AT&T
Have devices, will create. Will connect. Will explore. Will globally dominate. That’s the beauty of the world we live in. We have the power of technology in the palm of our hands or on our desktop or hanging on our walls. AT&T gives people the ability to expand their worlds and broaden the horizons of others all at the push of a button or the swipe of a screen or the download of an app. While they were helping deliver a seamless experience to their consumers, we were diligently thinking strategically and creatively to constantly expand theirs.
Case Study
We enlisted emerging storytellers to give a voice to some of the original African American “influencers.”
CHALLENGE
AT&T needed to find a special way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Black History Month program. This anniversary was taking place during an important inflection point in American culture: a time after the “Oscars So White” backlash highlighted the lack of representation in Hollywood and during Black Lives Matter’s continued push for justice and equality in all aspects of African American life. This anniversary was also taking place after a significant merger between AT&T and DirecTV, increasing the brand’s focus on entertainment, not just telecommunications.
INSIGHT
Black History Month is a beautiful celebration of African American culture, and African Americans appreciate the sense of awareness a monthlong focus on Black cultural contributions can bring. A steady drumbeat of Black History Months over the years likely led to the construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. In short, Black History Month celebrations are both a source of great historical pride as well as a way of instructing Black identity today.
On the other side of that coin, Black History Month celebrations can also create a sense of separateness: “I need Black history to be American history.” There is also resentment that the short month of February can come and go with little impact. A focus on history can also make certain aspects of the African American experience feel dusty, irrelevant and disconnected from what is happening today.
To bring these stories to life, we worked with emerging storytellers to create entertaining videos. These uplifting stories showcased African American heroes whose achievements still hold special relevance today. They also showcased the unique talents of up-and-coming creators who will certainly go down in the history books themselves.
SOLUTION
Sanders\Wingo found a fresh way to celebrate Black History Month by bringing to life lesser-known stories of Black culture as told through the eyes of today’s cultural influencers. Juxtaposing historical cultural challenges and the lives of modern-day up-and-comers highlighted the importance of studying history and reflected its relevance today. It also allowed the brand to find an authentic way to express its new entertainment focus.
AT&T celebrated with the help of YouTube sensations Denzel Dion, Khadi Don and Maya Washington, as well as up-and-coming filmmakers Nefertite Nguvu and Gabrielle Shepard, as they shared lesser-known but important stories of historical Black figures in the series “History by Us.” Then, you joined in the celebration by sharing how you were making history.
RESULTS
“The highest web traffic ever recorded…”
The highest web traffic ever recorded for an AT&T Black History Month campaign was captured during this effort. Social and pre-roll video views broke industry standards by a long shot.
A custom Pandora mixtape we created exceeded expected downloads. AT&T viewed the campaign so successfully that “History by Us” content was made available year-round vs. only during the month of February.