• by Sara Guaglione , June 29, 2020

Parade Media is extending its partnership with academic medical center Cleveland Clinic to produce more health and wellness content, as well as a survey on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle behaviors and attitudes.

“We are excited to build content around [the study] to help people navigate this new normal,” Lisa Delaney, Parade Media’s senior vice president-Chief Content Officer, told Publishers Daily.

The upcoming survey, which will likely be released in September, is the third “Healthy Now” national survey created by the two organizations — one was published in 2018 and another in 2019.

“The intent of the survey is really to find gaps in Americans’ knowledge and create content to help educate and inform them, because health is very confusing,” Delaney said.

Parade Media and Cleveland Clinic have had a content partnership since 2014, both in print and online. The partnership has continued to expand over the years, particularly on the digital side. Content is shared across both platforms and on social.

The two companies are continuing to experiment with different kinds of video on social, such as IGTV episodes and Facebook Live sessions around the results of the upcoming survey. 

Beginning last summer, Parade Media adopted a new strategy to grow its target audience of 25- to 44-year-old women, its most active audience on digital and social platforms.

A strategic brand refresh was launched in November. The site got a face-lift, with a new logo and updated mission statement: “Make Every Day Pop!” 

The company has been testing different kinds of content to discover what resonates with this audience.

“We are solutions-oriented across all of the verticals we cover,” Delaney said. “These are women looking for solutions, who are involved in the current conversation and aware of what’s happening in the world. They want to know how to do life better, and the little ways to win every day.”

It seems to be working: Parade.com reached a record 9.2 million unique visitors in April.

As of June 2020, the site had a 326% increase in unique visitors and had extended its 25-44 female audience by 355%, compared to the same period in 2019.  

With more families stuck at home, Parade’s audience was looking for content “to make quarantine more bearable,” such as how to find moments of self-care, what shows to watch, ways to stay connected to friends and family and keep kids busy at home.

“Our bread-and-butter content was exactly what people were looking for,” Delaney said.