• by Melynda Fuller , January 7, 2020

 

Meredith Corp. brands Health, Better Homes & Gardens, Travel + Leisure, People and Food & Wine and Ford Motor Company are featuring women making their mark in male-dominated fields through a campaign called “The New Power Suit.”

The campaign takes a multiplatform approach with content appearing across digital, social, video and in the January 2020 print editions. As part of its print approach, full-page ads designed as covers will appear on each of the five titles, accompanied by a story on the woman featured in that issue.

Health features Claressa Shields, a professional athlete known for her physical strength and opinions, while Better Homes & Gardens features Cynthia Flanigan, who worked with a team of female research engineers and scientists to develop a sustainable soy-based foam now used in vehicle seating.

Kellee Edwards appears on the cover of Travel + Leisure and talks about her life as a licensed pilot and travel journalist. People features Patrice Banks, a woman who provides valuable information about cars to women. Finally, Food & Wine’s cover and story focuses on Suchanan Askornnan, a chef-restaurateur creating her own brand of Southeast Asian cuisine.

The campaign was produced by a team composed exclusively of women across Ford Motor Company, ad agency GTB and Meredith.

News of the campaign comes as Meredith reports a spike in audience reach for several of its brands in addition to new top hires.

According to a new report from MRI-Simmons, based on fall 2019 numbers and released last December, Better Homes & Gardens is now ranked No. 1 in reach among female readers, while People ranked No. 1 in reach across women millennials, women Latinas, moms and adult millennials and No. 2 among adult Latinos and adult readers. People en Espanol ranked No. 1 in reach of adult Latinos.

The report also revealed Meredith Corp lead in advertising sales, taking a nearly 50% share of market relative to competitive lifestyle brands. According to the report, Meredith’s share of market versus competitors rose from 44.4% to 48.3% from July to November  2019. During the same period, the industry’s share of market increased from 34.7% to 36.8%.

"These strong, robust audience and advertising increases reinforce the demand and relevance of our brands from consumers and advertisers alike," stated Doug Olson, president, Meredith Magazines.

Fourteen Meredith brands also reported a gain in audience compared to the same period in 2018, per the report. Notably, Allrecipes increased its audience by 26%, EatingWell by 15% and People en Espanol by 15%.

Among its new hires, Meredith Corp. announced Marissa O’Hare is taking on the role of general manager of Entertainment Weekly. O’Hare joins Meredith following previous roles at the New York Post, where she served as senior vice president of digital strategy, and Wenner Media, where she was senior director of audience development.

Miranda Van Gelder has been named executive editor of Parents. She previously served as special projects director of Family Circle, food and lifestyle director of Dr. Oz The Good Life and deputy editor at Martha Stewart Living.