AT&T has segmented its large consumer base into smaller target markets to better tailor its products and services. It has focused on innovators as a key target across demographic groups. AT&T positions itself as enabling an innovative lifestyle through technologies that connect people and allow them to live more expansively. Its current "Rethink Possible" slogan reflects targeting innovators across segments to improve consumers' lives through AT&T's services.

1. The rationale forpickingAT&Twas simple.Inanera where America’sphoneaddictionhas
consumedreality,AT&Thasitsconsumerbase eatingoutof itshand.Withnew technologiesbeing
introducedeveryday,itstandstoreasonthat the stocks of AT&T and of itscompetitorscanonlyrise
fromhere.
In today’sworld,the “phone”hasbecome more thanjusta tool to keepintouch withgrandma.
Phoneshave become anextensionof the mindof manyAmericans,keepingtheminformed,entertained
and intouch withliterallyanyone inthe worldatanytime.Withthisenormouspowercomesenormous
wealthandopportunityforAT&Tand itscompetitors.Inorderto differentiateitself insucha booming
market,AT&T mustestablishuniqueobjectives,performsituational analysis,identifyopportunitiesto
grow anduse marketingmix andmetricsina way that promotesthe company’sbestinterest.
BusinessMissionand Objectives
AT&T statesthat theirmissionisto“exploittechnical innovationsforthe benefitof AT&Tandits
customers.”To doso, the companyimplementsnext-generationtechnologiesandnetwork
advancementsintoitsday-to-dayoperations,aninnovative style thatdrawsinconsumerslookingfor
the latestand greatesttechnology.Bystayingontopof the cuttingedge,AT&T triestostay a stepahead
of competition.Indoingso,the companyalsocreatesan image thatleadsconsumerstobelievethat
AT&T productsare made by andfor the pioneersof the techindustry.
Continuingwiththe innovative mission,AT&Tstatestheirobjectiveis“todesignandcreate in
thisdecade the newglobal network,processes,andserviceplatformsthatmaximizeautomation,
allowingforareallocationof humanresourcestomore complex andproductive work.”Essentially,AT&T
wantsthe consumerto use AT&T productsand servicestoenhance the efficiency of theirlives.Through

2. thisobjective,AT&Treachesouttoa wide range of consumers,fromprofessionalstorecreational users,
promisingtosave thema valuable resource: Time.
IdentifyingOpportunities
You. Me. Everybody usesasmart phone. A 2007 studyputa cell phone inthe handof 80% of
everymanand womaninthe UnitedStates. Nearlynine yearslater,notonlydowe all have one,but our
phonesare connectedtoeveryaspect of our lives;ourtelevisions,our profession,ourrelationships.In
otherwords,smart phone productsandrelatedserviceshave infiltratedthe mindsandhomesof people
all ages,races and income levels. Becausethesenew technologieshave become suchanintegral partof
the everyday livesof billionsof people fromall cornersof the globe,it canbe challengingtonarrow
downsuch an enormousdemographic.
Market segmentationisastrategythatdividesabroadconsumerbase intosmallersubsets.For
AT&T, segmentationmeansnarrowingdowntheirhuge demographicintogroupsthatshare common
goals,needsandinterests.Forexample,“Americans”canbe brokendownintosmallergroups,including
“AsianAmericans”or“Americanswithchildren.”
The art of segmentationhasbecome auseful tool forAT&Tto narrow down andbuildupon
differentsectionsof itsconsumerbase.Throughproductimprovementstrategiessuchas
crowdsourcing,anew-age marketingtool designedtogatherinformationfromthe masspublic(mostly
throughsocial media,) the companyhasgatheredinputfromalmosteverydemographic.Withthis
information,AT&Tcannow tailoritsproductsto the needsandwantsof specificconsumers.
For example,AT&Thasrecentlyfocusedalarge amountof time andresourcesona project
designedtograbthe attentionof the Asian-Americanmarket. LauraHernandez,Executive Directorof

