Kevin Calabrese
ATT

Kevin Calabrese

AVP, Brand Design & Experiential

AT&T

At AT&T, Calabrese uses his understanding about the customer journey and human behavior to design many experiential marketing mediums including retail, physical space and digital engagements. He is credited with creating experiences that helped elevate brand perception for companies like Toyota, Boeing, Chevrolet and more. Calabrese created AT&T’s first experiential customer journey model, a proprietary tool seamlessly linking all multi-sensory customer touch points for maximum brand breakthrough and cognitive engagement. Those who work with Calabrese consider him a key contributor to Czarnowski winning the General Motors Supplier of the Year Award for numerous years, as well as the General Motors Innovation Award in 2017. Calabrese also received the AT&T Cultural Pillar Award, given to individuals who show exemplary qualities that contribute to an award-winning company culture.

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT OF THE PAST YEAR

While I was privileged to travel globally throughout my career, I never moved from my hometown of Detroit. But in 2019, I packed up life and relocated to Dallas thanks to a great career opportunity with AT&T. Fresh starts in new places can be daunting, but they can also be wonderfully rewarding for both personal and professional growth. As hard as change is, sometimes it’s the best form of life inspiration.

A PIECE OF MEDIA THAT INSPIRED ME RECENTLY

For books, I recommend Brand Seduction by Daryl Weber to all brand-related creatives and marketers. We spend so much time designing for the conscious mind of consumers, we often forget buying decisions (and true brand affinity) are also established and serviced in the unconscious. Behavioral economics and neuroscience may sound foreign to a creative, but these are essential to brand building today. Also, Good to Great by Jim Collins is a bookshelf staple I’d recommend to anyone in a leadership position or aspiring to be. It’s a great foundation on the hidden drivers behind consistent business and employment success. For TV, I recommend HBO’s Succession. The writing, acting and photography is absolutely stellar, and the set design is visually indulgent. Also, if you haven’t subscribed to MasterClass yet, I highly recommend it. I would start by watching Hans Zimmer’s trailer on film scoring. I’m still in awe after the third watch of his class. He says that “rule breaking is the only thing that moves things forward.”

FUN FACT ABOUT ME

Starting at age seven (and lasting 20 years), I volunteered as Santa Claus at Detroit Children’s Hospital. Oddly enough, the kids never questioned a Santa as young as they were. President George W. Bush recognized the 20-year commitment to service in 2002.

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