AT&T, Inc. this week kicked off a major branding campaign following AT&T Corp.’s November purchase by SBC Communications. It’s AT&T’s first marketing campaign in two years.
The yearlong campaign reinvigorates the AT&T brand— has been adopted by SBC nationally— a reported $500 million in ads, promotions and sponsorships, including AT&T’s return as sponsor of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams.
AT&T plans to run ads and promos during the Winter Games next month, as the “Official Telecommunications Partner” of the U.S. team. The company also will sponsor the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with ads and promotions to activate its tie-ins.
AT&T kicked off with a New Year’s Eve TV spot airing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006. Two interactive overlays gave Times Square revelers access to the iconic Reuters sign: The AT&T Orb of Destiny invited partiers to call an 800 number, state their New Year’s resolution, then watch the Reuters sign to see AT&T’s prediction on whether they’d succeed in keeping the resolution. The crystal ball continues to take resolutions and post predictions in Times Square through Jan. 15.
A second effort on New Year’s Eve, called “Your Video Delivered,” let partiers call an 800 number to get access to a live video feed; callers filmed the action around them, which then aired on the Reuters sign. (Callers could also snap still photos to later download from AT&T’s Web site.) The feature will run again on Reuters’ sign Jan. 16-29.
Advertising rolls out this week with TV, radio, print, online, outdoor and non-traditional media, including ads targeting African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians in the U.S. and business audiences globally. Some ads get a twist: The New York Times runs an AT&T-sponsored crossword puzzle in addition to its own puzzle, and The Wall Street Journal carries a watermark of AT&T’s logo in its stock pages.
Meanwhile, ads in SBC’s 13-state territory will reassure consumers there that service will stay on par despite the name change. GSD&M, Austin, TX, and Rodgers Townsend, St. Louis, share duties on advertising; GSD&M handles the Times Square interactive ads. The Marketing Arm, Dallas, handles sponsorship negotiations and activation.
The campaign tagline, “Your World. Delivered” reinforces AT&T’s longstanding brand equity and marries AT&T innovation with SBC’s reputation for service. The campaign targets a wide range of consumers who have similar expectations of the brand.
All customers expect three things: “They want innovation … that makes a real difference for them. They expect us to earn their trust by keeping our promises and standing behind our products. And they expect us to treat them fairly, with no surprises,” said CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. in a statement. “‘Your World. Delivered’ is our way of pledging to all of our customers, from a teenager in California to the CIO of a global company, that AT&T’s passion to invent and SBC’s drive to deliver have come together to deliver what matters most in their lives.”
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