The idea sparked a non-traditional use of integrated multimedia, leveraging MMS as an interactive space for immersive storytelling. Using every native tool within a text conversation, existing apps created the springboard for a new and very intimate way of telling a story on a personal mobile device. Viewers received a series of emotional, poignant employee stories at the times they actually happened on September 12, 2001.

What happened on 9/11 is forever etched into our memories. Unknown to many is what happened the next day. Just one block from Ground Zero, thousands of Verizon employees risked their lives and ran toward a crisis to help reconnect New York.

Our brief was to understand the critical role Verizon played on 9/12 and to showcase how Verizon’s telecommunications headquarters—and especially its employees—had a profound impact on the recovery and comeback of New York, as well as the nation.

Our objective was to create an original immersive experience for current Verizon employees that shared an important piece of the company history while honoring the 14,000 Verizon employees who were there in 2001.

A story that’s never been told in a format that's never been used before: Text messages. In 2001, it was the latest way to communicate, and now in 2021, it’s the most personal. The 1:1 nature of texting gave us a meaningful platform to share the emotional stories that emerged in the days after 9/11. With over 30 Verizon employees from 2001 interviewed, a timeline was established. Every text documented a moment, an action, or a story we delivered at the time of day the events actually happened on Sept 12 twenty years earlier. The use of text messages was a direct way to engage with the audience in a personal conversation and a nod to the basic tech of 2001. It’s a story about the past, told with a modern twist, featuring the cutting-edge mobile experiences of today’s world.

Unknown to many at Verizon was the critical role employees played during 9/11. With this in mind, we created 9/12: The untold story of reconnecting New York. The 20th anniversary of the attacks provided a meaningful moment to honor the brave men and women from Verizon who were there in 2001. The experience was current Verizon employees to learn about an important piece of company history.

To participate, users entered their phone number on a website to receive the MMS experience on 9/12. There was also a textable link for friends and family. Our corporate comms team promoted the experience through internal social, email, and executive communication..

On the morning of 9/12, texts were delivered every hour at the time of day the events actually happened 20 years ago, putting people in the shoes of the employees who were there.

This one-day, real-time immersive experience was created for Verizon employees. We invited users to step into the timeline of 9/12, putting them in the shoes of Verizon employees who sprang into action that day. At 8AMon 9/12, hourly stories were sent over a 12-hour time period. Including eleven personal stories told through MMS native content such as immersive phone calls reenacting historical moments, 360º interactive maps of Lower Manhattan, before-and-after filters in AR, YouTube mini-documentaries, voice memos, SMS messages, archival photos. 500, 000 texts were sent in a 12 hour period. (For context, the average American sends and receives 85+ texts per day.) The use of text messages as a media platform was a nod to the basic tech of 2001, while featuring the cutting-edge mobile experiences of today—a story about the past told with a modern twist.

Mobile messaging became a unique and powerful storytelling tool that connected with users on an intimate level, and on launch day alone, we sent over 300K MMS messages. Our success stemmed from the meaningful brand experience created specifically for our employees, resulting in a 99.86% engagement rate. As a brand that puts innovation at the forefront of everything we do, we took extreme pride in the creation of an entirely new multimedia MMS platform. Existing phone apps became the springboard for immersive storytelling. Leveraging every native tool within a text conversation, we sent viewers a series of personal, poignant employee stories to be experienced at the exact times they happened on September 12, 2001. The 9/12 experience pays tribute to the incredible resilience, courage and willpower of the 14,000 Verizon employees who showed up and made a profound impact on our nation’s recovery in the aftermath of 9/11.