It's one thing to have a health and fitness app, which Windows 8.1 does with its new Bing Health and Fitness app, but it's another thing entirely to give that app some extra content. Original video can spice up most any presentation—just ask most folks on Kickstarter—and with that in mind, Microsoft turned to American Media Inc. (AMI) for a little help in giving the Bing Health and Fitness app that kind of special punch that can only be engaged with original video.
The Bing Health and Fitness app certainly isn't wanting when it comes to features, as it will not only provide a way to monitor diet and exercise information, but it will also help provide some insights into basic personal health matters. With nutrition information and medical tracking tools included in the mix, the functionality portion of the app was certainly well in place. But there was yet room for improvement, as Microsoft looked to AMI for content to add in.
Given that AMI runs such brands as “Men's Fitness,” “Muscle & Fitness,” and “Shape,” as well as several digital celebrity news outlets, it makes a note of sense to have AMI running the content side of things. It will provide said content from those previously listed publications, but will also create original video specifically for the app itself. AMI's Joe Bilman, who serves as executive vice president, chief digital officer and global head of business development, offered up some comments on the issue, saying “Original video is an important and growing piece of our digital platform. We are delighted to contribute our expertise toward the health benefits that the Bing Health and Fitness app will provide.”
It's the eternal struggle of exercise and proper diet: everyone knows these things should be done, but if said things are not enjoyable, said things will not be enduring parts of an everyday routine. When a donut is the high point of a person's morning, telling that person how super important it is to eat right will fall on deaf ears. When that person comes home at night exhausted from a day at work, telling that person how super important it is to get out and exercise will also likely fall flat. Behavior changes are almost like sales pitches: the value of doing these things needs to be greater than not doing these things, and telling people that the payoff won't hit for 30 years, if ever, just doesn't have the necessary value proposition.
Original video, however, can have a desirable effect, assuming the video is sufficiently engaging. If people can enjoy the video and the articles, and get more immediate benefit out of proper diet and exercise, then the chances of that becoming a part of users' lives increases to match. Throw in wearable technology geared toward exercise and it becomes possible to deliver content while on the move, a possibility that improves likelihood of use further. AMI's new line of original video may not get everyone off the couch—there's a lot of original video out there, after all—but it may get some interested where those individuals would not have been interested before.
Edited by
Alisen Downey
