T-Mobile Opens Up About Why It Chose Initiative in 2021 Media Agency Review

Publicis Media handled T-Mobile's large offline media account for years before the carrier merged with Sprint in 2020. The merger triggered one of the year's largest and most discussed media agency reviews, with agencies for both telecom companies competing alongside others for the $2 billion business. In the end, the carrier severed relationships with all its incumbents and selected IPG Mediabrands agency Initiative as its U.S. media agency of record. The review began in September 2020 following the carriers' merger wrapping that April. Three holding company incumbents vied for the business, which the carrier ultimately opted to consolidate. Horizon Media previously handled the Sprint account, while Publicis Media's Spark Foundry handled T-Mobile's offline media buying and planning. Scrubs Stars Join John Travolta for Another Musical in T-Mobile’s Super Bowl Ad In 2018, GroupM's Essence helped T-Mobile bring some of its digital media in-house, and continued to partner with the company on digital media management when the review began. When T-Mobile invited the incumbents to pitch, Publicis Media tapped Publicis Seattle for the job, while WPP's GroupM chose MediaCom to lead the process, as opposed to incumbent Essence. (The two agencies have since merged, known now as EssenceMediacom.) "It wasn't just an agency change that we needed the agency to help navigate, but it was partner-level changes," said Kari Marshall, vp of media at T-Mobile. The review is an example of what agencies can expect if their large clients merge with a competitor. Those reviews are likely to be competitive, involve many large players and may result in just one winner taking all of the business. The outcome also reveals one way marketing leaders can approach consolidating media with a single holding company partner. Some agencies present marketers options to tap resources from across various sister agencies, often creating bespoke team models for potential clients. This review, by contrast, shows significant brands still value working with single agencies instead of tapping into holding company solutions. Adweek recently named Initiative our 2023 Global Media Agency of the Year, and Marshall shared her strategic approach to the review and what about Initiative most impressed her at the time of the decision: the agency's strategic prowess, strong company values, agility and data chops bolstered by Acxiom. Avoiding a group-level solution "Our relationship began virtually. No one knew anyone," Marshall said, recalling the pandemic-induced virtual pitching challenges that made getting to know partners difficult. Initiative set itself apart from its competitors by clearly communicating its company culture and values during that virtual process, some of which mirrored T-Mobile's. "They were respectfully sparring and willing to push back and have a dialogue—willing to challenge in a really positive way," Marshall said. That inclination to challenge a potential client impressed Marshall, and led the T-Mobile marketing team to focus on potential agency partners' strategic thinking skills. T-Mobile hired ID Comms to manage the review, and Marshall recalled the consultant recommended Initiative specifically, as opposed to a holding company solution. While the T-Mobile review ultimately resulted in it consolidating its media accounts with a single agency, it differs slightly from many other large reviews because Marshall wasn't set on a group-level partner. "We really started the conversation, just thinking about Initiative as the agency and probably less about the holding company," Marshall said. "Their uniqueness, even within the holding company, set them apart." While it was important to think about negotiation power and the agency's ability to wield influence in the marketplace, Marshall recognized that those qualifications had become "table stakes" for large agency competitors, assuming any competitive agency had the ability to negotiate rates. The decision came down to smaller details, like many large reviews now do. Global Media Agency of the Year Initiative Masters Fame and Flow 'Making media jargon make sense' During the pitch, Initiative presented its Cultural Velocity framework, which the agency uses to help its clients achieve cultural relevance. The concept encourages brands to start, rather than respond, to cultural conversations. "The fun thing, or the interesting thing, about what Initiative brings to the table is making some complex media jargon make more sense by having catchy phrases or easy-to-grasp concepts," Marshall said. "They come up with them, and you can see how it applies to different parts of your business." Initiative has since retired its Cultural Velocity framework and employs a new one, Fame and Flow, a method for bridging performance and brand marketing to increase brand awareness, while also paying close attention to the customer journey. The agency's Axciom data platform also impressed Marshall, who picked Acxiom to manage its CRM marketing activity. "The hypothesis at the time was like, 'Wow, if we could use this for both prospecting and for customer marketing, [there are] obviously a lot of synergies there.' It was a huge bonus point that we could have one data spine for both [media and CRM]," Marshall added. IPG acquired Acxiom a year earlier than Publicis added Epsilon, and that year made all the difference, according to Marshall. It enabled Initiative to present a more comprehensive data solution than Publicis could during the review. T-Mobile Names IPG’s Initiative as US Media Agency of Record Pivoting alongside T-Mobile's shifting needs Since striking a partnership with Initiative, the carrier has converted more than 2 million customers to its new home internet business, something it never briefed Initiative on during the review. "We really needed a partner that could be as agile as us, while still trying to stay ahead and think more strategically long term," said Marshall. Initiative was quick to identify potential account problems before they developed, which Marshall attributes to agency leadership paying close attention to the account and client needs. Importantly, many of the same agency employees that pitched Marshall now work on her account. Initiative continues to pivot as T-Mobile follows new leads. The carrier is considering how it will amplify its impact in enterprise and business services, grow in unique geographies where it now offers service post-merger, and identify growth audiences versus buying demographics or geographies alone. "When you find a likeminded partner, you can grind at things, but payoff is big and you have passion for the brand. It's fun to come to work," Marshall said.