Some publishers are striking licensing deals with large-language model developers. Others are suing them. Some publishers are doing both.
The Economist is doing none of the above.
And that’s intentional, says Nada Arnot, EVP of marketing at the 182-year-old publisher, speaking on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
At best, publishers that partner with LLMs are being short sighted, she says. At worst, they’re making deals with the devil.
“I’m worried for them – I truly am,” Arnot says. “Maybe that’s ‘famous last words’ and I’ll sound like a Luddite in five years time, but I am worried for them, because until there’s a strong value exchange – whether it be revenue or traffic or brand – there isn’t a lot that you’re getting in return by striking those deals.”
Referral traffic is vanishing and, with it, the connection between publishers and their readers.
“You don’t want to give all your content to LLMs because, as soon as you do, you can’t take it back,” Arnot says. “You’re also fracturing the relationship between the reader and the publisher brand.”
Which is why it’s a little surprising that, in October, The Economist went with Anthropic’s Claude as the launch sponsor for Insider, its new video offering featuring high-profile interviews and editors in real newsroom debates.
The Economist was very clear with Anthropic from the beginning that their partnership would have no impact on the tone of its coverage – “and they were okay with it,” Arnot says.
“They, like many other brands, like to align with The Economist because we’re a fair, balanced journalistic outlet,” she says. “A lot of brands appreciate that, even if it means sometimes we might say something that is not as favorable for them.”
Also in this episode: Refreshing MMM and econometric models every six months to make sure every dollar is incremental, the importance of understanding both the revenue-generating and brand-building aspects of marketing and what The Economist is doing to reach a younger demographic while still keeping true to its core audience. Plus: fun facts about Iceland (and an Icelandic movie recommendation).
