AT&T's aims for its @SummerBreak initiative, which debuted on June 23, have been transparent: The telecom wants to continue the millennial marketing drive it touted at South by Southwest months ago.
So the brand has been all over YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine and, of course, Snapchat. For the latter, in particular, AT&T has quickly garnered 44,500 followers without any paid media while organically pushing its SummerBreakSnap element. That's pretty good for having zero presence on the mobile-social app two months ago.
But its YouTube numbers are off the charts for @SummerBreak, a digital video series that has existed solely on social media channels. While tapping millennial YouTube influencers Ricky Dillon, Kian Lawley, Jenn McAllister, Andrea Russett and Alexis Zall, five-to-10-minute episodes have been posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays while a 20-minute installment has gone live every Sunday. The AT&T-branded @SummerBreak storyline entails a group of smartphone-tethered teenagers as they spend their last summer together and get ready for college life.
The effort has so far racked up 20 million views, per a rep for the involved companies, which included The Chernin Group and youth content shop Astronauts Wanted. BBDO worked on the larger campaign.
The video series ends on Aug. 18. Check out its first YouTube webisode below.