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Lee is known for being adept at creating a compelling and meaningful narrative to which consumers can relate. At her last gig as Coca-Cola's chief creative officer, she made an impact by stressing the importance of design as vital to the marketing mix – hiring the company's first VP-design. Although Lee comes to her role at AT&T without telecom marketing experience, her creative skills lie in understanding and connecting with consumers. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has recently stated that wireless is the company's priority, so it is likely that its wireless business will be afforded a substantial portion of marketing spending. 78 million wireless customers, or 29% of the U.S. market, are AT&T subscribers, while Verizon Wireless has a 32% share. But it faces some major challenges, including ensuring consumer demand for mobile-data services does not surpass the capacity of its 3G network, which it is continuing to build out. AT&T's exclusive agreement as Apple’s U.S. iPhone carrier expires in 2010, highlighting the risk of putting all one’s eggs in the same basket. In addition, a number of compelling new smartphones are aiming to knock the iPhone off its throne. Another of challenge facing Lee will be to help AT&T evolve away from any notion of still being “your grandfather's telephone company” from the days when it still held a telecommunications monopoly. In fact – s Lee is well aware from her time at Coca-Cola – the goal for any iconic, cross-generational brand is to constantly seek new ways to ensure its history does not anchor it to the past but rather propels it into the future. Join our LinkedIn Group and follow us on Twitter. We look forward to connecting with you! For more information you can contact the author at emma@maravedis-bwa.com |
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