Advertising: Campbell Bets on the Wisdom of a Child

Campbell Bets on the Wisdom of a Child

RECENTLY, the Campbell Soup Company has tried to figure out what, if any, role the cherubic, chubby-cheeked brand characters known as the Campbell Kids ought to play in marketing its flagship condensed soups in the red-and-white cans.

Updates to give the decades-old characters slimmer silhouettes and more contemporary looks were met with dismay among nostalgic older consumers and shrugs from younger consumers.

In a multimedia campaign that begins this week, Campbell Soup has decided to shelve the venerable brand mascots in favor of a modern-day boy, age around 8, who advises parents on what to feed their hungry offspring.

In a nod to the Campbell Kids, the new character is named the Wisest Kid in the Whole World; in another element of continuity, the campaign keeps the longtime brand theme, “M’m! M’m! Good!”

Executives at Campbell Soup and BBDO New York, the agency creating the campaign, dismiss suggestions that the name is evocative of the Most Interesting Man in the World, the popular brand character for Dos Equis beer. Rather, they say, the young guru is meant to personify the appetite that boys and girls have for Campbell’s condensed soups, like chicken noodle and tomato, as well as remind parents that a bowl of hot soup makes an appealing alternate meal to youthful favorites like fast food and pizza.

“Who knows more about what kids like than kids?” Ed Carolan, president for United States retail at Campbell Soup in Camden, N.J., asked.

“Moms and dads still struggle with what we call the real-time dilemma at mealtime: they want to be happy about what their kids eat, but the kids have to like it,” Mr. Carolan said. “Soup is an option they’ll feel good about serving to the kids, and the kids are happy.”

Morgan Seamark, executive vice president and senior director at BBDO New York â€" part of the BBDO North America division of BBDO Worldwide, owned by the Omnicom Group â€" said: “Parents have more options than ever to feed their kids. Maybe soup fell down the list of potential things to serve. We want to remind moms and dads that kids love Campbell’s soups. If you want to know what kids really like, don’t guess or make an assumption; ask a kid, and not just any kid, ask the Wisest Kid in the Whole World.”

The character is appearing in commercials along with print and online ads and will be featured on an app and at events. He will also have a presence in social media like blogs, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter.

In addition to peddling what Campbell Soup calls its eating soups â€" heritage products like chicken noodle and newcomers like three soups with Super Mario Brothers shapes (“Achieve many levels of deliciousness,” the Wisest Kid says) â€" the character appears in ads with recipes for cooking soups like cream of mushroom; in one ad, for potpies made with cream of chicken soup, he asks, “What is the sound of one mouth watering?”

Plans call for the ads to be the largest single campaign within a category of Campbell Soup business lines known as U.S. soup and simple meals. The company spent $200.9 million last year on ads for soup in major media, according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP, compared with $229.9 million in 2011; those figures include spending on other soups in addition to condensed, among them ready-to-serve.

In the 2014 fiscal year, which began on July 29, Campbell Soup intends to increase its total marketing spending to $440 million to $450 million, compared with about $400 million in the 2013 fiscal year.

Although Campbell Soup has embarked on a diversification strategy, making acquisitions like Plum Organics and bringing out new products like V8 Complete Nutrition Bars, soup still is its biggest business line, accounting for about 36 percent of total sales. After struggling to turn around declines in demand for its mainstay condensed soups, the company has begun to see signs of progress; in the 2013 fiscal year, which ended on July 28, sales of the red-and-white soups rose 2 percent compared with the 2012 fiscal year.

“It’s a growing business,” Mr. Carolan said, and the new campaign has a “springboard to build on that momentum.”

The Wisest Kid campaign replaces ads, carrying the theme “It’s amazing what soup can do,” that were created by BBDO New York and Y&R New York, part of the Y&R unit of the Young & Rubicam Group, owned by WPP. Y&R New York is now focused on creating ads for new products like Campbell’s Go soups in pouches, which are aimed at millennial consumers in their 20s and 30s.

