Albert Lewis, Jr. | Case Studies | AT&T NEXTGEN Marketing

The challenge

AT&T’s marketing leadership needed to launch a high-visibility internal program that:

Communicated NextGen Marketing (NGM) priorities
Reflected the values and voices of their employees
Delivered across internal channels like Yammer, Atlas, Teams, and more
Felt fresh, bold, and creatively unexpected

But they had no clear starting point. The executive team moved quickly. Priorities overlapped. Creative direction didn’t yet exist. They needed someone who could bring structure, clarity, and creative leadership, and do it fast.

My role

As creative lead, I stepped in early to provide strategic clarity, design leadership, and scalable execution. I worked directly with AT&T’s executive sponsors, internal communications, and external partner teams and executive account leads on our agency team.

In this capacity, I:

Structured and led reviews with executive stakeholders
Designed and presented creative direction for branding, microsites, and campaign materials
Translated feedback loops into continuous improvement
Established scalable templates and cross-platform consistency

I became the single point of creative leadership and execution, from first conversation to final applause.

Creative execution

Working from concept to delivery, I led the end-to-end creation of:

A full visual identity system including color, logo, font, themes, photography, and layout explorations
A brand guidelines microsite that was ultimately submitted to the AT&T Brand Center
Internal marketing assets including headers, logos, infographics, data visualizations, presentations, and platform templates
Summit branding including name badges and signage

I presented directly to AT&T's marketing leaders, earning quick alignment and rapid approval on multiple directions. As feedback cycles evolved, I led the integration of their changes and scaled the assets across multiple launches.

Ownership & relationship building

From the start, I was asked to lead high-stakes conversations solo, building trust with AT&T’s senior stakeholders.

Throughout the project, I:

Established clear timelines to reduce client stress
Guided messaging architecture to support scale and adoption
Built trust with cross-functional stakeholders and partners

Results

The work culminated in the NEXTGEN Marketing Summit Series, a hybrid event that brought together 100+ marketers across physical and virtual spaces. Centered on the theme of Connectivity, the event wove powerful storytelling into AT&T’s internal brand fabric.

Audience impact:

In-Person: 54% Sr. Managers / 46% Directors
Virtual: 76% Sr. Managers / 15% Directors / 9% AVPs
67% of attendees were first-time participants in the NEXTGEN Marketing Summit Series

Audience reactions:

“It made me take inventory of the challenges I’m facing today.”
“This was magic in a bottle.”
“Blake is the definition of INSPIRATION. We need more of this.”
“This event exceeded my expectations. I’m glad I got to be part of the conversation.”
“Best guest speaker I’ve heard in my history with AT&T.”

Lasting value:

The work didn’t end at the event. It sparked new dialogue, employee-led storytelling, and thought-leadership tasks post-event. On-demand content, toolkits, and Atlas-based community engagement now extend the life of every message.

“These resources are helping us activate our inner Blake, in our meetings, in our leadership, in ourselves.”

Conclusion:

This was more than a brand rollout. It was a movement fueled by insight, scaled by design, and made personal through storytelling. I didn’t just design the system; I helped build a platform that made thousands of employees feel seen, heard, and inspired.