New AT&T campaign one step forward

AT&T’s new marketing initiatives are one step forward toward creating a more mobile identity for a brand once considered the stodgy bastion of the telecom establishment, said one of the advertising executives charged with creating that identity. By incorporating the orange of the former Cingular logo as its primary corporate color and conducting a new brand-advertising campaign focused on mobility, AT&T hopes to begin shifting perceptions, said Troy Ruhanen, executive vice president and managing director of BBDO North America, AT&T’s lead agency.

“It’s like all things--it’s not an end point, it’s the beginning of something,” Ruhanen said in an interview today. “Clearly [new AT&T CEO] Randall [Stephenson] has come on board and made some statements about making AT&T a mobile-centric brand. The advertising we have developed is all about capturing the spirit of individuals that don’t do life or business in one place, but are always on the go.”

Stephenson had previously declared his view of AT&T as primarily a wireless company, initially at last June’s NXTcomm show in Chicago. However, AT&T is a well-known and well-established brand, and changing public perception isn’t something that happens overnight, Ruhanen conceded.

“People do have a perception, it’s part of [AT&T’s] DNA,” he said. “There are other brands that have a long historical place, and it’s always a challenge, living with the past. That won’t be solved in one campaign, but this is another sign post in the evolution of AT&T. There will be many more to come.”

Part of that sign post is a realization that some aspects of the Cingular brand resonate more with the mobile-centric crowd than AT&T’s blue logo, which lead to incorporating the orange of that former brand into AT&T’s ads and retention of Stanley Tucci as the “tone” for AT&T ads. In addition, filmmaker Wes Anderson, director of such edge fare as “The Royal Tanenbaums” and “Rushmore” is directing the new series of six ads, built around the theme, “Your Seamless World.”

“That’s just another signpost of creativity that is coming to the AT&T brand,” Ruhanen said.

On Sept. 24, AT&T will launch an online initiative aimed at younger audiences called Digital World. Visitors will be able to create a “digital personality” and export that to social network sites as well as receive incentives and details about AT&T offers.

The challenge of changing AT&T’s image into that of a more wireless-centric contemporary company is also not just an advertising issue, but a corporate issue, Ruhanen said.

“The first two tenets are to keep [the brand] relevant and keep it contemporary,” he said. “The third tenant is the obligation on the company to make sure its products are leadership quality or at the cutting edge of innovation. When you are the leader, at the forefront, you must be agile and communicate that in the most relevant and contemporary way as possible.”