Other agencies working on the Wisest Kid campaign, in addition to BBDO New York, include Proximity Worldwide, the digital arm of BBDO Worldwide; MEC, part of the GroupM unit of WPP, for media services; and Weber Shandwick, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, for public relations.

The new brand mascot may be wise, but he is certainly not a wiseguy or wiseacre. Unlike the smart-aleck children who appear in packaged-food ads from mainstream marketers like the Kraft Foods Group, the low-key humor in the Wisest Kid ads reflects the more traditional corporate personality of Campbell Soup.

“We want to make sure the kid is not annoying,” Mr. Seamark said, adding that the campaign was intended to be lighthearted. Mr. Carolan concurred, saying: “Mealtime is fun. Food is fun.”

In another way, however, the campaign takes an up-to-date approach, by portraying fathers as well as mothers as family meal-makers. That “is designed to reflect the modern face of America,” Mr. Seamark said.

Media Agency to Host Event for Branded Content

A media agency is hosting an ambitious daylong event that is meant to make it easier for Madison Avenue and Hollywood to cooperate on the creation of so-called branded content, entertainment programming that has embedded or integrated advertising.

The event, to be held on Tuesday, is expected to bring together about 35 marketers and a dozen content creators. The marketers are to include blue-chip names like Clorox, FedEx, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, J. C. Penney, Pepsico, State Farm and Wells Fargo.

The content creators are to include Awesomeness TV, part of DreamWorks Animation SKG; BabyFirstTV; Maker Studios; Revolt TV, from Sean Combs; and Viacom.

The event is being sponsored by OMD, part of the Omnicom Media Group division of the Omnicom Group, and its marketer clients are to attend. OMD executives have given the event the puckish name of the Final Front, playing on the names for the advance sales of commercial time on television and online, known as the upfronts and the Digital Content NewFronts.

Although “the name is meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek,” said Claudia Cahill, chief content officer at OMD, the goal of the event is serious, “to give our clients a broad swath of opportunities, and some tangible concepts, to go into the market with in 2014.”

Branded content, also called branded entertainment and content marketing, is growing in popularity as advertisers seek ways to work around consumers’ penchant for zipping through or zapping most traditional types of pitches like TV commercials. But branded content usually requires more planning and effort to develop and produce than a 30-second spot, and the long lead times often work against such projects.

The Final Front event is intended to help ease that bottleneck, Ms. Cahill said, because “too often, these clients don’t get to make a decision on big creative ideas.”

The event, being held at the DreamWorks Animation SKG office in Glendale, Calif., is being styled like an auction. After each content creator makes a 15-minute presentation of potential projects, the marketers in the room can hold up a paddle marked “Plan,” signaling a willingness to plan a project with that company, or a paddle marked “Brief,” signaling a lack of enthusiasm for what was presented but a desire to brief that company to come up with another idea.

(Or the marketers could hold up no paddles at all. At least there is a luncheon scheduled after the presentations, along with cocktails later on.)

“I’m excited about this, and here’s why: It’s difficult to put the right message in front of the right consumer,” said Tim Van Hoof, assistant vice president for marketing communications at State Farm.

“The opportunities to bring brands naturally into the content, with no interruption to the consumer, are a great way to deliver content,” he added.

In the 1950s and 1960s, State Farm was among many marketers that sponsored branded content on television; some viewers can still remember how the company’s sales spiels during “The Jack Benny Program” on CBS were seamlessly stitched into episodes of the show. That was enabled by season-long sponsorships of series, which gave the marketers sufficient time to come up with the branded content and work it out with executives at the networks and the writers and stars of the shows.

“If we can plan with media venues and content creators, we can support with our dollars unique content that consumes will find value in,” Mr. Van Hoof said.

Brian Robbins, chief executive at Awesomeness TV, a YouTube channel for teenagers and preteens that DreamWorks Animation SKG recently acquired, described the OMD Final Front event as “unique,” an assessment he offered, he said, as someone who has been “part of upfront presentations for years and part of the YouTube upfront presentation.”

