The Verizon Story
How Verizon Reimagined an Archival Program To Create a Record-Setting Digital Storytelling Trove
Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., was approaching two major coinciding milestone moments in its history: a CEO change and the company’s 20th anniversary. Eager to capitalize on these shifts, Verizon set out to establish a record of its story to be used for years to come.
The telecom giant was already familiar with History Factory’s reputation as historical storytellers due to a book we produced with former CEO and Chairman Ivan Seidenberg about the company’s creation and growth. Thanks to that previous work, we were familiar with Verizon’s reputation and story.
We worked with Verizon to reimagine its archives program, install interactive exhibits in the company headquarters’ highly trafficked main lobby, and create a digital storytelling experience that surpassed many key benchmarks—and our partnership continues.
Verizon Wanted To Tell Its Story—In More Ways Than One
Verizon was at a pivotal point in its history:
- Its CEO and chairman, Lowell McAdam, stepping down
- The rollout of a new purpose statement
- Its 20th anniversary on the horizon
- The retirement of long-standing employees, resulting in a loss of institutional knowledge
- A long-held desire to showcase its heritage through interactive exhibits in its headquarters and via a digital destination
Verizon needed the right content to tell its story well enough to:
- Celebrate the milestone
- Inspire and make future Verizon storytellers out of new hires
- Affirm how Verizon’s deep commitment to its purpose enabled it to become and remain an industry leader
The obstacle Verizon faced was that its brand stories—drawn from a multitude of legacy companies with rich histories of their own—were dispersed throughout the organization without a central repository. Valuable historical materials were spread across various regional offices, former legacy headquarters and a disjointed housing system.
Verizon worked with History Factory to collect these known assets, arrange and preserve them, and use them to tell its story in an informative, inspiring way.
Verizon’s Archives by the Numbers
Our first order of business was clear. We needed to assess what existed in order for Verizon to be able to comprehensively communicate its history. We set out to gather materials and artifacts that represented the totality of Verizon’s history.
Working with Verizon’s records managers, we set up guidelines to determine what should be kept. In conjunction with these efforts, Verizon solicited content submissions through a grassroots outreach program. We collected, arranged and described everything that made it into our hands. And, well—we’ll let the numbers do the talking.
- 865 linear feet of physical records (more than two football fields)
- 36,000 catalog records
- 6,185 digitized assets
- Over a dozen legacy companies represented
- A dedicated internal Slack channel to share archival updates and interesting finds, with more than 200 members and counting
We knew that Verizon had what it needed to tell its story. In parallel, we began working with Verizon on an impactful delivery method for that story.
The Verizon Story Museum: Rich Heritage Told Through Tech
To convey Verizon’s incredible impact and inspire the next generation of employees, Verizon installed several exhibits in the common areas of its operational headquarters in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Using a marriage of environmental branding and interactive storytelling, the exhibit areas showcase Verizon’s innovations in the context of telecommunications history, the company’s current landscape and its vision for the future. Each of the five modular exhibit areas in The Verizon Story Digital Experience brings a different piece of Verizon’s story to the forefront.
The next aim was to integrate elements of the exhibit areas into different offices around the country to inspire the next generation of Verizon storytellers. As spring 2020 approached, the exhibit areas were poised to do exactly that—until an unforeseeable disruption led Verizon to reevaluate its priorities.
The Verizon Story Digital Experience, Prioritized by the Pandemic
As it turns out, it’s impossible for employees to enjoy a physical museum when they’re working remotely. As the Basking Ridge headquarters sat empty, Verizon knew it needed to make all that great content accessible as quickly as possible.
Digital storytelling was always part of The Verizon Story program, but the onset of COVID-19 made it an urgent priority to pivot the content to a digital platform. History Factory quickly adapted the in-person exhibit areas to a web-friendly format. Working with Verizon, we developed a strategy that ensured content would be updated regularly so the experience would always stay fresh. Verizon launched it, and the results tell the rest of the story.
Getting Results: How The Verizon Story Wowed
Our work with Verizon isn’t done. The company is still archiving its valuable assets and producing share-worthy content for the Basking Ridge exhibits and digital experience.
Net wins so far:
- Verizon’s overall corporate digital communications rose in 2021 to No. 5 on the Bowen Craggs Index, with the Digital Experience story “Verizon in the wild” cited as best practice.
- In its first year, visitors averaged 3 minutes, 17 seconds on the site, which is above standard benchmarks of 2–3 minutes.
- Outstanding initial launch metrics:
- Verizon Story content performance exceeded benchmarks across all social media platforms and audiences when it launched on April 26, 2021.
- Current and past Verizon employees had more than 2.5x higher CTR than other audiences, affirming the content’s resonance with the primary audiences.
- The Verizon Story Physical Experience is regularly used as a visual backdrop for executive media appearances; Up to Speed, Verizon’s daily communications with V Teamers; and employee webcasts.
- One additional physical exhibit was launched in Verizon’s new Boston Innovation Hub in late 2021.
- Assets and research from the Verizon Archives formed the foundation of Verizon’s MMS experience “9/12: The Untold Story of Reconnecting New York,” produced by Verizon’s in-house agency. The work won Gold at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the Clio Awards, the One Show, and the International ANDY Awards, and was also awarded a coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil.
- The Verizon Story won a Gold Stevie® Award for Branded Campaign of the Year in 2023.