• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 14, 2010

With Politico.com apparently leading the pack among publications geared to the inside-the-Beltway crowd, the inveterate National Journal wants to elevate its profile. The staid weekly, founded in 1969, has tapped Arnold Worldwide's Washington office for a multiplatform campaign.

The agency said it will utilize print and online advertising, as well as social-media initiatives, to help the publication undergo a "brand repositioning." According to a spokesman, the target audience is "opinion leaders."

Arnold will also work with other publications from the National Journal Group that may be closer competitors to Politico, since they come out daily: The Hotline (about politics) and Congress Daily.

The National Journal Group is owned by the publisher of The Atlantic magazine.

Justin B. Smith, president of the Atlantic Media Co., stated: "We're re-engineering all of our reporting processes and products to give our customers more than news and analysis. We'll give them 'predictive intelligence' that will help them do their jobs."

National Journal topics range from Congress to national security to lobbying.