AT&T New Brand: Hoping Rethinking is Possible

About two weeks ago, AT&T started a new initiative called “Rethink Possible”. Through this new campaign, the company hopes to revamp its brand and image to be more than just a wireless or phone service; they want it to be a lifestyle. AT&T’s Senior Vice President for Brand Marketing and Advertising Ester Lee commented in The New York Times, “AT&T has not tried lately to define the totality of who we are,” adding that research among consumers found that “people understood we had evolved, but there wasn’t enough acknowledgment of us being an innovative company.” So this new attitude towards AT&T’s business ventures has not only been designed to reach consumers, but to also stakeholders and employees.

AT&T has planned to execute this integrated campaign though several facets including print, outdoor, and in-store signs, as well as digital and non-advertising marketing. The first commercial was aired during the broadcast of the Master’s Golf Tournament. As expected, it is definitely not a “typical” AT&T commercial. It is colorful (not just blue, white and orange), whimsical, animated, and typographic. There are five of these commercials. Have you seen the one with the kids who all won a spelling bee? I sware every time I heard the kid spelling “admirably” I was not looking at the TV, because I had NO idea it was an AT&T commercial. I think this is the point though. AT&T has ditched their old Luke Wilson’s ads for a new, settle approach. The company has also begun removing the “at&t” from under their new colorful globe logo. In a New York Times article, Craig Stout, the senior creative director at Interbrand in New York, an Omnicom agency that is leading the brand design aspects of the campaign, remarked:

“ Most times, the globe will be seen without the letters in a change that is meant as a leadership move. Recognition of the logo as the symbol of AT&T is in the high 90 percentage among consumers and displaying it without the “AT&T” echoes the way Nike is recognized by its swoosh and Target by its target. The globe will frequently be displayed in different colors and styles”

Is this new approach a good move? I mean, I would think so. I do agree that the blue globe is highly recognizable, and will not be mistaken for any other company but AT&T. In addition, I think this new ad campaign is worthwhile for the company. AT&T’s brand focuses on serving its customer’s wants and needs, making their lives easier by having only one telecommunications provider for wireless, cable, and internet services. AT&T’s retiring of the explicit “our maps have more coverage than you” ads against Verizon can allow AT&T’s consumers and stakeholders to see that it is an innovative company that is growing and expanding its horizons. The whole point is for consumers and stakeholders to believe that new ideas are possible, and that these ideas could come to fruition through AT&T.

As a Verizon consumer, however, I have to wonder if there is a hidden message behind “Rethink Possible.” Could AT&T be possibly asking its consumers and stakeholders to “believe” in them again? From what I hear, their coverage in major areas is not spectacular leaving several consumers unhappy and complaining about dropped calls. So I wonder if this “re-branding” will change people’s perception of the company as the company hopes it will. In a company statement , AT&T said "Rethink Possible will highlight how AT&T is delivering meaningful innovation that’s changing how people live, work and play. It conveys our desire to push the limits of what’s possible to make life better for our customers. We rethink possible so our customers can rethink possible." After reading some of the comments posted after several news articles, I do not think people are “rethinking” their thoughts on the company just yet.

What else does the company have to do to change consumer’s feelings on the brand? By viewing their new “Rethink Possible” page on their website, AT&T seems to be introducing and telling its consumers the ways they are “rethinking”. On the main page of “About AT&T”, the company has made bigger links to their social networking sites, therefore showing that they are communicating these messages through their social media sites. When clicking on the “Rethink Possible” link, AT&T introduces six ways they are “striving to have its consumers stay connected to the people and things that mater to them most”. Check them all out! They all are pretty cool to think about! The one I found the most interesting is the “Monitor your health at home” tab which talks about a device called “life slippers.” This device can supposedly “help indicate a likely fall before it happens”. This indicates how AT&T is thinking “outside the box”. Could it be possible to have internet access in our shoes? Don’t know how feasible that will be but the whole point of this campaign is to think the impossible right?

It will be interesting to see if this new innovative campaign will actually change consumer’s perceptions of the company. Only time will tell. With all the money AT&T is spending, I hope it will pay off for them in the end!

