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Since its debut last July, the in-house creative shop launched by the social publisher ATTN: has quickly found its footing, notching 50% year-over-year revenue growth while pacing to finish the year up 70%, according to president Taryn Crouthers.
While such a steep uptick in revenue, especially from a young company, would typically indicate a low base, the shop began operations with an active pipeline of clients that came from its publishing business.
As a result, it generated eight figures of revenue in its first year and has roughly 10 active clients, although ATTN: declined to provide a specific figure.
“The entire reason for formalizing the shop came from partner demand,” Crouthers said. “That is a big part of what has enabled us to grow so quickly.”
The 60-person agency has achieved its growth by both increasing the deal size of its existing clients and winning new business, according to ATTN: founder Matthew Segal. 63% of its revenue increase came from expanding current contracts with clients such as TikTok and Indeed, while the remaining 37% came from landing new business, like Google Pixel.
The addition of the creative shop adds a third line of business to the ATTN: portfolio, alongside its traditional publishing operation and its work creating original video series.
The strategy reflects a yearslong trend from publishers to diversify their revenue with new lines of business, and ATTN: was particularly well positioned to branch into creative work, according to agency consultant Karl Sakas.
“ATTN: has had its social-good focus from its inception, which has given them a strong brand reputation,” Sakas said. “They also reach millennials and Gen Z, and their publisher-adjacency gives them considerable credibility when it comes to understanding their audience.”
Translating publisher savvy to agency business
According to Segal, much of the success the ATTN: creative shop has seen stems from its years creating content as a social publisher.
The publisher has navigated the flux of the media ecosystem for more than seven years, in which time it has grown accustomed to migrating from platform to platform and shifting its strategy to satisfy changing tastes and algorithms. This track record has helped ATTN: convince brands that it can move nimbly when need be, according to Segal.
“The fact that we have learned by doing is a very powerful value proposition,” Segal said. “It’s not academic for us.”
The focus of ATTN: on distilling complex social issues into digestible pieces of content has also helped it win business, as brands often need to communicate dense information in a captivating fashion, according to Tucker Matheson, cofounder of digital strategy firm Markacy.