The "new" AT&? – A Cingular mistake
AT&T has decided that after many years and billions (yes that’s bllions with a B) building a hip, memorable wireless brand that putting the word "new" in front of initials that stand for American Telephone and Telegraph is a better option. Uggh. (American for a global business in this day and age? Telegraph? What?)
Well, these are the same people after all who, upon acquiring MediaOne (one of the best and potentially most powerful names ever for a potential consumer triple play offering of cable-phone-internet) chose to change the name of that company to AT&T Broadband. Double uggh.
And what about two HUGE investments in the Cingular brand – American Idol and the new iPhone from Apple?
I think this is a case where one of the world’s least hip brands (AT&T) may actually do harm to two very hot brands (Idol and Apple).
Even Apple can’t make AT&T cool. I’m sure Steve Jobs is thrilled with that exclusive deal Apple signed with Cing…oops AT&T for the iPhone.
So whats the rationale? Efficiency.
Given the breadth of AT&T’s business, some bright bulbs thought having a singular (pun intended) wireless brand out there was inefficient from a marketing spend perspective. But this decision sacrifices effectiveness for efficiency and demonstrates a decided lack of honesty about its own brand.
AT&T is a badly tarnished, two economies ago brand with a horrific customer service reputation (both on the business and consumer side) that may not be quite beyond repair…but why repair when you could leverage?
I’d have argued for revolution. Lose AT&T as a brand and brand the whole thing as Cingular. Or if that’s too difficult for the old timers at AT&T, keep the holding company name and stock ticker, but brand as Cingular.
Branding as Cingular says current, future thinking, engaged in the world.
The decision to brand a AT&T says “we’re looking backward, to recapture lost glory, to show that we really are cool”.
Both sad and stupid.
Comments
Ken,
I couldn't agree more (although this convo is almost a year old now, dude!). I think it's more than possible to rehabilitate beat-up brands, but the lumbering oafish mass of AT&T -- I mean "at&t" -- could make that impossible. This has all the signs of a giant enterprise unable to overcome its own inertia to alter course.
By the time Cingular is fully assimilated, we'll probably all move on and forget this whole story. But from a communications standpoint, at&t will have destroyed an attractive, agile, nimble and "future thinking" asset that would have done more to advance the company's business faster than changing its lettermark to lower case.
Also, I used to be a customer of AT&T Wireless, which Cinglar acquired, and I hated my experience with them. I don't know if things improved under the Cingular brand -- but if so, that should have been an object lesson for at&t.
Guess it's up to you and me to go slay these Goliaths.
Check out my post on the subject here:
http://www.freshglue.com/fresh_glue/2006/05/att_bounces_cin.html
Posted by: G.B. Veerman | April 3, 2007 10:41 AM