For more than 120 years AT&T has been an innovator in communications. One of the largest companies in the world (and 7th in the United States), AT&T approached Skild to address an innovation challenge that could revolutionize their business, and the way we communicate, forever. Through their sponsorship of the Innovation Challenge, one of the very first business competitions organized and run by Skild, AT&T posed a corporate strategy question to a global audience of top-performing university students.

While the actual challenge is confidential, the general idea was to create a new business model that connects one of AT&T’s fastest-growing services with mobility applications to meet the needs of a specific audience. AT&T wanted fresh ideas and perspectives on a real business challenge that could represent significant revenue for the company. Rather than hire a high-priced consultancy, AT&T turned to Skild and the Innovation Challenge®.

Using proven methodologies for framing challenge questions in business competitions, Skild worked with AT&T executives to craft a concise and compelling challenge brief. Hundreds of top-performing MBAs from around the world to took up the challenge. Students were encouraged to ask questions of the Sponsor, research the company’s current efforts in the challenge space, compile their most innovative thoughts and submit their best ideas. Skild marketed the event, managed contestant registrations, accepted submissions, recruited an expert panel of judges, facilitated online evaluations through the business contest application, handled all PR activities and organized the award ceremony during the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Ideas – the business contest allowed AT&T to gain valuable insights and new approaches to inform their innovation efforts.

Talent – recruiters and hiring managers put prospective hires to the test, witnessing first-hand how they would interact with AT&T executives and staff.

Emotional Connection – participants immersed themselves in AT&T culture for several weeks while preparing their submissions, and every student felt the effect of the AT&T brand on their educational experience.