“I like the idea they’re calling it the Final Front, before the next NewFronts,” he added, laughing.

Being able to have “a direct conversation” with major marketers “is pretty cool,” Mr. Robbins said, adding that he has been pleased with the results of the branded content projects that Awesomeness TV has already created for products like Clearasil.

“We try to do it in a way so it will feel like content, not like an ad,” Mr. Robbins said. Critics complain that many branded content efforts blur the line between editorial content and advertising.

OMD’s participation in the event will involve several units of the agency, including Content Collective, Ignition Factory, the mobile-marketing arm Airwave and Word, which specializes in social media.

\n \n\n'; } s += '\n\n\n'; document.write(s); return; } google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '3'; google_ad_client = 'nytimes_blogs'; google_safe = 'high'; google_targeting = 'site_content'; google_hints = nyt_google_hints; google_ad_channel = nyt_google_ad_channel; if (window.nyt_google_count) { google_skip = nyt_google_count; } // -->

Judge in Jackson Trial Dismisses Music Executives From Wrongful Death Suit

A California judge on Monday dismissed two music executives from the wrongful death suit filed by Michael Jackson’s mother, but ruled that the case could continue against the concert company the two men work for, A.E.G. Live.

Katherine Jackson filed the suit in 2010, a year after her son’s death, arguing that A.E.G. Live and its executives were negligent in hiring and supervising Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray, as the pop star prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London. A.E.G. Live, a music company controlled by the billionaire Philip F. Anschutz, denies any wrongdoing, and contends that Jackson hired Dr. Murray. The doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson a fatal dose of propofol, a powerful anesthetic the singer was using as a sleep aid.

The judge, Yvette M. Palazuelos, ruled on Monday that Mrs. Jackson’s lawyers had not shown enough evidence that Randy Phillips, A.E.G. Live’s chief executive, and Paul Gongaware, another top executive of the company, could be held liable for Jackson’s death. But she ruled that a jury could still determine whether A.E.G. Live had hired the doctor.

The case has been at trial for more than four months. Lawyers for A.E.G. Live have said they intend to conclude their defense next week, and Mrs. Jackson’s lawyers are expected to then call several rebuttal witnesses. Jurors could begin deliberating in by the end of the month.

Mrs. Jackson seeks damages equivalent to what Jackson might have earned had he lived. That amount has been disputed at trial, but according to witnesses called by her lawyers, it could we worth $1 billion or more.

\n \n\n'; } s += '\n\n\n'; document.write(s); return; } google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '3'; google_ad_client = 'nytimes_blogs'; google_safe = 'high'; google_targeting = 'site_content'; google_hints = nyt_google_hints; google_ad_channel = nyt_google_ad_channel; if (window.nyt_google_count) { google_skip = nyt_google_count; } // -->

Time Inc. in Talks to Buy American Express Magazines

Time Inc. is in talks to purchase the publishing subsidiary of American Express, which includes luxury publications like Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.

The deal would add American Express’s consumer magazines and magazines dedicated to its card holders, like Departures, to Time Inc.'s portfolio, which already includes magazines like People and InStyle, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

American Express and Time Inc. have had a working relationship since 1993, when they formed a management services agreement to partner on advertising deals and back-end operations, like lobbying jointly for postal reform. For example, the Time Inc. title Fortune Small Business had an agreement with American Express to send the magazine to select card members.

The talks are good news for Time Inc., which has undergone several years of internal management upheaval as well as external pressures from a rapidly changing media market.

Jack Griffin, who was hired as the first chief executive outside of Time Inc. in 2010, lasted just six months before Jeffrey L. Bewkes, chief executive of the parent company Time Warner, asked him to leave in early 2011. Mr. Bewkes publicly rebuked Mr. Griffin for his management style.

After nearly nine months without a chief executive, the role was filled by Laura Lang, who stepped into a tough magazine market that forced her to cut costs. In January, she reduced Time Inc.'s global work force by 6 percent. The following month, Time Warner was in talks to sell off most of Time Inc.'s magazines to Meredith Corporation.

