• by April 13, 2005

Is there any doubt that consumers are taking issues of health and wellness into their own hands? Between diets, fitness programs, and chronic disease management, there is a wealth of credible information on the Web. WebMD, for starters, is a great resource for consumers, physicians, and other health providers. In matters of health, the Web has been a great enabler.

The health segment may be heating up. This week, iVillage announced its acquisition of HealthCentersOnline, a publisher of Web specialty sites on medical matters. The $12 million deal comes on the heels of the site's acquisition of Healthology, which has an online video library on health topics, earlier this year.

As it happened, the Minute yesterday visited with Riley McDonough, the former vice president of advertising sales at ESPN.com, who's now senior vice president, consumer markets for WebMD. He's responsible for building ad sales for all non-pharmaceutical categories, capitalizing on his strengths at ESPN in the auto, technology, and retail sectors.

Of course, now he's calling on consumer packaged goods marketers that have a vested interest in promoting healthy lifestyles. In fact, McDonough is in Minneapolis today visiting with General Mills and other consumer packaged goods advertisers. He's stoked to be in a growing category doing what he loves best - promoting the online medium. He has seven salespeople reporting to him; he hired two of those seven and is about to make a third hire who will be based in Chicago.

WebMd is not only online though. It's launched a new magazine. The April/May issue, its first, features Brooke Shields on the cover and a story about how she coped with post-partum depression. The magazine, a complement to the brand's online presence, has a circulation of 2 million and is distributed in doctors' offices. Like its online sibling, it too is interactive, offering quizzes and plenty of opportunities for self-assessment.

Commenting on the iVillage acquisition, McDonough says, "it validates the fact that health-related news and information is extraordinarily valuable to consumers" and adds that WebMD, which is also the health channel of AOL, is actively eyeing potential acquisitions as well as content and distribution partnerships. The site is already a primary source of health content for FoxNews.com and has relationships with CBS.com for health news headlines and PsychologyToday.com.