As customers move away from traditional phone lines, AT&T has found new ways to connect with them. In 2015, the Dallas-based telecommunications conglomerate bought DirecTV and launched Internet streaming service DirecTV Now in late 2016. Most recently, it agreed to pay more than $85 billion for Time Warner. (The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the deal.)
With its expansion comes more opportunities for sponsorship deals and partnerships. For example, AT&T and Tribeca Film Festival organizers this year teamed up in support of filmmakers who are underrepresented in the industry, debuting the AT&T Presents Untold Stories program. As part of a multiyear collaboration, AT&T provided one grant recipient $1 million to create a film that will premiere at the 2018 festival and then run across AT&T’s video platforms, including DirecTV Now.
At the end of 2016, AT&T paired up with singer Taylor Swift for a duet of sorts that includes events such as the AT&T DirecTV Super Saturday Night concert in Houston the night before the Super Bowl. Tickets were available through AT&T promotions and contests, and clips from the concert were broadcast for DirecTV customers after the show.
During the 2016 men’s Final Four basketball tournament in Houston, the company, which is an N.C.A.A. sponsor, created an immersive activation dubbed “Pressure Point” at the Final Four Fan Fest. As participants stepped up to the free-throw line on a half-court basketball court, sensory bells and whistles kicked in to simulate what players experience when shooting a game-winning shot. Each participant wore a biometric wristband that tracked changes in their heart rates. At the end of the experience, guests received their personalized data and a shareable video of their shot.
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