Atlantic Ventures Is on Pace to Bring in 10% of All Revenue

Atlantic Ventures, an internal unit of The Atlantic charged with launching business endeavors rooted in its journalism, is on pace to generate between 8% to 10% of the publisher’s total annual revenue, according to chief executive Nick Thompson. The publisher declined to offer precise financial figures. The Atlantic launched the in-house operation in late 2019, and it has since debuted three ventures, which generate revenue through a mix of sponsorship, ticketing and book sales, said Atlantic Ventures executive director Brad Girson. The publisher anticipates that the unit could generate between 10% to 15% of total revenue by the end of next year. The specialized business division, which counts only two dedicated staff but draws on the marketing and sales resources from the larger company, aims to offer the publisher opportunities to markedly diversify its sources of revenue. “We have two dominant sources of revenue at The Atlantic––advertising and subscriptions,” Girson said. “But the way we think about Atlantic Ventures is to start with the IP––an idea, essentially, which is what we’re famous for––then strip away everything else and try to imagine the most ambitious version of that idea.” The past few years have seen publishers devote more resources to developing multiple streams of revenue to avoid relying too heavily on any one line of business, an effort that the pandemic only accelerated. For most publishers, these endeavors look like variations on a theme: most involve selling advertising or subscriptions in some form or fashion. But Atlantic Ventures represents a more radical iteration of the concept and––if the experiment proves successful––it could expand the ways in which publishers coax new value out of their editorial. “Publishers have had all of their eggs in one basket––advertising––for too long,” said Ana Milicevic, the principal and cofounder of Sparrow Digital Holdings. “Now we are getting back to having multiple revenue sources that are unrelated to each other. That way, if advertising budgets dry up, publishers like The Atlantic will be less affected financially.” Atlantic Ventures’ current projects Atlantic Ventures launched its first project in February 2021, an ongoing editorial package focused on Black history called Inheritance. The software company Salesforce sponsored the inaugural venture, which includes plans to create a publicly accessible database containing the newly unearthed insights about Black ancestry. In April, Atlantic Ventures unveiled A Forest for the Trees, an immersive show in downtown Los Angeles envisioned by the artist Glenn Kaino, manifested by the design firm Superblue and sponsored by Mastercard. Visitors pay between $5 - $50 per ticket for a one-hour tour of the 28,000-foot space, which features animatronic trees, illusions of fire and sound sculptures. In May, the in-house incubator announced the launch of Atlantic Editions, a book imprint created in partnership with the independent publisher Zando. The new endeavor will publish a series of books by Atlantic journalists, including On Womanhood by Sophie Gilbert and On BTS by Lenika Cruz, as part of a larger push from the publisher to rekindle its reputation as a clearinghouse for literary coverage. Turning existing editorial into new business Atlantic Ventures hopes to launch two or three enterprises a year, though the nature of the concepts will largely dictate the cadence of their release, Girson said. The business unit declined to share an exact road map for its upcoming projects, but they will likely expand upon several preexisting series, including a new chapter of Inheritance and a build-out involving Planet, the climate change vertical The Atlantic launched in October 2020. Atlantic Ventures will also delve more deeply into its Progress initiative, a series from staff writer Derek Thompson, who writes a newsletter called Work in Progress. The Atlantic will host a Progress Summit in December, and Atlantic Ventures is exploring plans to host an event in 2023 that draws its inspiration from historical World’s Fairs. “For our next venture we could launch a video game or a restaurant––who knows what we’ll do,” Thompson said. “If we can find a business opportunity that ties in intellectually with our journalism, one where we can build a sustainable business model that helps our brand, that would be a venture.” The Atlantic Returns to In-Person Events With In Pursuit of Happiness Most publishers will lack the resources or internal structure to replicate a division like Atlantic Ventures, Milicevic said. But while the high barrier to entry makes the endeavor risky, it also makes it hard to replicate, allowing The Atlantic to use Ventures as a moat against competition. As in venture capital, one successful idea can justify a dozen misfires. Plus, for certain brands, the lure of novelty is irresistible. “The Atlantic is a premium publisher—and if you want to reach its audience of decision-makers, this is an unique way to do so,” Milicevic said.

Experiential Marketing

Atlantic Ventures Is on Pace to Bring in 10% of Total Revenue

The Atlantic's in-house incubator launched its third project in May

Mark Stenberg

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mark Stenberg