In the wake of divesting their entertainment businesses, AT&T embarked on a campaign to reestablish its identity as a core connectivity company to build brand affinity.
In 2023, they launched AT&T Purpose, its first recent brand-building, purpose-driven marketing effort. It was anchored by the taglines 'Connecting Changes Everything' and 'Connect ____, Change ____' and marked a commitment to connect people to a world of possibilities with simplicity, expertise, and inspiration.
To foster brand love we needed to go beyond merely placing AT&T Purpose brand creative. It was essential to demonstrate AT&T’s behavioral shift by building experiences from the ground up that dismantle barriers and create connections. Our focus was on the 153MM Super-Connectors—culturally engaged individuals known for their influence, optimism, and open-mindedness, with women representing 55% of the segment.
With gender pay gap remaining a persistent inequality issue - in the US alone women earned only 82% of what men did in 2022 and the figure hasn’t changed much over two decades- we felt a clear call to address this, and we did it by creating a recurrent event that connects and empowers women. A reaffirmation, loud and clear, of AT&T’s commitment to progress and inclusivity.
Recognizing the power of collaboration in driving change, we needed a culturally impactful partner with an established reputation for supporting women. Someone who could help us reaching these Super-Connectors and starting a meaning conversation around gender equality.
Reese Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine is an early example of a female change-maker championing women's stories and helping them shape a new culture across media, from television, film and podcasts to digital series. With an engaged audience of 56M US-based Super-Connectors, the media company is home to Reese’s Book Club, The Home Edit, and Fair Play: all fast-growing brands with communities propelled by meaningful connections, commerce experiences, and sophisticated content and media ecosystems.
We saw in Hello Sunshine the ideal partner and invited them to join forces, proposed to launch a one-of-a-kind experiential event, with all aspects of programming directly supporting our shared mission statements: Hello Sunshine exists to change the narrative for women and help them chart a new path forward; AT&T exists to make those connections possible. Despite initial hesitation to launch such an event, Hello Sunshine recognized our common objectives and agreed to the collaboration.
The result was ‘Shine Away’, a talent-led program unlocking greater possibilities for women by engaging and empowering a network of Super-Connectors. The event combined AT&T’s connectivity expertise with Hello Sunshine’s powerful community of storytellers: a full-day lineup with bespoke activations and robust digital content, featuring conversations with top talents across entertainment, media, literature, and more.
Powered by AT&T connectivity solutions, the curated programming followed Hello Sunshine’s mission to uplift female voices and change the narrative through connection, offering opportunities for fans to reach directly inspiring entrepreneurs, authors, athletes, musicians, and each other.
The inaugural ’Shine Away' went live at Rolling Greens in Downtown Los Angeles, embodying AT&T’s multi-touchpoint partnership with Hello Sunshine. A sold-out full day of purpose-driven programming, with well-loved actors, authors, athletes, entrepreneurs, and creators all amplified via paid, organic, and earned media, alongside engaging on-the-ground experiences.
Opening the event, Reese Witherspoon acknowledged AT&T's and Hello Sunshine’s shared purpose-driven mission. The highlight of the day was the panel 'Exploring the Power of Connection', live-streamed on Hello Sunshine's Instagram: a 45-minute session that saw Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, and Mindy Kaling in conversation with AT&T's Chief Marketing & Growth Officer Kellyn Smith Kenny.
The AT&T-branded Recharge Lounge offered attendees an on-site retreat to recharge devices and relax while other notable activations included interactive sessions with leaders like Lindsey Vonn and Kerry Walsh Jennings, live-streamed for broader reach, and the collaborative AT&T Connectivity Mural.
AT&T's presence was further bolstered by premium gift bags and strategic branding across the venue, while a coordinated social strategy involving AT&T influencers and a robust PR campaign amplified overall impact. Significant employee engagement added to the event's internal buzz, with nearly 600 entries for an internal trip giveaway to ‘Shine Away’.
The partnership extended post-event with 'A Moment of Connection,' a social series featuring inspiring tales from various personalities. This custom content furthered the narrative of connection and empowerment, showcasing the full scope of the collaboration's impact.
'Shine Away' delivered on a clear societal demand from women to connect more, work together, and engage in dialogue that matters.
AT&T appeared in a remarkable 2.4 billion press impressions, accounting for nearly half of impression-based coverage. Social assets delivered over 100MM impressions, yielding a 3.3x ROI.
Instagram Reels exceeded Hello Sunshine’s benchmark by 2.8x, while Instagram and TikTok creators effectively conveyed AT&T’s Purpose messaging in 46 posts, reaching over 13million people before, during, and after the event.
Given the results, the experiential franchise “Shine Away” will be an annual celebration that can be tailored to reflect evolving cultural and consumer behaviors, further enhancing AT&T’s brand perception.
