a new single out from her forthcoming album, a book partly about her own life just optioned for a docuseries she’ll produce and a new baby daughter to parent, Paris Hilton is plenty busy as it is. But she’s also nearly three years into launching her own company, 11:11 Media, along with co-founder Bruce Gersh, who serves as president and chief operating office. The pair stopped by Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit last week to talk about jugging it all and the future outlook for a venture Hilton prides herself on keeping on the cutting edge.
11:11 Media is comprised of three different areas of business, each of which feed off each other in a flywheel effect: content, community and commerce. For instance, the vast audience she commands across social platforms drives sales for the products she supports, such as the 500 million social impressions her “Be an Icon” cookware line for Walmart has generated to date.
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“I feel that everything I do is very authentic to me,” said Hilton on the latest episode of Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast. “I would not put my name on a product unless it’s something that I love, and it’s so exciting to me. I always had a dream of having a perfume and now I’m about to release my 30th fragrance this year.”
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11:11 Media secured $20 million in brand sponsorships in the first quarter 2024, according to Gersh. Sold out on Ulta.com within the first eight hours, the Tan-Luxe product Hilton endorsed continued to sell out three more times during launch week.
Earlier this month, Hilton began appearing in commercials for Tan-Luxe that spoofed artificial intelligence, a technology that Gersh says they are taking very seriously both as investors, where 11:11 Media has been aggressive across a range of cutting-edge technology categories, as well as how they plan on utilizing AI to capitalize on Hilton’s likeness and voice.
“We’re very, very cautious and we agree that we have to partner with people that are going to protect Paris,” said Gersh.
The latest example of content where 11:11 Media has been active is the book Hilton just optioned last week, “Toxic: Women, Fame and the Tabloid 2000s,” which she aims to produce as a docuseries.
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“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.
