AT&T launches web "first" with Olympic intermercials; breakthrough strategy brings the world to the Olympics.BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 15, 1996--AT&T today announced plans to implement a groundbreaking interactive advertising strategy for its Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. Web site (http://www.olympic.att.com). The advertising strategy taps the potential of the internet with an unprecedented application of technology and the world's first "intermercials". The creative execution for AT&T's advertising replaces the current model of "static" banners with an approach that engages users with "interactive, brand-centered experiences" -- the first true intermercials on the web. AT&T's intermercials distribute interactive content that is integrated with the AT&T Olympic Web site and traditional broadcast advertising. These new intermercials feature technologically advanced applications such as Java, Shockwave, QTVR QTVR QuickTime Virtual Reality (Apple) QTVR Quick Time Virtual Reality and HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. forms, to provide online users with 20-30 second bursts of interactivity. The ads enable web users to access AT&T's Online Games, view live video feeds of AT&T's Global Olympic Village Frequently, an Olympic Village is built within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, trainers, etc. The idea of the Olympic Village comes from Pierre de Coubertin. in Atlanta and take a virtual tour of the Olympic Museum The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. It is surrounded by a park containing numerous works of art on a sporting theme. -- all without having to leave their existing session. "With this strategy, AT&T is raising the standard of advertising on the Web in a way that rewards the user," said Stephen Graham, AT&T director, national marketing communications. "Not only are we providing information in a more interesting and relevant context, but we are bringing people around the world together to experience the thrill of the Olympic Games in a truly innovative and engaging way." Underlying the creative strategy is an unprecedented approach to media placement on the web. The web media strategy is another "first" as it creates a universal presence for AT&T on virtually all the top web sites simultaneously. With this media strategy, AT&T creates a unique gateway to a wealth of Olympic information and provides everyone throughout the world with the opportunity to participate in the Games on the web. (To date, people representing more than 165 countries have already participated in AT&T's web Olympic experience.) The objective of this advertising campaign, according to Graham, will be to provide both a ubiquitous web presence for AT&T and a unique opportunity for web users to share in the excitement of the Olympic Games through an unparalleled combination of creative and technology. The AT&T Web advertising campaign will begin two days prior to the Olympic Games' opening ceremonies and will run during the Games. Sites in the campaign include: NandoNet (www.nando.net), Cool Site of the Day (cool.infi.net), USA Today (www.usatoday.com), Atlanta Journal Constitution (www.atlantagames.com), Sports Illustrated (www.pathfinder.com/si), Infoseek (www.infoseek.com), AllSports (www.allsports.com), ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (espnet.sportszone.com), Magellan (www.mckinley.com), Real Audio/Timecast (www.realaudio.com), Lycos (www.lycos.com), Excite (www.excite.com), WebCrawler (www.webcrawler.com), Netscape (www.netscape.com), Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), RSN RSN - Real Soon Now (www.rsn.com), NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (www.olympic.nbc.com), Sportsline (www.sportsline.com), Pathfinder (www.pathfinder.com), America Online (www.aol.com), NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= (www.nba.com), CNN CNN or Cable News Network Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world. (www.cnn.com), Discovery (www.discovery.com), MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. (www.mtv.com), Disney (www.disney.com) cnet (www.cnet.com) and the new AT&T WorldNet service (www.worldnet.att.com). As a Centennial Olympic Games Partner and proud sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee, AT&T is providing long distance voice, data and video services and telecommunications equipment to support the athletes, coaches and visitors to the 1996 Olympic Games. The AT&T Olympic Games Web site and interactive advertising strategy were developed by Modem Media, an interactive marketing agency in Westport, Conn. The campaign will also utilize elements of the broadcast advertising created by BBDO/New York. CONTACT: Karyn Vaughn-Fritz AT&T 908/221-7974 (work) kvaughn@attmail.com or Patty DeLana Modem Media 203/341-5203 (work) pdelana@modemmedia.com |
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