In March, just hours after confirming that the deal with Meredith was off, Time Warner announced that it planned to spin off its struggling Time Inc. magazine division into a separate publicly traded company and that Ms. Lang would resign. People with knowledge of the deal say that the negotiations have been stretching on for months.

Joe Ripp, a former Time Warner executive, rejoined the company after Labor Day as Time Inc.'s new chief executive. He is focusing on taking the magazine division public and will work on the absorption of the American Express magazines as well.

Time Inc. in Talks to Buy American Express Magazines

Time Inc. is in talks to purchase the publishing subsidiary of American Express, which includes luxury publications like Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.

The deal would add American Express’s consumer magazines and magazines dedicated to its card holders, like Departures, to Time Inc.'s portfolio, which already includes magazines like People and InStyle, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

American Express and Time Inc. have had a working relationship since 1993, when they formed a management services agreement to partner on advertising deals and back-end operations, like lobbying jointly for postal reform. For example, the Time Inc. title Fortune Small Business had an agreement with American Express to send the magazine to select card members.

The talks are good news for Time Inc., which has undergone several years of internal management upheaval as well as external pressures from a rapidly changing media market.

Jack Griffin, who was hired as the first chief executive outside of Time Inc. in 2010, lasted just six months before Jeffrey L. Bewkes, chief executive of the parent company Time Warner, asked him to leave in early 2011. Mr. Bewkes publicly rebuked Mr. Griffin for his management style.

After nearly nine months without a chief executive, the role was filled by Laura Lang, who stepped into a tough magazine market that forced her to cut costs. In January, she reduced Time Inc.'s global work force by 6 percent. The following month, Time Warner was in talks to sell off most of Time Inc.'s magazines to Meredith Corporation.

In March, just hours after confirming that the deal with Meredith was off, Time Warner announced that it planned to spin off its struggling Time Inc. magazine division into a separate publicly traded company and that Ms. Lang would resign. People with knowledge of the deal say that the negotiations have been stretching on for months.

Joe Ripp, a former Time Warner executive, rejoined the company after Labor Day as Time Inc.'s new chief executive. He is focusing on taking the magazine division public and will work on the absorption of the American Express magazines as well.

Jeff Shell, TV Executive, to Take Over at Universal Studios

LOS ANGELES â€" Jeff Shell, an NBCUniversal television executive, will soon take over day-to-day operations at Universal Studios, according to three people briefed on the development. Ron Meyer, who has been the movie and theme park company’s president for 18 years, is expected to move up the ladder at NBCUniversal.

An announcement could come as soon as Monday, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Universal was still completing the executive changes. A Universal Studios spokeswoman did not respond to a query.

Mr. Meyer, 69, the longest-serving chief of a major movie studio, is expected to become a vice chairman of NBCUniversal, which Comcast bought in 2011. In that role, these people said, Mr. Meyer would help Mr. Shell get up to speed on the movie business. Mr. Shell has most recently served as chairman of NBCUniversal International, where he helped manage overseas film marketing and distribution but has largely focused on television. He previously ran Comcast’s cable networks.

By choosing one of its own executives to succeed Mr. Meyer â€" rather than promote from within Universal â€" Comcast would be signaling that the studio is now firmly nested inside a corporate structure that cares as much about funneling content to cable and video-on-demand services as it does about theatrical hits. Comcast has made multiple changes on the television side of NBCUniversal, but has largely left alone the film and theme park unit, leading to speculation about its future.

It was unclear how Mr. Shell’s arrival would affect Adam Fogelson, chairman of Universal Pictures, if at all.

The change at Universal, which has been speculated about in Hollywood for months, comes as the studio is rebounding at the box office after a long fallow period. Recent hits have included “Fast & Furious 6” and “Despicable Me 2.” Mr. Meyer was in Toronto on Sunday to introduce “Rush,” a possible Oscar contender directed by Ron Howard.

With Mr. Meyer at the helm, Universal has been one of the movie industry’s most stable studios, at least from a management perspective. A consummate Hollywood player, Mr. Meyer is known for surviving a series of ownership changes at Universal; the studio has been bought and sold at least four times in recent decades.

