Strategic planning document for at

1Strategic Planning Document for AT&T

Strategic Planning Document for AT&T

Executive Summary

This document presents a strategy plan for public relation campaign that seek to sensitize

AT&T staff and customers about Down syndrome and convince them to make donations for

promoting research and education. Customers and staff donate toward the Down Syndrome

Education initiative by sending a message with code number to AT&T. The cost of the message

will be 5$. Also, AT&T Company will donate from its budget. This strategic plan demonstrates

how we intend to change perceptions and behavior of employees and customers and how this

will contribute to the overall objectives of AT&T.

Background of the Company

AT&T is an American telecommunication firm that provides a broad array of fixed and

wireless telecommunication products and services. The firm targets commercial, residential, and

governmental customers. AT&T provides services such as internet access, domestic and long call

services, and roaming among others. The mission of the corporation is to “exploit technological

innovation for the benefit of AT&T and its clients by executing network advancements and next-

generation technologies and in AT&T’s services and operations” (AT&T, 2014). The firm’s

vision is to “design and create new global networks, service platforms and processes that

maximize automation and allow the reallocation of human resources to more productive and

complex work.”

Situation Analysis

The situation analysis focuses on examining the environment in which a given

corporation operates. AT&T’s business environment falls into two categories; the external

business environment and the internal environment.


External Environment Analysis

The external business environment refers to forces outside the control of AT&T managers, but

that affect the operations of the company. The external business environment also falls into two

categories; the general environment and the specific environment.

a. The General Environment

The general environment refers to forces that affect all businesses that are operating

within the same market as AT&T. In this case, the general environment refers to all forces that

affect business operating within the United States’ market since AT&T is an American company.

This analysis focuses on four main forces: political, social-cultural, economic, and technological.

Political Economic Social Cultural Technological

Concerns about

privacy and digital

rights issues.

Stable political

environment.

People with

disability legislation

and policies.

Recover of the

economy

Reduced

unemployment rate.

Reduced inflation

rate.

Aging of the

population

Increased social

and environment

awareness.

Diffusion of

internet technology

Development in the

smartphone market

Development of

video and gaming

technology.

Expansion of e-

commerce

The general environmental analysis identifies both threats and opportunities for AT&T

Company. The political environment presents a threat to AT&T operations in the form of

concerns about privacy and digital rights issues. There are many cases of surveillance and

invasion of the privacy of telecommunication service users by law enforcement agents. This


trend presents a threat to the profitability of the industry, which can jeopardize AT&T ability to

finance the PR activities. The stable political environment within the country presents an

opportunity for the organization to grow its profits; hence, sustain the PR activities

(Koumparoulis, 2013). The country has policies and legislation that seek to promote the

wellbeing of people with disability. These policies will support the implementation of the

proposed public relation campaign. The economic environment presents the opportunity for

AT&T to grow and enhance its profits. Recovery of the U.S economy will increase the

purchasing power of consumers; hence, it will boost the demand for AT&T services (Davidson,

2014). Reduced unemployment rate and inflation rate will also have a favorable effect on

people’s income leading to increased demand for AT&T services. Growth in the profitability of

the firm will increase AT&T financial muscle enabling it to invest in PR campaigns.

The social-cultural environment presents both an opportunity and a threat to AT&T. The

aging of the country’s citizenry threatens the profitability of the market as this trend will increase

the cost of labor (Toossi, 2014). The trend will also influence the consumption pattern of some

communication and technological products such internet services. These trends will reduce

AT&T profits; hence, affect the company’s PR budget. Increased social awareness gives AT&T

the opportunity to enhance its brand and increase its reputation by investing in corporate-social-

responsibility projects. This trend encourages AT&T to proceed with the proposed campaign of

funding research and education activities relating to Down syndrome. Environment and social

consciousness of consumers will also increase support for the initiative that AT&T is proposing

since the initiatives seek to promote the social welfare of people living with disability

(Investopedia, 2014). The technological environment presents opportunities to AT&T. The

diffusion of the internet technology is bound to increase demand for AT&T internet and data


services. The proliferation of smartphone technology will also increase internet usage thereby

increasing the demand for AT&T internet and data services. Development in the gaming industry

and expansion of e-commerce service will also increase demand for broadband services. These

technological trends will increase AT&T profits; hence, support the PR budget for the

organization.

b. The Industry Environment

The industry environment refers to factors that affect only organizations that operate in a

given industry. In this case, the analysis focuses on factors that affect firms within the

telecommunication industry. These factors include rivalry, buyer power, supplier power,

substitutes, and new entrants.

