DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/20/08
An Atlanta adman and an international rock star are about to take a surprising career turn — one that not even Mother Nature could have predicted.
Joel Babbit, 54, a longtime Atlanta ad executive, and Chuck Leavell, 56, keyboardist for the Rolling Stones, are creating a new online company — the Mother Nature Network.
 Hyosub Shin/hshin@ajc.com | ||
| Adman Joel Babbit (sitting) and Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell are behind the Mother Nature Network. | ||
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They envision it as an environmental news and information service geared toward the average Joe. The Web site, which will launch in October, also could redefine both men's legacies.
Babbit and Leavell said that it was clear to them the idea's time had come when in record time — 24 hours to be exact — they raised millions of dollars in startup capital from four prominent Atlanta businessmen: Tom Bell, chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties; Pete Correll, former chairman and CEO of Georgia-Pacific and current chairman of Atlanta Equity; Gerry Benjamin, co-managing partner of Atlanta Equity; and Doug Hertz, president and CEO of United Distributors. With Babbit and Leavell also personally invested in the new company, the six will be the Mother Nature Network's board of directors.
To be sure, none of them need more superlatives to add to their considerable résumés. But the opportunity to do good — and make money at it — was an irresistible pull.
Leavell's musical chops include 25 years with the Rolling Stones. But for more than two decades, he has also cared for a 2,500-acre tree farm in Twiggs County passed down through his wife's family. He's also a forest conservation activist who often lobbies Congress.
Babbit, for his part, founded and sold two ad agencies: Babbit & Reiman and 360. Known as a visionary adman, as one-time marketing chief for the city of Atlanta he brainstormed advertising in outer space and on the sides of stray dogs. He has also had some of America's Fortune 500 companies as clients.
"Joel's one of the most creative people I've ever met," Correll said. "And his concept about how to [make an anchor environmental site] was very comprehensive. Chuck adds a lot of credibility and no-nonsense environmentalism. I put my money into it, so obviously I have confidence."
Even as Babbit readies the Mother Nature Network's design and content — he officially went part time at the Grey Atlanta ad agency on July 15 — he remains chairman of Grey Atlanta and vice chairman of the sister public relations firm Cohn & Wolfe Worldwide, which recently merged with GCI Group and is one of the world's 10 largest PR firms.
Like any entrepreneurial duo, Babbit and Leavell believe they have an idea for a better mousetrap. Their Web site — to be called MNN for short — will have how-to videos and stories on composting, gardening, hybrid vehicles and more.
The (high-efficiency) light bulb went off for Babbit while he was working on environmental marketing for clients, including computer giant Dell, the Southern Co. and Georgia-Pacific. The sites he found either were too narrowly focused and technical or too shallow, he said. "Most are mom and pop," Babbit said.
A key difference from existing sites, he said, is that MNN will post the latest environmental news, much like Yahoo, as well as useful environmental information. Bell described it like WebMD for the environment.
"I actually think that's a very valid argument," said Andrew Lipsman, a senior analyst at Reston, Va.-based comScore, as there's more interest in "all things green." The company tracks Web site traffic. Lipsman has been seeing an uptick in Web searches about oil prices and hybrid vehicles, for example. TreeHugger.com, which had 553,000 unique visitors in June, is one model for a green site, but it has no news headlines. Former Vice President Al Gore's WeCanSolveIt.org, a site devoted to climate change, had 466,000 hits. By contrast, the Discovery Channel's Web site got 1.8 million hits in June, according to comScore data.
Still, Lipsman said, as more green information is added to other sites, the challenge for the Mother Nature Network will be getting distribution.
"We're planning to report on global warming, but also focus on things people can do on a daily basis to improve the world," Babbit said. "You may read about a glacier melting and feel helpless. But anybody can pick up litter and keep rivers cleaner."
Leavell will be the frontman (or official title: director of environmental affairs). He'll make videos for MNN on topics such as forest conservation, as well as have his own blog. "All of us on this planet are concerned with these issues," Leavell said. "We want the content to be accurate and truthful and have real answers for real people. I see it as a great opportunity to help fans interested in me all of these years to give them answers to these questions."
As if to punctuate their commitment, Leavell said his daughter just bought a Prius while Babbit is on the waiting list for a Honda Civic hybrid.
Babbit will use his business development, finance and administrative skills to run the operations (title: CEO and president). The site will make revenue through corporate sponsors. He has seen research showing that consumers expect to double their spending on green products and services to $500 billion this year. Still, Babbit knows the perils of starting a Web site. He has studied the lessons from the "dot bomb" era, when countless Web sites foundered and never made money. "So many of those sites were started by first-time entrepreneurs," Babbit said. "It's not like this is our first rodeo."
Mother Nature Network, he added, has a business and a social reason, and it is already starting with low overhead. The office space in the 191 Peachtree building is being donated, and he doesn't expect to employ more than 20 people in the next year.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," Bell said. "It's one of those opportunities to do something worthwhile and it makes economic sense. Interest in the environment — Mother Earth — is increasing every day. And when you try to get basic answers that can be understood by a layperson, they're hard to get."
Hertz, a Babbit friend for 30 years, said Babbit has "been successful in everything he's done. I'm betting as much on Joel as on the business proposition. I hope the streak doesn't end now."
Gov. Sonny Perdue said in an interview that Leavell "is a great icon in demonstrating how our foresters are environmentalists. He's contributed a lot to help people understand you can be a great environmentalist while employing the best practices in forestry." Perdue appointed Leavell to the Georgia Land Conservation Council.
"Our goal is to become the largest and most visited Web site in the world," Babbit said.
Added Leavell: "And it needs to be the best."
– News researcher Sharon Gaus contributed to this report.