Universal now joins 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers as studios that have undergone executive shuffling in their highest ranks over the past year and a half.

Although Mr. Shell is not widely known in the film industry, he is well-liked and respected among television executives and small-screen creative powers. Before he ran Comcast’s networks, which include E! and Style, Mr. Shell was chief executive of TV Guide International. And before that he helped oversee Fox Sports, FX and the National Geographic Channel.

Hendrix Biopic at Toronto Festival Bucks a Trend

Log in to manage your products and services from The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune.

Don't have an account yet?
Create an account »

Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?
Learn more »

Webdenda: Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry

Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry

Advertising spending in the United States rose 3.5 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, according to a report to be released Monday by the Kantar Media unit of WPP. For the first half, Kantar Media said, American ad spending rose 2 percent from the first half of 2012. The second quarter’s increase represented the sixth quarterly gain in a row, Kantar Media reported; results for the first quarter, which initially showed a decline of 0.1 percent, were subsequently revised to show a gain of 0.3 percent. Media with growth in ad revenue in the second quarter, according to the report, included outdoor, up 7.4 percent; television, up 6.4 percent; and magazines, up 1.6 percent. Media that lost ad revenue in the second quarter included newspapers, down 3.6 percent, and radio, down 2.2 percent.

Wendy Aldrich joined Initiative, part of the IPG Mediabrands unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies, in a new post, as executive vice president and global managing partner, based in the Los Angeles office and responsible for the Amazon account globally. She had most recently been global account director on the Visa account at the Los Angeles office of OMD, part of the Omnicom Media Group unit of the Omnicom Group.

Association of National Advertisers, New York, released a survey showing that more advertisers were using internal agencies for marketing tasks, primarily as a way to reduce costs. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they had internal agencies, compared with 42 percent that said so in a survey in 2008. The percentage of respondents that said they did not have, or never had, internal agencies declined to 32 percent from 50 percent in the survey five years ago.

Blistex Inc., Oak Brook, Ill., selected AFG&, New York â€" an agency formerly known as Avrett Free Ginsberg that is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies â€" as the agency for its lip care and health care brands, which include the Blistex product line, Kanka, Odor-Eaters and Stridex. Spending was estimated at $10 million. The account had previously been handled by ML Rogers, New York.

Jonathan Carson joined Vevo, New York, in a new post, chief revenue officer. He had most recently been chief executive for digital at Nielsen, New York.

Celebrity Cruises, part of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Miami, selected Grand Central Marketing, New York, for a new assignment, to handle its experiential and public relations campaigns. Billings were not disclosed.

Donald Ciaramella, executive vice president for corporate communications at the Lippin Group, was promoted to a new post, president for corporate communications. He will continue to manage the agency’s New York office.

Alan Cohen, United States chief executive at OMD, New York, part of the Omnicom Media Group division of the Omnicom Group, is leaving to start an agency named Giant Spoon, with offices in New York and Los Angeles; the Omnicom Group will be a minority investor. Mr. Cohen is being joined at Giant Spoon by three colleagues: Trevor Guthrie, East Coast director at the Ignition Factory unit of OMD; Jonathan Haber, chief innovation officer at OMD; and Marc Simons, West Coast director at the Ignition Factory. Succeeding Mr. Cohen at OMD will be Monica Karo, who had been United States chief executive at another Omnicom Media Group agency, PHD. Robert Habeck, executive director for global accounts at the Omnicom Media Group, succeeds Ms. Karo at OMD.

Carrie L. Cullen, advertising director at HGTV Magazine, New York, part of the Hearst Magazines division of the Hearst Corporation, was promoted to a new post, associate publisher for advertising.

Joost Dop joined the London office of Project WorldWide in a new post, chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He had most recently been chief operating officer at Team HSBC, London, the consortium of WPP agencies that work for HSBC.