RivalryIndustry has many playersCompetitors’ have significant capabilities There are many exit barriersExistence of spare capacity

New EntrantsHigh investment cost/ capital intensiveEconomies of scale among existing firmsHigh level of product differentiation

Buyer PowerMany customers Customers order in small volumesCustomers have many choicesLimited threat of backward integrationLow switching costs

Supplier PowerLarge number of telecommunication equipment and software makers. There is little competition for the input from other industries Cost of switching suppliers is low

SubstituteThere many alternatives including cable TV and satellite operators. Substitute’s performance can match telecommunication productsLow switching cost


The industry environment analysis also reveals both threats and opportunities for AT&T.

Rivalry presents a significant threat to AT&T. The telecommunication industry has many players

who have strong capabilities (Investopedia, 2014). The industry also has significant exit barriers

in the form of writing-off cost and a lot of spare capacity. These factors have given rise to cut-

through competition within the industry, which has increased the cost of doing business and

driven down prices. This force has a negative effect on AT&T’s profits and, consequently,

AT&T’s PR budget. The threat of new entrants is minimal as the telecommunication industry is

capital intensive, has fierce competition and a high level of product differentiation. Similarly,

existing companies enjoy economies of scale make it difficult for new entrants to survive.

Therefore, the force of new entrants presents opportunities for the industry to increase profits.

Increase in profit will have a favorable effect on the firm’s PR budget.

Suppliers to the telecommunication industry have a low bargaining power because

suppliers are many, there is little competition for the input from other industry, and the cost of

switching suppliers is low. This trend has a favorable effect on AT&T profits and, consequently,

its PR budget. Customers also have relatively low bargaining power because they are many and

small and have limited capacity to integrate backward. However, the bargaining power of these

consumers is increasing due to the availability of a wide array of options when it comes to

telecommunication services and low cost of switching between service providers. Threat of

substitute is high as cable TV and satellite operators are also providing data services to homes.

Energy utility and railway companies are also lay high-capacity telecommunication networks

along their line and track assets. The substitute force has an unfavorable effect on the profits of

AT&T and, consequently, the PR budget of the firm.


The internal Environment

The internal business environment refers to factors within the control of AT&T

management team, and that affect the operations of the business. This section analyzes AT&T

company internal environment using the Resource-Based View (RBV) model. The RBV model

suggests that the company’s resources determine the competitiveness of the firm; hence, are a

significant part of the internal environment (Robinson, 2008). The company’s rare and valuable

resources create a competitive advantage for the firm.

AT&T technological capabilities and human resource have enabled the firm to develop

customer service as a source of competitive advantage. The corporation has systems that enable

the tracking of customers’ concerns and issues. The company’s technological capabilities as well

as its human and financial resources enable it to experiment; hence, develop innovative products

Valuable Resources and capabilities1. Well known brand 2. Largest telecommunication network and infrastructure3. Finances

Rare Resources and capabilities1. Supplier relationship2. Human resource3. Technological capabilities4. Marketing capabilities5. Management capabilities

Competitive AdvantageCustomer serviceInnovationDifferentiated products and services

Performance


and solutions to organizational problems. The company brand and marketing capabilities has

enabled it to differentiate its offers from those of consumers.

Business Objectives

1. To increase the company’s profits by 10% in the next three years.

AT&T plans to increase its profits by 10% in the next three years. Increasing profits is a

critical objective for the company as the firm need to fulfill its obligation towards shareholders.

Increasing profits will also enhance the market position of the firm as it gives the firm financial

resource to invest in other initiatives such as advertising and corporate social responsibility. The

firm intends to realize this objective by developing innovative products and solution, increasing

the efficiency of its operations, enhancing company brands, and investing in marketing

communication. The objective is also congruent with AT&T mission and vision.

2. To increase customer satisfaction score to 9/10 in the next three years.

AT&T also intends to increase customer satisfaction score to 9/10 in the next three years.

