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NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP), the leading multi-platform media company reaching nearly 95 percent of all women in the U.S., announced the launch today of its first Spanish-language Alexa Skill, Mi Afirmación del Día, from its Health brand in partnership with People en Español. The interactive voice skill, whose English-language version My Daily Mindset debuted in September, marks the company's fifth Alexa Skill, joining Allrecipes, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple Relax and Successful Farming Live, and is the latest addition to the Meredith Audio & Voice Network. As part of its overall commitment to expanding its audio and voice offerings, Meredith is scheduled to introduce the new InStyle Ladies First podcast in early December, as well as PEOPLE Every Day, which is set for an early 2021 release.
"Designed and built entirely by a group of multi-cultural women, Mi Afirmación del Día exemplifies the kind of inclusive products Meredith is committed to producing to reach and reflect our existing and new Spanish-language audiences. We're also delighted to be among the first Alexa Skills to incorporate some of the latest technical features from Amazon, as we continue to increase our audio and voice offerings across our portfolio," said Catherine Levene, President and Chief Digital Officer at Meredith Digital.
Monique Manso, Publisher of People en Español, commented, "As the English-speaking My Daily Mindset strikes a chord with an increasing number of customers since its debut, we're thrilled to broaden the availability with this new Spanish-language version. As a company reaching a multicultural audience of nearly 60 million, People en Español's parent company, Meredith, is committed to serving this demographic by delivering an essential and inspiring utility during this unprecedented holiday season."
Since My Daily Mindset's launch, Meredith has seen a steady increase in its user base, with average 20% week-over-week growth, according to internal data. One in five users (over 20%) are opting in to receive additional content and updates via text, and the skill has a 4.5/5 rating in the Skill Store.
"We know that the Latinx community disproportionately suffers from anxiety and mental health issues, so offering this bilingual experience is a relevant and meaningful way to address the emotional well-being of this growing audience. Inclusivity across communities was a key driver of Mi Afirmación del Día's development and will continue to be the focus of this unique and indispensable offering," added Peachy-Jean Retizos, Senior Manager, Innovation of Meredith.
Here are more details about the new and soon-to-launch voice offerings:
Mi Afirmación del Día and My Daily Mindset Alexa Skill
Meredith's first Spanish-language Alexa Skill, Mi Afirmación del Día, from its Health brand in partnership with People en Español, is the interactive voice skill whose English-language version is My Daily Mindset. My Daily Mindset, accessible here, launched in early September.
BuiIt in partnership with Meredith's voice agency, Skilled Creative, the Alexa Skill features a 14-day affirmation journey designed to help users focus on happier, healthier thoughts. The experience offers a simple, guided introduction to the practice and benefits of daily affirmations. Users can explore each day's theme, such as positivity, resilience or letting go of the past, and can then practice by repeating and internalizing an affirmation, listening to a daily wellness tip and opting in to receive related content and reminders via text. Users can say, "Alexa, open My Daily Mindset" to any Amazon Echo speaker or Alexa-enabled device, for new daily content.
My Daily Mindset is one of the first wellness experiences to leverage Alexa's bilingual capability in the U.S. The language used to request the Skill determines the version (English or Spanish) a user is served, from the audio content to the visuals. Alexa Quick Links allows users to immediately enable and activate the Skill in their preferred language on nearby devices with one click. Additionally, Name Free Invocations (NFI) allows users to discover the Skill organically through common search queries.
For more information on My Daily Mindset, access this link.
InStyle Ladies First Podcast
Scheduled to launch on December 1, InStyle's inaugural Ladies First podcast will feature intimate weekly interviews between Editor in Chief Laura Brown and A-list guests, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Naomi Watts and Cynthia Erivo. Ladies First celebrates the brave, kind and curious women who are making a real difference and getting things done. The initial schedule covers 15 episodes ranging in length from 20 to 30 minutes.
PEOPLE Every Day Podcast
Co-produced with iHeartRadio, the new, daily (Monday-Friday) podcast, set to launch in early 2021, will cover breaking news from Hollywood, remarkable stories of real people and the latest Royals updates. Each 20- to 30-minute episode will bring the PEOPLE newsroom to life, keeping listeners in the know on stories spanning celebrity, true crime, human interest, style, pets, beauty and more. PEOPLE Every Day will be distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network.
About Meredith's National Media Group (NMG)
Engaging 95 percent of American women across every stage and every day of their lives, Meredith's National Media Group is home to 40+ iconic brands, including PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Southern Living, REAL SIMPLE and Magnolia Journal. The company provides trusted content and experiences that resonate with a massive, highly-receptive audience reaching consumers where they are across digital, magazines, social platforms, video, audio and connected home assistants. Meredith's powerful brands have enabled the company to become the No. 2 licensor globally, including more than 3,500 SKUs of branded products at Walmart. Meredith's businesses also include leading affinity marketer Synapse, award-winning creative content studio Foundry, and the Meredith Data Studio, whose proprietary first-party data and insights are leveraged for National Media Group offerings.
SOURCE Meredith Corporation
