CANNES – On the heels of its court victory and completion of its acquisition of Time Warner, AT&T is flying a victory flag of sorts at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. It bought advertising at the iconic Carlton Hotel that combines the traditional AT&T blue with bright coral that embodies “energy, passion, innovation,” says Kirk McDonald, CMO, AT&T Advertising & Analytics.
“We’re actually introducing something that we think is really informative and revealing things about the new brand identity that’s going to be associated with this advertising company,” McDonald adds in this interview with Beet.TV.
Earlier this month, AT&T prevailed over the Justice Department in its bid to acquire Time Warner’s assets, foremost among them HBO, Turner and Warner Bros.
“We are very excited about the outcome of the trial,” says McDonald. “For sure, this actually allows our business to actually go forward and execute against the strategy that we believe is really going to be very, very valuable to consumers, to the marketers and publishers we work with as well as to the AT&T business for all.”
The branding effort at Cannes introduces “a new business that reflects a welcoming of the creative canvas, tied together with informed by technology and data in a way that truly advertising companies haven’t existed before.”
There are no words in AT&T’s branding unveiled at the Carlton, just colors, starting with “trusted blue on one end” signifying the company’s 140-year roots and the brand’s “credibility and high integrity,” says McDonald.
“And that transitions across the face of the Carlton to produce a new color, bright coral, which has all of what that color embodies. Energy, passion, innovation. And that is the brand color of the new name for this advertising business and we can’t wait to talk more about what we’re going to be doing inside that business later this year.”