Waterfront Poaches About.com's Head of Health

Health content authority Marjorie Martin is leaving her position as SVP and GM at About.com, to take up the same role at Waterfront Media. The health game is heating up online as large media brands such as Time swoop in to tap the promising pharmaceutical ad market.

Privately owned Waterfront currently publishes a plethora of health titles, including EveryDayHealth.com and Drugs.com, and has partnerships with ABC Network and Random House.

“This was really a great opportunity for me,” Martin told ClickZ News. “Waterfront Media is a company growing at tremendous speed, and it was looking for someone who could help continue that momentum.”

About.com announced in 2006 that it was focusing heavily on building out its health and fitness content, for which Martin was responsible.

A number of players have since expanded their offerings in the field. For instance, Time Inc. plans to re-launch its health brand next week through its new Health.com destination, and Microsoft launched its Health Vault in beta format late last year, monetized by its Health Search Portal. In addition, Yahoo implied earlier this month it intends to expand its health content further.

“Health is an area experiencing huge audience growth, and there are great opportunities for advertisers as a result. Promoting health products online is often a far more efficient buy,” said Martin.

According to Waterfront, EveryDayHealth.com launched in 2006 with over 3 million registered users, all of which customized their personal content, making it a targeted opportunity for advertisers.

New York Times-owned About.com could not reveal details of a replacement for Martin, who said herself that she was not aware of one. Martin begins with Waterfront on May 27.

Waterfront Media announced the appointment of former iVillage Chairman and CEO Doug McCormick as its new chairman of the board earlier this week. Some speculate that the Waterfront is readying an IPO.