AdExchanger Why The Economist Is An AI Outlier
Dec 9, 2025
Nada Arnott, EVP of Marketing at The Economist, brings a wealth of experience from her background in policy and media. She discusses the publication's unique strategy in navigating the AI landscape, opting for partnerships like Anthropic’s Claude, rather than pursuing licensing deals. Nada emphasizes the importance of accountable brand marketing and engaging subscribers through varied formats like podcasts and live events. She also shares insights on the resurgence of physical formats and the need for media trust amid changing digital dynamics.
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Test Creatives Before You Buy Media
- Test creatives extensively with your target and emerging audiences before launch and let data decide creatives.
- Use media mix modeling and incrementality to feed learnings into subsequent media planning cycles.
Premium Placements Signal Credibility
- Out-of-home and premium placements convey perceived credibility and premiumness that crowded programmatic often cannot.
- Nada argues billboards and TV create serendipitous, higher-value brand impressions compared with noisy digital inventory.
Position As The Considered Source
- The Economist positions itself as a considered, context-driven publication rather than a headline breaker.
- It preserves its tone of intellectual wit while broadening appeal to younger and more gender-balanced audiences.