Customers gave the organization a score of seven in the most current survey conducted by the

company. AT&T will focus on increasing this score. Increasing customer satisfaction is also a

vital objective as it will support the financial objectives on increasing profits. Customers are

likely to continue purchasing the company’s products when they are satisfied with the company.

The firm intends to realize this objective by enhancing customer experiences and service,

enhance customer support systems, reducing number of downtimes, and enhancing customer

relationship through communication and loyalty program

3. To increase employees’ performance by 10% in the next three years.

The company also intends to increase performance of employees by 10% in the next three

years. AT&T measures employees’ performance using various metrics including productivity,


efficiency, training, and goal attainment. The company seeks to enhance employee performance

by investing in employees’ learning and development, creating a better compensation system,

increasing employee retention rates, providing employees with better work environment and

other strategies. Increasing employees’ performance is also a vital objective as it will support the

other two objectives of the firm. Increasing employee performance will enhance customer

satisfaction, as well as, increase the profitability of the firm.

4. To increase AT&T’s contribution towards the development of community by 10%

in the next three years.

AT&T is a valuable provider of services in the American market. As an important

member of the U.S society, the organization needs to play its part in the development of this

society. While AT&T already contributes towards the development of the community by

providing essential communication services, it needs to do more by investing part of it profits in

community projects. This objective is necessary as it will support other objectives of the firm and

enhance the firm’s image.

Public Relations Objectives

Understanding the organization’s business objective is the first step in designing public

relation’s strategy. The next step entails developing public relations objectives. The public

relation objective helps the firm to focus resource and increase effectiveness of the PR campaign.

The objectives also establish ways of measuring the effectiveness of public relations programs.

Public relations objective should be congruent with the business objectives of AT&T in order for

them to become relevant. AT&T public relation objective include:

1. To raise the brand profile of AT&T by increasing the number of positive mentions in

social and mass media by 50% in the next six months.


2. To increase the market share of AT&T services by 5% in the next to one year.

3. To increase the number of positive interaction between the organization and customers

by 50% in the next six months.

4. To convince 50% of company employees and customers to take part in social

responsibility initiatives within the next six months.

These PR objectives will drive business results and lead to the realization of business

objectives in several ways. First, the PR campaign will raise the brand profile of AT&T

increasing the form’s capacity to attract new customers and retain existing customers. This object

will, therefore, aid AT&T to realize the objective of increasing the company’s profits. Raising

the brand profile of AT&T will also have a pleasant effect on the confidence and self-esteem of

employees leading to an improvement in the performance of employees. Employees tend to

achieve better outcomes when they are satisfied with and proud of their jobs.

The PR objective also seeks to increase the market share of AT&T services by 5% in the

next one year. This PR objective is congruent with AT&T business objective of increasing

company’s profits as increasing market share will increase sales and, consequently, profits. The

objective is also congruent with the findings of the industry analysis. The industry analysis

revealed that the telecommunication industry is already saturated; hence, the only way to grow is

by contesting for the market share occupied by other companies.

The third objective seeks to increase positive interaction between the organization and

customers by 50% in the next six months. This PR objective supports AT&R’s objective of

enhancing customer satisfaction. Increasing the number of positive interaction between

customers and the company will enhance the level of customer satisfaction. The PR objective

will also lead to the realization of the business objective of increasing company’s profits.


Increased customer satisfaction will facilitate repeat business leading to increased profits.

Increased customer satisfaction will also promote employee performance as customer

satisfaction has an effect of employees’ satisfaction.

The fourth PR objectives seek to convince 50% of AT&T’s employees and customers to

participate in social responsibility initiatives. This objective is congruent with AT&T’s business

objective of increasing its contribution towards social development. AT&T has over 108 million

customers who have subscribed to its services. Fifty percent of this figure amounts to 54 million

people. Encouraging 54 million people to participate in social responsibility action will have a

significant effect on the society. This objective is also consistent with the findings of the general

environment analysis. The analysis showed that American consumers are becoming more

conscious of social and environment issues; hence, they are likely to support social responsibility

initiatives.

Messaging Statement

AT&T is a socially responsible company that care about or customers, employees, local

communities and all other stakeholders. The company is ready to partner with all stakeholders to

make improvement in society.

Strategies

AT&T intends to use a special event as the main strategy for realizing it PR objectives.

