If AT&T can help their small business succeed, it can help anyone's
Context
Running a small business is hard. And with small business enthusiasm at a 10-year low, AT&T Business did the unexpected: we reunited the group famous for being terrible at running a business and launched a new company with them. Because if we can help their dream of running a business come true, we can help anyone.
Idea
We knew we couldn’t just run a typical B2B campaign. Instead, we launched a completely new business led by a group of people who have a history of running a terrible business – the cast of The Office. The missing piece: AT&T Business. We tapped into business decision-makers’ sleep deprivation behavior to create our product: a talking pillow, designed to help people sleep, with Rainn Wilson’s voice. While B2B campaigns are often unrealistically positive, we tapped into real business owners’ anxieties and transformed them into laughs and entertainment.
The Launch
First, we went where businesspeople talk business: LinkedIn. Instead of launching on Instagram or TikTok where our actors have millions of followers, we did what every business owner must do and started from the ground with 0 followers. With a single post, Rainn Wilson quickly got thousands of followers and triggered big conversations, including from top executives and famous investors like Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John. After the cast joined the endeavor, the product was announced: Sleep with Rain, a talking pillow with Rainn’s voice that helps people sleep.
The Launch
Rainn launched the company on LinkedIn just like any other business – from the ground up. It quickly gained attention, even from shark investors and big executives. Other cast members joined in by announcing their new positions at the company.
The Website
A full launch ecosystem for the company was created: a website where business owners could know everything and get their pillows, an infomercial, a Spotify album created based on different business archetypes narrated by the cast, and teasers.
dreamwithrainn.comA 6-minute episode
Then, with the hype at its peak, we dropped a 6-minute film showing the struggles of “launch day.”
Fans of The Office went crazy for the content, and we even sparked rumors that the cast was reuniting for real.
Then, with the hype at its peak, we dropped a 6-minute film showing the struggles of “launch day.” Fans of The Office went crazy for the content, and we even sparked rumors that the cast was reuniting for real.
A fully integrated campaign
Sleep With Rain transcended the traditional full-funnel approach redefining B2B marketing and is considered the most successful campaign in AT&T Business history. The film exceeded 50M+ views, with a 99% social sentiment score. And Rainn Wilson said himself in an Ad Age interview, “The long-form ad should win an Emmy. It should win an Oscar maybe. OK, that’s going too far.”
… But is it? 😉
Play to see the teaser
Play to hear the album
The Results
In less than two weeks, the campaign became the most successful in the history of AT&T Business. It made a splash in pop culture, with over 2.5 billion impressions in high-impact publications such as Fast Company, USA Today, People, AdWeek, and Entertainment Weekly to name a few, ranging from Shanghai to Argentina.
