Our Work & Case Studies
Multicultural Case Study:
AT&T Gee's Bend
Objective
AT&T strives to develop advertising and marketing campaigns that represent the diversity of the local communities it serves, which includes authentically portraying African-Americans in positive roles and preserving African-American culture.As part of its ongoing effort to help preserve African-American culture and support the African-American community, AT&T featured quilts made by the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective in its broadband marketing introduced in the summer of 2007. The campaign included television, print, direct mail and Internet ads.
The Gee's Bend Quilters Collective is a group of more than 50 women who live near the rural communities of Rehoboth and Boykin, Ala. They developed a distinct, bold, sophisticated quilting style that has been passed down through six generations. The quilts of Gee's Bend are now internationally renowned and have been recognized by such organizations as New York's Whitney Museum and the Houston Museum of Modern Art.
The New York Times has pronounced the quilts as "[among] the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced."
For this program, AT&T sought to create an extension to its existing advertising campaign by providing an authentic, integrated extension to the African American “Quilts” campaign. It was important to maintain the integrity of the “Quilters of Gee’s Bend” while strengthening the brand's credibility within the African American segment.
Strategy
We worked with client agency partners to develop an integrated marketing extension to the AT&T “Quilts” advertising campaign, which targeted the African-American community. Strategically, we sought to bring the ad campaign to life in a relevant and authentic way through a tour at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).HBCUs are postsecondary academic institutions founded before 1964 whose educational mission has historically been the education of Black Americans. Most are located in the Southeastern United States. Because HBCUs serve as unique and indispensable gatekeepers of history, culture and the African-American experience, it made strategic sense to target these locations for the tour.
The Women of Gee’s Bend tour visited two (2) historically black college and universities: Winston-Salem University in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Prairie View A&M University in Houston. The tour also visited Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne State is not an HBCU, but more African-Americans earn their master’s and doctoral degrees from Wayne State than any urban institution of its kind in the country, making it an ideal target for the program.
Detroit has one of the largest and most active African-American communities in the U.S., making it an ideal target.
Each free tour stop featured performances by the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective, who entertained audiences with songs, spoken-word poetry, and storytelling. Each show was hosted by Emmy Award-winning writer Willa Brigham, who was contracted to emcee the event.
To support the events, we distributed flyers on each campus, issued press releases to local and campus media, and managed email blasts. Meanwhile, an AT&T-branded microsite provided additional information abut the Quilters and the campaign.
A sponsorship booth was present at each venue, which allowed people the opportunity to pick up an AT&T-sponsored DVD of the Quilters and a uniquely-branded mouse pad featuring artwork from one of the original quilts. These premium gifts provided a lasting impression for the brand.
Results
The campus tour provided an authentic real-world engagement between AT&T and the African-American market. Bringing the Women of Gee’s Bend to these communities helped AT&T strengthen its ties to the market while adding credibility to AT&T’s messaging of connecting people. The campaign drew support from other institutions across the country to continue the program.In the end, the Women of Gee’s Bend College Tour was a partnership that not only seeded the AT&T brand in the African American community, but one that protected the integrity of the Gee's Bend Quilters.