The event is a social initiative that entails making a financial donation for Down Syndrome

Education in U.S.A. The event targets AT&T customers and employees. AT&T Company

intends to encourage its customers and staff to donate money towards Down syndrome research

and education. Customers and staff can make donations towards this initiative by sending a

message with a code number to AT&T. The cost of the message will be $5. AT&T will donate a


portion of its profits to match the contributions of customers and employees. The recipient of the

donation will be a University that conducts research on Down syndrome. The University will

also assume the mandate of educating the public about the medical condition.

This strategy is consistent with the AT&T mission of exploiting technological innovation

for the benefit of AT&T’s customers. People living with disability are a vital part of AT&T’s

customer base. AT&T will move closer to realizing its mission by enhancing the quality of life

of this essential segment of its market. The social initiative is also consistent with the finding of

the general environment analysis, which found an increased level of environmental and social

consciousness among consumers. The strategy is also consistent with both the business and PR

objectives of AT&T.

Tactics

a. Digital Media Kit

Tactics are tools that the company will use to execute strategies. A significant tool that

AT&T will employ in order to realize its PR objective is the digital media kit. Digital media kit

are file contain the electronic format of the message that the organization intends to

communicate and background information about the company. The digital media kit makes it

possible for a given organization to disseminate information quickly and cheaply as they are

designed to work with all digital media. The kit can be distributed via email, social media, blogs

or downloaded from the company’s website. Digital media kit is an effective tool for

implementing PR strategies as it enables people to gather information about the company easily.

AT&T Digital Media Kit for Web Distribution

AT&T New Release

AT&T launches an Initiative that seeks to help people living with Down syndrome.


December 2, 2014

The AT&T Company has announced today the launch of a program that seeks to promote

education and research about Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a genetic medical condition

that causes intellectual disability and a wide array of birth defects among people. Down

syndrome is a common condition in the united state that affects over 250,000 people. Apart from

suffering from physical problems, Down syndrome patients also experience a high level of

stigmatization.

AT&T seeks to promote awareness of this disease so as to reduce stigmatization of

people who have it. The organization also wants to support research that will aid in the

prevention, management, and treatment of the condition. AT&T is calling upon its employees

and customers to support the initiative donating $5 towards the program. Customers can make

donations by sending a message with the word Down to 5555 using AT&T lines. A&T will

deduct the amount of $5 when one sends a message to this number. AT&T will make a 100%

match for the contribution that its customers and employees will make towards the initiative.

The proceeds of this initiative will be directed to ABC University. The University is

among the leading institution in the country in conducting research and managing the Down

syndrome condition. The university will also assume the mandate of conduct civil education

about the condition.

AT&T Company: Is the leading telecommunication service provider in the country that prides

itself in offering benefits to consumers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders. The

company technological capability enables it to deliver unique value to its customers.

Executive BIOs: Randall Stephenson is the chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of AT&T.

Randall has long experience in management and a huge track record for promoting sustainable


business practices in organizations that he has led. Cathy Coughlin is the senior executive deputy

president and global marketing officers. She also has a rich experience in marketing and is a

vocal advocate for business sustainability practices.

FAQ Sheet:

People: A significant factor that distinguishes AT&T from other corporations is its people.

AT&T people have a unique culture that emphasizes on customer service, commitment to

community and innovation.

Technology: AT&T technological capabilities have enabled the firm to create unique and value

adding product for its clients. The capabilities have also enabled the firm to increase relationship

with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

Research: AT&T research activities enable the firm to develop cutting-edge technologies that

give the firm, its customers and employees a competitive edge.

Media Coverage

AT&T Sustainability Report

http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/sponsorvideo/at-t-2011-sustainability-report

Insights from AT&T http://www.hillenby.com/2014/02/10/doing-good-well/

Contact Information

Tel: 44994443

Email: info@AT&T.com

b. Special events

Another tool that AT&T will use to realize its strategy is the use of special events. AT&T

will organize public events to celebrate the realization of key milestones in this initiative. The

firm will organize media briefings where the management will inform the public about the

mailto:info@AT%26T.com

http://www.hillenby.com/2014/02/10/doing-good-well/

http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/sponsorvideo/at-t-2011-sustainability-report


progress made in the program. AT&T will also organize a big celebration at points where the

firm will be handing donations to the selected university.

c. Online Outreach

AT&T will also use online media such as twitter, blogs, and Facebook to launch

awareness campaign for this initiative. The organization will use social media platform to start

dialogues with the public about the program. Social media are effective tools as they will not

only be able to facilitate the dissemination of information to the public but will also enable

AT&T to gather information from the public (Edward Lowe Foundation, 2010). The firm will

use social media to gather people’s view about the initiative, as well as, the company’s services.

