Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
AT&T: It’s all about the athletes
AT&T is an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team, which generally makes for great brand building. This year, however, marketing promises to be a little more complicated because of political tensions. Look no further than the protests that accompanied the international torch relay.
This led us to ask Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner about whether they’ve changed their minds about their Olympic advertising.
We certainly talk about our Olympics sponsorship. The key message we try to convey to people, particularly those that may have concerns, is that we’re not sponsoring the games. We’re sponsoring our Olympic team. That’s where our dollars and commitment goes. It’s the right place.
It’s sponsoring those athletes that are going to be competing. We’ve got to do a good job of communicating our position. We feel we’re doing the right things. I’m not aware that we’ve made any changes to our plans from an advertising standpoint.
