New Product Creation, Business Plan, Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign
- Winning pitch in 2011 International MBA Innovation Challenge
- Led cross-functional team from ideation to pitch
- Presented to C-suite executives from three Fortune 100 Companies
AN INNOVATION CHALLENGE
As part of the competition requirements for the International MBA Innovation Challenge, we were tasked with creating a new product using AT&T’s cloud services in order to reach the SMB consumer. We included a business and marketing plan and pitched our idea live a panel of judges from various innovation consultancies, AT&T, GE, and Syngenta. After an intense competition, we beat 186 teams from schools like Wharton, Harvard, and Stanford to earn the VCU Brandcenter the title of “World’s Most Innovative MBA Program” (without a single MBA student on the team).
TARGET: SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
Most small businesses have less than 50 employees and an annual revenue under $500, 000. They need a cloud product that fits their business’ unique requirements without breaking the bank. We interviewed and surveyed dozens of small business owners to discover their pain points and needs.
Our product, AT&T Spark, is designed to provide personalized solutions to common problems that small businesses face every day.
PRODUCT STRATEGY: GIVE SMBs THE POWER TO SUCCEED
Spark is like a personal assistant for every member of your team: it helps you get things done quickly and easily, and it knows what you need before you know you need it. Spark utilizes the power of the cloud to learn your business from the inside out. While it used to be that only big corporations could employ data and predictive analytics to manage more wisely, AT&T Spark uses the power of the cloud to give SMBs the same analytical fire power at a fraction of the cost.
BRAND STRATEGY: OWN THE CLOUD WITH EXPERIENCE, NOT VOCAB
AT&T can’t own the term “cloud”, and they shouldn’t waste time and resources trying - most SMBs we talked to had no idea what the cloud is. Instead, AT&T will own the utility of the cloud through the Spark brand, product, user experience, and messaging.
MARKETING STRATEGY: BE PART OF A MOVEMENT
Leveraging an existing partnership between AT&T and American Express, Spark will launch on American Express’s iconic Small Business Saturday. This will give Spark credibility in the small business community not just as another product, but as a tool gives SMBs the power to compete with the Walmarts of the world.
CREATIVE STRATEGY: YOUR BUSINESS IS UNIQUE - SO IS SPARK
Rather than focusing on the quantitative features of Spark, we centered our messaging around the qualitative benefits - how does Spark make your day easier and more productive?Small Business owners are passionate about their businesses and trust their livelihoods to the efficiency and ease of use that Spark provides; we have to give them strong reasons to believe in our product.
"The world is my office - there's no telling where I will be from hour to hour."
"I don't need more information, I need information that really helps me."
"I just don't have the time to learn how to use something complicated. Make it simple."
Spark is mobile...
Mobile first design ensures that Spark goes where SMBs go.
Spark is smart...
Predictive analytics learns what SMBs need and lets them know when they need it.
Spark is easy to use...
Simple interface, UX, and design ensures that SMBs feel in control of their data, not overwhelmed.