Dealing with Crises: The Good and Bad for AT&T

Crises are something that every corporation tries to avoid, however sometimes they are unavoidable. When I hear about some crises and the organization’s actions, I often say to myself, “How could they have been so dumb?” It seems pretty simple: when something bad happens, immediately acknowledge it, explain your plan of action, and whatever you do, do not say, “No comment”! How come some organizations/people simply “brush” things under the rug and refuse to admit to their actions (hehem Tiger!)?

AT&T has unfortunately not been crisis free. But let’s be honest, it is virtually impossible for any large corporation not to have some type of crisis on their hands every now and again. In doing some research, I found two major crises in which AT&T was tested; in one case they acted profoundly yet in the other they failed to properly manage the issues at hand .

Let’s take a look at the first crisis…On June 15, 1990, a computer malfunction caused damaged a portion of AT&T’s long distance network, and therefore about half of AT&T’s consumers were unable to make long distance calls for nine hours. Within the first 20 minutes, the Network Operation Center Manger, Jim Nelson, knew a crisis was erupting and immediately called AT&T’s CEO at the time, Robert Allen, and the public relations managers. Thirty-five minutes into the crisis, media coverage had begun because a reporter from CBS radio had interviewed the media relations director.

Marilyn Laurie, AT&T’s senior VP of Public Relations at the time, explained in a publication that her staff instantly knew how to react. She was quoted saying, “Acknowledge the problem, assume responsibility, volunteer the facts, minimize speculation, and correct inaccurate information”.

This is the mentality that all corporations should have when encountering a crisis. AT&T communicated with the press as soon as they had clear and accurate information to give the public. If at the point in time they did not know what caused the network failure, they would have simply admitted that and told the reporters that as soon as they knew more information they would let the media know. They acted completely transparent which is how you want to act in a crisis situation. In addition, AT&T’s PR staff let each reporter know that the organization is taking appropriate actions to fix the problem. AT&T made sure that a media spokesperson was always reachable. I believe the reason AT&T was so successful is because its PR people had the autonomy and power to speak on behalf of AT&T and did not have to ask lawyers or other executives how they should respond to the situation. The PR staff did a great job because they knew, through AT&T’s culture, how the organization would want them to respond and handle the crisis. To read about this case click here.

AT&T should have maintained this mentality in September 1995 when the company announced that they were restructuring the organization by breaking apart from some its affiliated companies, leaving thousands of employees in fear of losing their jobs. AT&T and its CEO at the time Robert Allen, did do the right thing and immediately issued an employee memo stating that each member of the staff would “follow their work” and that the marketplace would determine if layoffs in those businesses were possible. However, at the time, it was too early for AT&T to tell when or even if this transition would need to take place. Major press (Wall Street Journal) instantly picked up on the story, making speculations of how many employees were going to be laid off, increasing stress and the feeling of uncertainty for thousands AT&T’s employees and damaging their public reputation. In November, AT&T decided to offer 77,000 buyouts to managers and these managers were given the task of deciding which of their employees should be laid off. All and all, roughly 303,000 employees were in fear of losing their jobs.

By the time January rolled around, finally AT&T announced that 48,500 jobs would be eliminated as part of the restructuring. These announcements lead to an even bigger media frenzy and had employees and investors worried about their jobs and money. Newsweek’s headline read, “Chairman Robert Allen will soon fire everyone but himself and AT&T will stand for Allen and Two Temps”. Unlike the long distance malfunction, AT&T did not interact quickly with employees, leaving them absorbing all of the press’s stabs. Finally in late February, Allen wrote another letter to his employees, explaining how he understood how hard it was to do one’s job when reading the newspaper. He also gave the employees a heads-up that AT&T’s annual report would be released the following day and would generate additional press. The report included Allen’s compensation of $2, 677,000! If I was an employee of this company I would be furious! If the CEO cared about more than just himself, he would forgo his salary and allow his employees to keep their jobs! By doing this, the CEO would express concern for his employees and further better his and the organization’s reputation in the media.

As expected, the media had even an even bigger frenzy with this latest development, generating more negative press for AT&T. This was a public relations nightmare for the company with press hits like calling Allen a “corporate hit man”. In attempt to restore its image, AT&T took out advertisements in multiple newspapers urging companies to hire laid-off AT&T workers. In September 1996, Allen notified shareholders that the company’s third and forth quarter earnings would be below the expected.