This tool will aid in the realization of the objective that seek to increase positive interaction

between AT&T and its customers.

Evaluation Plan

The evaluation plan focuses on assessing whether the PR strategy was effective in

helping the organization to realize its PR and overall objectives. The evaluation of the PR

strategies will focus on three four essential components; awareness, comprehension, attitude, and

behavioral (Anderson, Hadley, Rockland & Weiner, 2009). Awareness entails the ability of the

PR campaign to inform the public about issues that they had no knowledge. Creating awareness

is an essential goal of public relation exercise. AT&T need to ensure that it PR strategies is

effective in terms of creating awareness. In this case, AT&T will evaluate its PR campaigns

based on the ability to create awareness about the social initiative and the company brand. The

company will measure awareness by examining the number positive mentions of the company’s

brand and the social initiative in social and mass media.


The comprehension element focuses on ensuring that the target audience understands

what the firm is communicating to them (Anderson, Hadley, Rockland & Weiner, 2009). It is not

enough for PR activities to inform the public about events that are happening in the firm. The

campaign should also ensure that the public understands these actions, their benefits, and the

intents behind the action. In this case, AT&T will measure the effectiveness of its campaign by

examining customers and employee reaction to the initiative. The organization will use

qualitative means of measurement that entails examining the discussions in which customers and

employees in various media.

The attitude element focuses on evaluating whether the PR strategies had an effect on

what the public feels and believe (Edward Lowe Foundation, 2010). A significant goal of public

relation is to influence the attitude and beliefs of the public towards the organization. In this case,

AT&T will measure the effectiveness of the PR campaign by assessing the feelings of the

customers and employees towards the organization. AT&T will have to conduct a survey before

and after the campaign in order to determine whether there was a transformation in the attitude

among the target audience after the campaign.

The behavioral element of the evaluation focuses on assessing whether the strategies have

an impact on the behaviors of the members of the public. This element will assess whether the

target of the public relation campaign act as a PR campaign intended. In this case, AT&T will

assess whether the PR campaign was effective in convincing the target audience to participate in

social responsibility initiative. The company will measure this by examining the percentage of

customers and employees who contributed towards the initiative. This evaluation element will

also focus on examining whether the PR campaigns were effective in helping the firm to increase

market share by 5%.


References

Anderson, F., Hadley, L., Rockland, D., & Weiner, M., (2009). Guidelines for setting measurable

public relations objectives. Retrieved from

http://ww.instiorpr.orgcontent/uploads/Setting_Pbjectives.pdf

AT&T (2014). Vision and mission. Retrieved from

http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/about/mission.html

Davidson, P. (2014). Economy surges forward in Quarter three. Retrieved from

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/10/30/third-quarter-gdp/18149429/

Investopedia (2014). The Telecommunication industry Handbook. Retrieved from

http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/telecom.asp

Koumparoulis, D., (2013). PEST analysis: The case of an E-shop. Economy, Social Sciences and

Management. 2 (2), 31- 36

Robinson, S., (2008). Understanding the Resource-based view. Retrieved from

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16625/1/Susan_Maureen_Robinson_Thesis.pdf

The Edward Lowe Foundation (2010). Establishing a public relations campaign. Retrieved from

http://edwardlowe.org/digital-library/how-to-establish-a-public-relations-campaign/

Toossi, M., (2012). Workforce projection to 2020: a more slowly growing labor force. Monthly

Labor Review. (January) 43- 64

http://edwardlowe.org/digital-library/how-to-establish-a-public-relations-campaign/

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16625/1/Susan_Maureen_Robinson_Thesis.pdf

http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/telecom.asp

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/10/30/third-quarter-gdp/18149429/

http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/about/mission.html

http://ww.instiorpr.orgcontent/uploads/Setting_Pbjectives.pdf

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