Inside AT&T’s Grand Strategy to Be Part of Black Cultural Moments

With brands rushing to incorporate generative AI despite reports of racial bias, in addition to recent criticisms of shallow advocacy in some campaigns, companies are at a crossroads when it comes to meaningfully reaching historically underrepresented communities.

That’s why AT&T nurtures the intersection of connectivity and culture through ongoing, multilayer DEI initiatives.

Its Dream in Black platform, created in 2018, is the telecom brand’s signature platform that supports and empowers the Black community to envision a better tomorrow. The AT&T Presents: Untold Stories program connects emerging and underrepresented filmmakers to greater opportunities through funding and mentorship.

This year, AT&T’s team brought together Essence Fest and Tribeca Festival for the first time, both of which have been historical brand partners through Dream in Black and Untold Stories, respectively. Essence Fest is an annual three-day celebration of Black culture and community in New Orleans.

The brand’s multicultural team saw an opportunity to connect the dots for 2023 Untold Stories winner David Fortune to its Essence Fest partnership. Despite it not originally being within the scope of Untold Stories and never before merging the two initiatives, AT&T thought it was important to show Fortune’s film to Essence Fest attendees.

The multicultural leads for the Black segment of AT&T consumers added a panel and screening into its programming, a move that not only ladders up to the brand’s overarching long-term DEI strategy but bolsters its mission of empowering the Black community.

Connecting the dots

AT&T, together with Tribeca Festival, is entering its seventh installment of the Untold Stories partnership. The pitch competition awards one filmmaker $1 million to bring their feature film to life and premiere it at the following year’s festival, including mentorship and assistance throughout the film’s development, production and marketing. Past films from Untold Stories have gone on to appear on all major streaming platforms and at more than 95 festivals globally.

As the 2023 Untold Stories winner, Fortune wrote and directed Color Book, a film that follows a devoted father learning to raise his son with Down syndrome as a single parent after his wife died. The two embark on a journey through Atlanta to attend their first baseball game, navigating a series of events along the way. The reception from Essence Fest attendees was overwhelmingly positive, praising the multiple layers of inclusivity in the story.

Fortune is also a graduate of Morehouse College, which is part of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) network. “Having that connection helps to inspire a future generation of Gen Z that may potentially have those same aspirations, who [may] happen to be a Rising Future Maker,” Jamaal Stewart, AT&T’s lead manager of multicultural marketing sponsorships told ADWEEK, referencing another AT&T program that supports HBCU students.

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Playing the long game

While chatting with ADWEEK at the Essence Fest screening, Fortune said the time investment and follow-up opportunities for filmmakers stemming from Untold Stories stood out to him, a contrast to the transactional nature of some other brand sponsorships.

“When it comes to brands getting involved within our community and our cultural space, the first thing I look for is intent. What is the intention that you’re trying to serve our community? How are you trying to uplift the community? How long are you going to be here?” Fortune said.

AT&T has continued fostering the relationship with not only Fortune but also previous Untold Stories winners by welcoming them back to judge and speak on panels, another way to indicate the brand is with them for the long haul. The 2022 winning film, Smoking Tigers from So Young Shelly Yo, went on to appear at 21 festivals and won six awards, including three at Tribeca. With a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Smoking Tigers will be released on a streaming service later this year.

Building relationships is a refreshing tactic as other brands face scrutiny for transactional behavior. And AT&T is seeing a response from its consumers. The Untold Stories program hit a record-breaking milestone this year, receiving over 400 submissions. The 2023 Rising Future Makers Showcase saw a 143% increase in submissions from 2022 and expanded into new HBCUs, including Howard University, Spelman College and Prairie View A&M University.

“If you can see it, you can believe it. Our Dream in Black platform [says] success can look like anything you can dream,” said Jasmine Allen, AT&T’s lead marketing manager of communications on the multicultural sponsorship team. “If more brands are coming on board, like us, to provide opportunities for those students to really make meaningful change based on where they’re looking to go within their careers, the future is going to look pretty bright.”