All and all, this crisis kept spinning out of control and the media took every opportunity to bash the organization every time they had new information. Why were they able to do this? AT&T did not listen to its own advice from 1990. They failed to communicate with the media and rebuttal their comments, further damaging how they were perceived by consumers and media during that time. In addition, they did not promptly act in regards to their employees. They constantly left them in the dark, unsure of what their fate was. As soon as the announcement was made, the organization should have explained the layoff procedures to the employees, that way they were not lingering in limbo. It is unfair and unethical to have each employee wait roughly four months to find out how many of them would be laid off.

If I was the PR person for AT&T at this time, I would have been open ,honest and transparent with the media and the employees from the get-go. I would let them know approximately how many employees we would be laying off, and insure their confidence by letting them know that if they were let go, we would help them secure another job. Hopefully AT&T has learned lesson 15 years later to listen to its own advice!

To get a full report on this crisis, read this article that was published in Public Relations Review in 2005.

AT&T's Connection with Investors

To view AT&T's entire Investor Relations page, please click here.

AT&T’s Complete 2009 Annual Report displays the company’s accomplishments in the past year in a very creative way. Instead of just listing their results (which they do at the very end), it starts with Chairman Randall Stephenson’s well-written letter to the investors. This letter invoked a very positive and motivational tone yet was still straight and to the point and believable. I especially like the section that focused on the future and AT&T’s strong position looking forward because it shows that AT&T is continuing to be innovative and grow. If I was an investor in the company, after reading this letter I would feel confident and satisfied that my money is strongly invested in a company that has a good growth strategy and is proactive, ambitious and strategic.

AT&T’s annual report is clearly more than just numbers and statistics; it is a well laid-out and highly effective marketing communications piece filled with appealing pictures, customer and business testimonials, company year accomplishments, anecdotes, community relations stories and more. Although a bit long, at least the first 30 pages are an “easy” read. I have not read many several annual reports, but I’d assume some are rather unbearable to read! The remaining 70 pages are AT&T’s “2009 by the Numbers”, something I, to be honest, had a more difficult time paying attention too. I think the goal for the first 30 pages is to present all of AT&T’s information in a user-friendly and easy to understand format which is attractive and informative not only to current investors but to AT&T customers, everyday consumers and even prospective future investors. These pages are also what is available in AT&T's online version of the annual report. By just reading these pages, these people can get a good idea of how well the company did in 2009. If the reader wanted to continue on to see the exact numbers, they could!

Something that I thought which added a lot of “color” to the annual report was a section titled “An Hour in the Life of the AT&T network,” (p. 26-27). This entertaining consumer-focused story showcases many of the practical daily applications of AT&T products and services and how they enhance the lives of AT&T’s consumers by simplifying their daily tasks. As someone who is not an AT&T customer, by reading this story I learned about products that I didn’t even know AT&T carried. One example was the “AT&T Family Map” which allows parents to keep track of the location of their children via phone GPS capabilities- a little creepy to think about but a nifty idea! Therefore, this proves to be effective in educating both investors and consumers about the real-life applications and benefits of AT&T’s products.

Similar to AT&T’s annual report as a whole, I feel that the press release announcing their fourth quarter earnings was very user-friendly and easy to read as well as interesting and engaging. The quote from AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson summarizes the very positive, upbeat and forward looking tone of the whole release. Stephenson said “We had a solid 2009 and led the industry in the biggest growth driver — mobile broadband. Looking ahead, customer demand for connectivity, particularly mobile broadband and IP data, continues to be strong, and AT&T is well positioned at the center of this growth." I believe that this quote would definitely instill confidence in investors. It is both innovative, forward looking and ambitious in terms of where AT&T sees itself in the future by continuing to grow and expand.

All and all, I believe that AT&T annual reports are proof of how the company truly believes in their mission to connect all people to their worlds. I think that the report’s first 30 pages, because of their straightforward tone, easily understood language, and positivity are aimed at reaching a wider audience than simply AT&T investors; they speak to anyone who uses AT&T products or has an interest in the company regardless of their affiliation. Thank you AT&T for making a long, never-ending report fun with attractive photos, inspiring customer stories and cute anecdotes. It made the hard-stuff less painful to get through and more interesting to read. For those interested, AT&T is holding a web cast announcing their first quarter earnings on April 21 at 10:00 a.m. ET.