From Magazines To Microcurrent: Beauty Editor Jamie Rosen Joins Device Brand Ziip Beauty

Jamie Rosen, beauty director at the magazine Town & Country, is joining Ziip Beauty as director of strategy and partnerships to refine messaging and generate buzz for the surging electrical skincare device specialist.

The veteran editor, who spent eight years at W prior to Town & Country, isn’t completely leaving the media industry behind when she steps into her new position Monday. Starting September, she will spearhead a monthly Town & Country column called Power Regimens examining how people approach beauty, health and wellness in the modern age.

“I’m keeping my toe in the water there, but I felt ready to do something else. With Ziip in particular, I’m such a believer in what they’re doing, and I see so much growth for the company in the next couple of years, that it’s a really exciting opportunity,” says Rosen. “It’s a great way to bring my skills at an editor to work on brand storytelling.”

Melanie Simon, the renowned aesthetician and co-founder of Ziip Beauty, says she’s long admired Rosen and hoped to work with her. “Jamie was the first person that ever featured me in my career. She was my last deskside out of 20 desksides in a day, and I will never forget it. I will never forget her grace and how she treated me,” she recounts. “She sat and listened to my story, was interested and asked great questions. I’ve always had so much respect for her.”

Rosen comes to Ziip Beauty as the brand is increasing investment in digital content and advertising. To date, Simon details Ziip Beauty has largely relied on public relations and store events to spread the word about its merchandise. The efforts have helped drive direct-to-consumer revenues that account for 40% of Ziip Beauty’s total turnover, but its goal is for those revenues to climb to 50% of the total. Industry sources project the brand could reach $5 million to $7 million in sales this year across direct and retail distribution.

“Our message is a really hard one to get out there because there are actually many messages. There’s the science. There’s me. There’s the app that controls the device,” explains Simon. “As we grow, it’s important to target many different demographics through many mediums and have one person oversee everything to make sure it’s all synchronized. Jamie is perfect because that’s exactly what she did, she just did it on glossy paper.”

In her glossy paper role, Rosen hasn’t been concentrating on digital marketing, but she underscores the job of an editor today has expanded to untraditional duties relevant to brand building. “Editors are tasked with many things. I was working on Town & Country as a brand as much as I was an editor and writer. I was hosting events and working with the publishing side,” she says. “Those activities put you in a business frame of mind, which is something that beauty editors do anyway. As a beauty editor, I’ve always been interested in the business side of beauty.”

Ziip Beauty isn’t done hiring. David Mason, Simon’s partner at the brand, notes Ziip Beauty’s team currently includes six full-time employees supplemented by the labor of six to eight people not on staff, but deeply involved in operations. He estimates the staff roster could rise to 12 members to handle and leverage the growth Ziip Beauty is experiencing.

Mason reveals Ziip Beauty’s sales for the first quarter of this year quadrupled sales from the same period a year ago – and he doesn’t expect the velocity to slow. “We are growing organically and at a thoughtful pace, and there is a lot of merit to that for a sustainable company as opposed to getting cash and burning through it quickly,” he says. The brand is found at around 25 stores, notably Barneys New York, Anthropologie, Violet Grey, Cult Beauty and Net-a-Porter.

Simon mentions Ziip Beauty has held off collaborations as it focused on “coping with growth,” but she’s looking forward to Rosen evaluating potential partnerships in order to pursue affiliations that make sense. “Partnerships can mean many different things, so it’s about exploring them on limited and longer-term levels,” says Rosen. “The device itself and the way you use it is already a connected experience. Building out content around the site, app and social is necessary to engage people on a consistent basis.”