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DES MOINES, Iowa and NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.Meredith.com), the nation's largest brand-powered food, lifestyle and entertainment media company, engaging over 175 million unduplicated American consumers every month, is launching Meredith Innovation Group, the company's new business unit focused on innovation and consumer product development which includes Meredith Product Studio, as well as new consumer products, such as Meredith Voice Network and Meredith Smart Codes, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week.

• Meredith Product Studio brings together the company's first-party data and insights, editorial authority, retail prowess and creative expertise to help partners rapidly design and develop innovative direct-to-consumer products. The Meredith Product Studio rapidly iterates design and creative concepts with The Foundry, Meredith's in-house creative and content agency, enabling brand partners to reach new markets and achieve growth with new products.
• Meredith Voice Network bundles a portfolio of voice and audio experiences based on Meredith's premium editorial content and consumer utilities for advertisers. Meredith Voice Network captures the fast-growing audience for voice experiences across Meredith's more than 40 websites, social media and leading podcast platforms, as well as voice assistants, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
• Meredith Smart Codes apply QR code technology to enable readers to use their smartphones to scan magazine pages across the Meredith portfolio and connect to a wide range of digital experiences while generating enhanced ad performance and attribution data for advertisers.

"Everything we do at Meredith is founded on our deep, proprietary consumer data and insights, and these new offerings extend the value, utility and reach of our brand portfolio," said Jon Werther, President of Meredith National Media Group. "We continue to enable cross-platform experiences, including print-to-purchase experiences unlocked through Meredith Smart Codes, and extend our trusted content for busy, time-strapped consumers whenever and wherever they are, including smart speakers and on smartphones."

Corbin deRubertis, Head of Innovation for Meredith, commented, "Launching Meredith Product Studio is a significant and natural next step for our business. We have enormous scale, the marketing and advertising know-how, and the proven editorial expertise and insights necessary to help launch successful consumer products in collaboration with our marketing partners."

You can view these new products and other experiences at the Meredith Innovation Studio at CES today through Thursday, January 10 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. To arrange a visit or preview, please contact innovation@meredith.com.

ABOUT MEREDITH PRODUCT STUDIO 

Meredith Product Studio is a new business unit focusing on innovation and consumer product development. Leveraging the company's world-class editorial expertise and first-party data and insights across leading consumer verticals, including beauty, food, lifestyle, home and parenting, Meredith Product Studio designs, develops, markets and sells a range of consumer products and services in partnership with Meredith National Media Group clients. Upon identifying consumer-facing product opportunities for Meredith clients, Meredith Product Studio rapidly iterates design and creative concepts with The Foundry, Meredith's in-house creative and content agency, enabling clients to get to market quickly and meet ever-changing consumer demands. Backed by Meredith's in-house and partner product licensing organization (Meredith is the world's second-largest product licensor after Disney), Meredith's fast-growing direct-to-consumer revenue group and the company's unparalleled marketing reach enables brand partners to reach new markets and achieve growth with new products.

ABOUT MEREDITH VOICE NETWORK

Meredith Voice Network unlocks many new opportunities for advertisers to participate in voice—currently the fastest-growing search media type (according to Gartner: https://bit.ly/2A9OHhQ). It translates the company's premium editorial articles into a variety of voice experiences accessible via Meredith's owned-and-operated sites, popular social media platforms and leading podcast platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, iHeartRadio and smart speakers, including Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The network represents an audience of more than 45 million listeners or 20% of the US population. The Meredith Voice Network is also currently developing a range of Meredith brand-based, AI-powered voice "skills" (via Amazon Alexa applications) and "actions" (via Google Assistant applications). These skills and actions will enable consumers to experience content, utility and commerce in areas like health and wellness with SHAPE and in entertainment with "The Must List" with Entertainment Weekly.

ABOUT MEREDITH SMART CODES

Meredith Smart Codes unite print and digital media, enabling a wide range of print-to-digital and print-to-purchase experiences directly from the pages in Meredith's magazine portfolio. Recent changes to iPhone and Android operating systems have made it possible for users to scan QR codes directly from smartphone cameras, eliminating the need for code-scanning applications. By scanning Meredith Smart Codes, users will be able to launch voice experiences, view products in augmented reality, purchase products via e-commerce, play videos and visit brand sites while generating valuable new opportunities and attribution data for advertisers. One such experience is Visual Search, which extends the print-to-digital experience for consumers, enabling them to use their smartphone cameras as a search tool.

ABOUT MEREDITH CORPORATION

Meredith's National Media Group reaches more than 175 million unduplicated American consumers every month, including over 80 percent of U.S. millennial women. Meredith is a leader in creating content across media platforms and life stages in key consumer interest areas, such as entertainment, food, lifestyle, parenting and home. Meredith is the No. 1 magazine operator in the U.S. and owner of the largest premium content digital network for American consumers. Meredith's leading national brands include PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, Allrecipes, REAL SIMPLE, Southern Living and Martha Stewart Living. Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities, including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 4,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. and at  walmart.com. Meredith's National Media Group also includes leading affinity marketer Synapse and The Foundry, the company's state-of-the-art creative lab and content studio.

SOURCE Meredith Corporation