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AT&T, Valero spending big on television ads
(San Antonio Express-News (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 10--San Antonio's two biggest corporate citizens hope to gain wider recognition of their expertise and clout through advertising to run during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games that begin today in Turin, Italy.
Telecommunications giant AT&T Corp. and refiner Valero Energy Corp. believe their advertisements have a shot at being seen by many of the estimated 203 million Americans who are expected to watch the Winter Games on NBC or its cable stations.
AT&T has purchased time slots for three different ads. "It's pretty widespread," company spokeswoman April Borlinghaus said, but she declined to say how many times the ads will run.
"This is our first big sports sponsorship as the new AT&T," she said. "The old AT&T had a really rich history with the Olympics and Olympic athletes, and we want our new brand to be recognized that way -- as a global leader in communications."
The new AT&T was formed last year when San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. acquired AT&T Corp. of Bedminster, N.J., and dropped the SBC name.
AT&T is "clearly repositioning the brand," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "This provides them with a platform to carry that message out to the consumer base."
In addition, AT&T is one of just six Partner-level sponsors of the U.S. Olympic team, joining such heavyweights as Anheuser-Busch and Home Depot. "That might reinforce the idea of size -- that AT&T is truly a global player in telecom, because they're part of global sports properties, which is the Olympics," Swangard said.
San Antonio's Valero will use advertising during the Winter Olympics "to define Valero's size and scope to consumers," company spokeswoman Mary Rose Brown said.
Valero's advertisements have two themes: "Great People/Great Company," and "Think of Us This Way." Some of the messages: "We're America's largest refiner;" that the company is ranked No. 1 among refining companies worldwide; that it makes "some of the cleanest gasoline on the planet"; and that it's one of Forbes magazine's "Best Big Companies."
Valero's ads will start Sunday and run on four days. They'll appear during several events, which could include the men's downhill skiing finals or the women's figure skating finals.
Valero chose the Olympics as part of its media buy because the Games "are the most-watched event on television," Brown said. "The Olympics is a high-profile event that puts Valero on a national stage and demonstrates our broad commitment to our distributors."
Nielsen Media Research doesn't forecast audience size, but its data show that the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City drew a 31 percent audience share during prime time.
And Valero said the price is right. The company has the potential to reach the U.S. television audience "for less cost than if we purchased regional media to cover our markets," Brown said.
Valero and AT&T declined to say how much they're spending for the ads. But AT&T was one of the top five spenders on advertising during the 2004 Summer Games, according to Nielsen Media Research. And Swangard said Partner-level sponsorships cost at least $10 million.
AT&T also is providing telecommunications services at the Games. "The message there is, 'If our systems can pull off this global event, then it's implied that we can help you,'" Swangard said.
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