Pete Favat joined Deutsch L.A. as partner and chief creative officer. He assumes duties from Mark Hunter, chief creative officer, who left in March. Deutsch L.A. is located in the Marina del Rey section of Los Angeles and is part of the Deutsch unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Mr. Favat had been chief creative officer for the Boston operations of Arnold Worldwide, part of the Havas Creative division of Havas. At Arnold, Mr. Favat’s duties for Boston are being assumed by Wade Devers and Pete Johnson as creative lead partners. Mr. Devers, executive creative director, is adding the title of creative lead. Mr. Johnson is being promoted to executive creative director and creative lead from senior vice president and group creative director.

Tina Fey to Host Return of ‘Saturday Night Live’

“Saturday Night Live” will turn to a familiar face to open its 39th season on NBC: Tina Fey, who will be the guest host for the premiere on Sept. 28.

On Monday, NBC announced the “SNL” guest lineup for the first three new shows of the fall season, leading off with Ms. Fey, one of the biggest stars the show has produced.

And the booking for the second week is sure to raise a few eyebrows â€" and some ratings points: Miley Cyrus, fresh from her much-commented on turn at the MTV Video Music Awards, will double as the guest host and musical guest on Oct. 5.

A third big name, Bruce Willis, will appear on Oct. 12, his second appearance as host.

The music acts are also high-profile. Arcade Fire will appear with Ms. Fey in the opener, and Katy Perry is booked on the show with Mr. Willis.

The choice of Ms. Fey, who starred on “SNL” for a decade, to headline the season premiere means a sure hand will be leading the cast, which is adding a raft of new members this season.

Publisher of Politico Buys Capital New York

Robert Allbritton,the publisher of the Washington news publication Politico, said Monday that he had acquired the three-year-old news Web site Capital New York and that he intended to turn it into a version of Politico for the Empire State.

“I have very big ambitions for this publication: to do in New York what we did in Washington with Politico,” Mr. Allbritton said in an e-mail message to Politico staff.

The announcement came six weeks after Mr. Allbritton sold his family’s seven television stations, including one in Washington, for nearly $1 billion. He had said that he wanted to concentrate on digital businesses like Politico, and the purchase of Capital New York â€" for a small, undisclosed amount â€" attested to that plan.

“I believe powerfully that nonpartisan publications with an intense focus on a specific set of topics can break though quickly, editorially and financially,” Mr. Allbritton said in a statement Monday morning. “I’m excited to take the impressive work Benson and McGeveran did with Capital to the next level.”

The founders and co-editors of Capital New York, Josh Benson and Tom McGeveran, will continue to run it on a daily basis. Mr. Allbritton named Jim VandeHei, Politico’s co-founder and executive editor, to be president of Capital New York, and two other Politico veterans were appointed to newly created business posts. Mr. VandeHei, who will stay in Washington, said he sees his role as teaching “the tricks we have learned about voice, velocity, efficiency and business to the gang leading Capital day to day.”

Capital New York is in some ways an embryonic version of Politico: with a small staff of seven that hustles to break news on political and media beats, it has begun to establish itself as a competitor to New York’s newspapers and niche publications, at least among a core set of news fiends. But its rivals have far bigger staffs, and New York is arguably a much tougher market to break into than, say, Washington was for Politico.

“I know people will say it’s so crowded and competitive there,” Mr. VandeHei said, predicting a reporter’s question. “But I don’t think the areas we seek to own â€" the politics and policy of City Hall and Albany, media etc. â€" are as well-served as some might think. I fully anticipate we will make quite a splash with our hires and unique approach.”

Through the acquisition by Mr. Allbritton, Capital New York will gain an ability to grow the staff and, as Mr. Benson and Mr. McGeveran put it in a editors’ note to readers, “be much more ambitious than ever before about our editorial mission, which is to be a primary source of reporting for knowledgeable readers on the workings of the greatest city in the world.”

The deal closed in the middle of last week. In an interview, Mr. McGeveran said the Web site â€" which was financed by himself and Mr. Benson, both former New York Observer editors, in the beginning, and later raised $1.7 million in financing â€" is not yet profitable, “though revenue was ticking up significantly and we felt we were in a position to grow with the right kind of money behind us.”

