The innovation team at La Voz de Galicia met with a large group of young people between the ages of 15 and 35 to find out if they wanted information on mental health, nutrition, and wellness.

The unanimous answer was, “Yes.”

Next, we asked if they read about these issues on any news site, and once again, their answer was unanimous. But this time, they said, “No.”

We wanted to know where they get their information, so we started looking and found several sources and many different social media accounts — but no reliable references. This was the seed that started growing The Health Curious Gen, the launching campaign for La Voz de la Salud (LVS), a vertical dedicated to health, wellness, and nutrition at La Voz de Galicia.

To get to know us, our context is important, as well as the reasons behind our birth.

La Voz de Galicia, a regional Galician newspaper with over 141 years of history, is the third best-selling newspaper in Spain. During the pandemic, it played a key role, becoming a benchmark for health information. But half of its audience is between the ages of 54 and 64.

What was happening with Gen Z and Millennials? Where were they? Their growing interest in caring for themselves is unquestionable. Why not help them do it?

We analysed the best health information Web sites at both a national and an international level, as well as the most-followed social media accounts dedicated to this genre of content.

Our first conclusion was that no one was meeting that need. The content in this area was aimed at health personnel, had information that was of little interest to the general public, or had health Web sites aimed at mass audiences with little presence in social conversation.

On social media, the largest accounts are centred around a single medical speciality. Very few of them can rigorously encompass all the different content that surrounds health.

Setting goals 

The first goals for LVS were clear: to attract readers under the age of 35 while, at the same time, upgrading our offer for all subscribers, regardless of their age, as health content is also in high demand by them.

Our goals were to attract and retain our faithful readers. We knew we wanted to do this; we just needed to put together the puzzle.

The first step was building a different newsroom with young, multiplatform-savvy journalists who were passionate about all issues related to health. They would be the epicentre of the project. Still, we also needed to build a network with the best experts in each field, backed by all the medical and scientific societies at a national level, as well as experts from outside our borders.

The next challenge was to adapt to all possible formats and to be able to “translate” our content to Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, video, podcast, and a newsletter. Each piece of content and each format is conceived in this newsroom by multidisciplinary journalists.

The content also needed to make a significant difference and to have its own brand in terms of image and narrative. Additionally, all of our information had to be quality checked by specialists; the more voices we could include, the better. We wanted extensive pieces with clear, direct, and pleasant language.

Turning ideas into action

In just one year, we have built a 360º brand known by the most faithful readers of La Voz de Galicia, those who purchase our newspapers daily. It is also known by our young TikTok and Instagram followers and the thousands of people who read our vertical or receive our newsletter.

Right now, La Voz de la Salud is one of the most-read health-specialised media in Spain, and it has been among the top three for the past five months.

In addition to the objective audience data, we have built a young brand in social media. Our TikTok channel has become a reference for health information for Gen Z, with over 170,000 followers. Our Instagram account has over 11,000 followers. This — combined with a clear commitment to new narratives with videos, podcasts, and a weekly newsletter — complete an informative offer with a quality seal endorsed by different medical and scientific organisations.

Thanks to this commitment, we have received national journalistic awards from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology, the Spanish Society of Rheumatology, and the Spanish Society of Cardiology, among others.

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