3. DiversityMarketingatAT&T,statesthat “Long-term, if youwantto succeedinthe marketplace,atleast
for us,you’ve gotto winwiththe Asian-Americansegment.”
To do so,AT&T teamedupwithYoutube andAsianfilmmakerslikeWongFuto create the Take
Your Shotprogram,designedtoinspireyoungAsian-Americanstoexpressthemselvesthroughwriting
and filmmaking.The Asiantargetedwebisode,Away WeHappened,alsoproducedbyAT&Tand
Youtube,garneredenormousnotorietyamongthe targeteddemo, reachingoverone millionviewsper
episode.
It iscertainlyadvantageousforacompanylike AT&Tto aim theirpromotionsat smallergroups
or “targets.”In the marketingworld,the artof “targeting” isa wayfor companieslikeAT&Tto reachout
to these groupsandcraft specificservicesdesignedtopromote theirspecificneeds.The processis
basedon segmentattractiveness: Inorderto successfully“target,”asegmentmustbe reachable,
substantial,profitable,responsive andidentifiable.
Withsuch a large audience andan abundance of resources, there aren’tmanysegmentsthat
are unattractive toAT&T. The companysendsa message toa varietyof groups,garneringa response by
tailoringtheirservicesspecificallyto them. Theirevaluations andservices are basednotoninstant
profitability,butonthe opportunitytobuild longtermbrandequitywithawide range of targets.
In orderto narrow downtheirdemographicintospecifictarget-markets,the primaryelement
of anygood marketingstrategy,AT&Tusesa commonthread:The thrill of innovation.Outof the
enormoushaystackthatis theirdemographic,the needleisthe innovator,regardlessof his/hergender,
race or income level.
“Our missionistokeep[the target] connectedwiththe latestinnovations,”statesAT&TChief
MarketingOfficerDavidChristopher. AccordingtoChristopher,the goal istocombine all elementsof

4. the marketintothe innovativecommonality.Christopher thinksthisintegration,combinedwith
successful targetingwill “change the waywe interactwithproducts,services,providersandwithour
peers.”
Withthisstrategyto promote innovation,DavidChristopherandthe marketingteamatAT&T
aimfor everytarget.Theyaimfor parents,withspecial parental controlsonall devicestomonitorand
restrictthe activitiesof theirchildren.Theyaimforthe ‘Everyman’withAT&TBundle packages,
equippedwithservicesforeveryentertainmentdeviceimaginable.Theyaimforthe lowerincome
consumerswithNextPlatform,“riskfree”PayasYou Go plansfor mobile phones.Inthis multi-faceted
approach,AT&T givesconsumersineverytarget groupthe perceptionthattheyare capable of being
innovators,regardlessof theirplace inthe market.
In orderto relaythese offerstotheirtargets,AT&Tusesthe art of “positioning.”Through
positioning,the companycreatesarelatable image foritself throughits products,prices,placesand
promotions. The intendedimage maybe differentdependingonthe targetmarket,butthe goal remains
the same:AT&T is determinedtocreate a lastingbondbetweenitself anditsconsumers.
Justas theirproductsand serviceshave evolvedoverthe decade,sotoohave the positioning
strategiesof AT&T. In the early2000’s, itwas a seriesof commercialsstarringCarrotTop and oddly
placedpayphones(1-800-CALL-ATT) thatcreateda lastingimage inthe mindsof consumers.The
advertisementsweredesignedtotell the publicthatAT&Twas “unique”and“edgy,”andto ultimately
create a bondbetweenthe consumerandthe company.While the pathwayshave certainlychanged
overtime,AT&T isstill workingtocreate andmaintainthe same bond.
Since nobodyusesapay phone anymore,AT&Thas since shiftedtheirpositioningstrategy.
“MobilizingYourWorld,”a slogandevelopedbythe companyduringthe rise of the cell phone,assured
consumersthatAT&T couldkeepthemconnectedwherever theywent. AsDavidChristopherstates: “As

5. a marketer,whetheryou're at Coca-Cola,AT&Tor Walmart,harnessingthe powerof mobility,smart
phones,fastnetworks,interactivityandsocial,isanew heydayforus.”
By partneringupwithjuggernautslike McDonald’sandStarbucks,AT&Twasable to offerfree
Wi-Fi inthousandsof locationsaroundthe country. To “Mobilize”the consumerinhis/herownhome,
AT&T developedFastAccess,arelativelynew conceptatthe time.FastAccess,one of the firstat-home
bundle packagesbyanyservice provider,wasdesignedtoconnectall devicesinthe user’shome byWi -
Fi.Nownamed U-Verse Internet,thisbundle isone of manypackagesofferedbyAT&T.Designedfor
“limitless”capabilities,U-Verse andotherpackages offerfasterstreaming,massivestorage andhigher
connectivityatanaffordable monthlyrate.
“What we want youto thinkisthat AT&T is an emotional lifestyle brandthatletsyoulive your
life more expansivelyand bringsyou new experiencesandnew value,“saysGreggHeard, VPof Brand
IdentityandDesign.Thisisessentiallythe messagebehindAT&T’scurrentslogan,“RethinkPossible.”
Thistwo-wordmessage describesAT&T’sentiresegmentation,targetingandpositioningprocess.Since
AT&T’s serviceshave become suchacrucial part of the livesof millionsof people all overthe globe,itis
importantthattheyfitintothe lifestyle of each individual consumer,whethertheybe Asian,low
income,parentsora combinationof the three. Byaskingthe audience to“RethinkPossible,”AT&Tis
literallyaskingitsconsumersto rethinkandimprove the efficiencyof theirlives,andcreatingthe
comfortingnotioninthe mindof the audience thatthe company’sservicescan dojustthat.