Mr. McGeveran and Mr. Benson were seeking more capital and were open to a sale when Mr. Allbritton said publicly that he wanted to sell his TV stations and focus on digital businesses. So they reached out to Politico.

“Josh and I have known Jim and John for several years, actually, and have been talking with them about approaches to the news business since back when we were at The New York Observer,” Mr. McGeveran said. “So it was a very simple approach.”

The initial hiring spree at Capital New York will bolster the Web site’s current areas of coverage, which include Albany, but then it will look toward other topic areas, as well. And it won’t subsist on advertising alone: Mr. Allbritton’s plan is to add a subscription business, much as he’s done with Politico Pro.

Publisher of Politico Buys Capital New York

Robert Allbritton,the publisher of the Washington news publication Politico, said Monday that he had acquired the three-year-old news Web site Capital New York and that he intended to turn it into a version of Politico for the Empire State.

“I have very big ambitions for this publication: to do in New York what we did in Washington with Politico,” Mr. Allbritton said in an e-mail message to Politico staff.

The announcement came six weeks after Mr. Allbritton sold his family’s seven television stations, including one in Washington, for nearly $1 billion. He had said that he wanted to concentrate on digital businesses like Politico, and the purchase of Capital New York â€" for a small, undisclosed amount â€" attested to that plan.

“I believe powerfully that nonpartisan publications with an intense focus on a specific set of topics can break though quickly, editorially and financially,” Mr. Allbritton said in a statement Monday morning. “I’m excited to take the impressive work Benson and McGeveran did with Capital to the next level.”

The founders and co-editors of Capital New York, Josh Benson and Tom McGeveran, will continue to run it on a daily basis. Mr. Allbritton named Jim VandeHei, Politico’s co-founder and executive editor, to be president of Capital New York, and two other Politico veterans were appointed to newly created business posts. Mr. VandeHei, who will stay in Washington, said he sees his role as teaching “the tricks we have learned about voice, velocity, efficiency and business to the gang leading Capital day to day.”

Capital New York is in some ways an embryonic version of Politico: with a small staff of seven that hustles to break news on political and media beats, it has begun to establish itself as a competitor to New York’s newspapers and niche publications, at least among a core set of news fiends. But its rivals have far bigger staffs, and New York is arguably a much tougher market to break into than, say, Washington was for Politico.

“I know people will say it’s so crowded and competitive there,” Mr. VandeHei said, predicting a reporter’s question. “But I don’t think the areas we seek to own â€" the politics and policy of City Hall and Albany, media etc. â€" are as well-served as some might think. I fully anticipate we will make quite a splash with our hires and unique approach.”

Through the acquisition by Mr. Allbritton, Capital New York will gain an ability to grow the staff and, as Mr. Benson and Mr. McGeveran put it in a editors’ note to readers, “be much more ambitious than ever before about our editorial mission, which is to be a primary source of reporting for knowledgeable readers on the workings of the greatest city in the world.”

The deal closed in the middle of last week. In an interview, Mr. McGeveran said the Web site â€" which was financed by himself and Mr. Benson, both former New York Observer editors, in the beginning, and later raised $1.7 million in financing â€" is not yet profitable, “though revenue was ticking up significantly and we felt we were in a position to grow with the right kind of money behind us.”

Mr. McGeveran and Mr. Benson were seeking more capital and were open to a sale when Mr. Allbritton said publicly that he wanted to sell his TV stations and focus on digital businesses. So they reached out to Politico.

“Josh and I have known Jim and John for several years, actually, and have been talking with them about approaches to the news business since back when we were at The New York Observer,” Mr. McGeveran said. “So it was a very simple approach.”

The initial hiring spree at Capital New York will bolster the Web site’s current areas of coverage, which include Albany, but then it will look toward other topic areas, as well. And it won’t subsist on advertising alone: Mr. Allbritton’s plan is to add a subscription business, much as he’s done with Politico Pro.