Company: AT&T, Dallas, TX
Company Description: AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Maverick of the Year - Consumer Services Industries

Nomination Title: Joni Arison - Emerging Consumer Products

Tell the story about what this nominated executive has achieved since January 1, 2014 (up to 650 words). Describe the impact he or she has had on your organization. Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms.

Joni Arison leads the Emerging Consumer Markets (ECM) team, part of AT&T’s Home Solutions Organization. Her team is responsible for exploring innovative business models to drive value and growth to the organization. What makes this team stand out is what they stand for: the customer. Arison is a maverick who strives to meet the needs of AT&T’s existing and potential customers by empowering them to conduct interactions in non-traditional ways.
The number of customer interactions that occur over online chats or through other digital-first mediums is expected to increase from 50% to 80% in the next six years, dramatically tipping the scales and expectations of customer service. ECM has focused on making digital transactions effortless, personalized and integrated across all channels. In 2014, ECM chat and social media channels experienced explosive growth. In 2014, the Social Media teams resolved 167, 000 customer issues, or cases, an increase of 2,748 percent year over year.

ECM invested in customer self- service tools which increased the number of new conversations and accepted solutions thus saving AT&T nearly $32 million. In 2014 alone, the chat team handled 2.2 million chats. Satisfaction has improved 20% year over year as response times dropped to under an hour.

Arison was quick to capitalize on the increased movement of consumers to urban areas. According to the national U.S. Census Bureau data from 1Q13 through 1Q14 – permits for multi-dwelling units are up 14.5 percent and completions are up 39.4 percent. Another ECM group, AT&T Connected Communities (ACC), works with national and local apartment ownership, management groups, single-family builders, developers and real estate investment trusts responsible for more than 1.6 million units across more than 111,000 properties in AT&T’s 21-state service area.

This specialized division of AT&T makes it a seamless process for properties to provide tenants with U-verse and Digital Life services where they are available. The ACC team also provides property owners with a dedicated design team, technical engineer to aid in technology deployment, education sessions for leasing and sales professionals, resident marketing material, access to an ACC dedicated call center and additional revenue opportunities. Data from Forbes indicates AT&T is the incumbent telco provider in 13 of the 20 fastest growing cities in the U.S, all major metropolitan areas with an increased focus on MDU’s. The revenue the ACC team generates each month helps to transform Home Solutions into a growth engine. Additionally, the tenants in these MDU’s demonstrate a strong interest in AT&T U-verse® high speed Internet. Tenants in MDU’s rate their desire for high-speed Internet higher than having a washer/dryer, microwave, fitness center, ceiling fan and more.


In 2013, Arison took the helm of AT&T AdWorks, the leader in advanced TV advertising. Another way Arison is transforming the customer experience is through AT&T AdWorks TV Blueprint, a premier product that finds, targets and engages audiences where they consume TV content – regardless of platform. TV Blueprint features advanced audience targeting, which goes beyond age and gender, and is powered by anonymous and aggregate viewership data from more than 16 million set-top boxes. TV Blueprint also uses a proprietary algorithm, developed by AT&T Labs, to deliver a data-optimized media plan that reaches target audiences across the best days, nights and networks. AdWorks leverages the strengths of the U-verse IP based platform to reach customers in new ways including on-screen advertisements with one-touch ordering. When EPiX® movie channel was launched for U-verse customers in 2014, interactive ordering generated 76 percent of sales. The IP platform enables interactive TV channels that engage subscribers. No longer is a customer passively watching an advertisement. Now viewers can find the store nearest them, request a brochure to learn more or check out the driver’s seat of a luxury vehicle.

Joni and her team continue to transform the landscape finding new and exciting ways to serve their customers.

In bullet-list form, briefly summarize up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of this nominated executive since the beginning of 2014.

1. Executed AT&T U-verse with GigaPower(SM) launches via customized MDU centric marketing tactics and Door-to-Door grass roots efforts.
2. Created best in class customer U-verse experiences from design to order to install for MDU residents.
3. Provided a chat and social media industry best in class customer experience through quick response time and total satisfaction commitment.
4. Completed transition to an all IP centric campaign environment in Outbound Telemarketing channel.
5. Led the industry in Indirect eCommerce with an integrated sales and data platform for authorized resellers, providing predictable profitability and sustainable growth.
6. Accelerated online adoption through a diverse consumer digital footprint
7. Increased employee engagement by merging open communication and tailored career paths.
8. Launched AdWorks cross-screen audience measurement metrics, helping clients measure the effectiveness of TV ad campaigns based on increased web traffic.
9. AdWorks Enhanced the AdWorks TV audience-targeting tool, TV Blueprint, enabling the analysis of anonymous and aggregate single-person household viewer data