In 2003, Southwestern Bell Communications (SBC), a telecommunications giant

which is now a part of AT&T, was looking for ways to compliment its traditional outof-

home advertising buys to promote its long distance, 1-411 directory assistance

and DSL Internet services.

In search of a fresh approach to reach potential consumers in unexpected ways,

SBC and its agency of record GSD&M brought AdverTickets on board to help

create several valet and spitter ticket (automatically dispensed from parking gate

machines) campaigns throughout cities across the U.S.

In June 2003, AdverTickets launched two valet ticket campaigns for SBC in the

Houston and Dallas markets to reach affl uent drivers who worked and played at

establishments with valet service. The campaigns ran for three months throughout

the summer and distributed SBC’s message promoting its 1-411 directory assistance

service to 546,000 people in Houston and 286,000 people in Dallas.

After the success of the fi rst two campaigns, SBC came back to AdverTickets

later that year to help promote its residential long distance service. This time,

AdverTickets created a multi-market campaign reaching more than 2 million

consumers in Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and St. Louis with nearly 1.3

million valet tickets and 972,000 spitter tickets.

SBC also utilized two AdverTickets campaigns to reach new customers for its DSL

Internet service. The company launched a major campaign that ran from September

through December 2003, putting its DSL message on nearly fi ve-and-a-half million

valet tickets and more than two-and-a-half million spitter tickets in major markets

around the country including Cleveland, Chicago, San Diego, Houston, Dallas, Los

Angeles, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Austin, Detroit and Sacramento. In 2004,

SBC spread its DSL service message again in Las Vegas with 300,000 valet tickets

and 240,000 spitter tickets.

Today, after the merger of SBC and AT&T, the company stands as the largest

telecommunications company in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.

AdverTickets continues to provide advertising solutions such as valet and spitter

ticket campaigns that get results for the company.

Heather Armstrong, GSD&M’s out-of-home buying director explains why her client

found value in AdverTickets campaigns:

“Valet and spitter tickets have been a big part of SBC’s non-traditional advertising

effort. We have continued to use them because of the impressive response we

have received from the client, as well as the exceptional execution by AdverTickets.

SBC looks to this media vehicle for a ‘wow’ factor. It is not ordinary advertising;

it’s something that goes directly in the consumer’s hand and gets the consumer’s

attention with the bold printing and production.”

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