Up-to-the-minute Covid-19 coverage and in-depth analysis continues to drive New Zealand Herald audiences to record levels, but Kiwis are also loving high quality lifestyle content.
NZ Herald Head of Premium and Magazines Miriyana Alexander says: “The fun stuff, the nifty recipes, the lockdown lifehacks, the practical ideas to help solve some of lockdown’s more irritating challenges – they’re all grabbing the attention of readers alongside the latest outbreak numbers, lockdown predictions and virus trackers.”
Cheese puff recipes, chocolate bar surveys, celebrity lockdown looks and exercise guides may not be hard news stories, but they’re helping drive rocketing audience numbers across NZME’s digital, social, audio and print platforms.
Alexander says: “Our five-ingredient cheese puff recipe has gone crazy, as has a really simple lockdown lemon bar recipe.”
Celebrity-based content like Hilary Barry’s “Formal Friday” and ZM’s Clint Roberts survey to find Kiwis’ favourite chocolate bar are proving popular across online and social channels too. Over 400,000 people voted for their favourite chocolate bar in Roberts’ Instagram survey.
Alexander adds: “Kiwis are also after a bit of escapism. With so many of us stuck at home, some with families, some with flatmates and some on our own – we’re all without the usual de-stressing that comes with getting out and about. That probably explains why our story on the best supermarket items for a lockdown pamper session has proven popular too.”
In 2020 the Herald and NZME’s regional titles expanded their crosswords and puzzles sections, and, after popular demand, they’ve done the same this time around.
EatWell, Travel and Viva are performing at peak levels – EatWell is seeing session uplifts of over 100 percent per day on July’s average, with increases of up to 22 percent to Travel and 55 percent to Viva.
