Well, the economy must be recovering and competition heating up because all of a sudden big telecom players are arguing about … branding, advertising and marketing. Taking the lead is AT&T, which according to Ad Age is undergoing a major rebranding under the banner “Rethink Possible.” The re-branding is at least in part about creating separation from last year’s ad battle with Verizon Wireless over the iPhone, coverage maps and more. VZW looks like it’s going to remain feisty, however. Broadband Reports tells of a new series of Verizon ads mocking Comcast’s own rebranding effort with its Xfinity service repackaging. Which will fare best: the high or the low road?
Writes Ad Age of AT&T’s re-branding effort:
The new theme attempts to position AT&T as a lifestyle company and elevate it from the recent ad sniping with rival Verizon. “Rethink Possible” will inform all advertising from the country’s fourth-largest spender going forward. “It’s not going to be the old model that there’s brand work, and then there’s consumer work or enterprise work; it’s all ‘Rethink Possible,’” said Senior VP-Brand Marketing and Advertising Esther Lee. “All of our communications across all of these channels is ‘Rethink Possible’ and this integration of design.”
The goal is to move AT&T’s brand perception among consumers from telecommunications company to innovation company. “There’s so much innovation happening at the company that I think people don’t know,” said Ms. Lee. “We spend an average $18 billion to $19 billion a year on our network, our technology and our inventions in order to drive the future of how people are going to live on our network.”
Connected Planet’s take,
Dan O’Shea:
“Rethink Possible” sounds a lot like “You Will.” That was AT&T’s branding message back in the early to mid-1990s, and it doesn’t seem like anything has really changed in terms of how the company wants to be perceived. Crafting an image as an innovator is a no-brainer, and there is certainly nothing wrong with going that route, but this new campaign must signify that AT&T believes not enough people understand what it’s been talking about for the last decade and a half.
And maybe not enough of us do: AT&T and other telcos are still seen by some as companies sitting at the top of a dead business, landline voice. Success in broadband Internet and residential TV services has opened eyes to everything else telcos can offer, but the innovator plaudits still tend to go to the Apples and Googles of the world.
It turns out that AT&T was right about some of the things it predicted for us back in the day, such as the rise of tablet-like PCs. AT&T doesn’t make tablet PCs, of course, but it will help make them work to their full utility — at least when the network can handle the traffic.
That brings up the other, subtler message behind the “Rethink Possible” campaign: “Give us another chance.” AT&T is looking to move past its smackdown with Verizon Wireless over iPhone network coverage and show customers that it has done some serious work on its network.
That’s our take on this. Let us know what you think in the comments section below:
Yes it’s Spring and the Operators are feeling better…
AND they need all the Mobile Apps and Value Added they can “Possibly Rethink” to keep Revenues growing.
Despite huge numbers of subscribers demanding bandwidth for both fixed and broadband applications the prices are eroding so fast that Revenue Growth is tough. See Free Report :Telecommunications Operators becoming Riskier in US and Europe
http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=ReportAbstractViewer&a0=5401
Well done article, but your editor needs to take a marketing class. The title they chose for this article of “AT&T Gets New Logo” is patently wrong, even according to the article itself. The “Logo” in question is the blue ball world. The “theme” or “positioning” statement is changing from “your world, delivered” to “rethink possible”. McDonald’s logo is the golden arches, but they change their theme/slogan/positioning from time to time, from “you deserve a break today” to “I’m loving it”. Pepsi, on the other hand, changed their logo last year to a different variation of red white and blue circle.
Speaking to some mid-level AT&T managers, they say their company needs to \"get real\" and actually \"walk the walk\". Lip service isn\’t going to get them anywhere in this new age of communications.
I thought the \"old AT&T/SBC\" was dead, but it is still alive and \"un-well\". Spending $$$ on Add Campaigns is NOT going to fix a totally outdated wireless network, AT&T needs to spend those $$$ on a new network that actually works!
The repositioning on the part of AT&T was probably a smart move given the fight they\’re losing with Verizon over 3G network coverage. But spending money on a re-jiggered logo (plus all the money on changing out the logo on everything from thousands of fleet vans to store signs to business cards) is an unnecessary expense to this shareholder.
Deven Nongbri
http://twitter.com/dnongbri
ATT itself needs to “rethink possible.” My wife and I have iPhones with different areacodes in the same state. ATT refuses to allow us to join then into one account, because of some ancient vestige from the mergers of Bell Atlantic with Nynex before SBC bought it all and re-named it ATT. Sadly, I suspect that ATT will not listen to its own message, and continue to tell us that this is impossible.
It may be “rethink possible” in the ads but likely “old think probable” as the outcome. Company cultures, like supertankers take a lot of room and massive energy to change course.
As one that is pretty pleased with AT&T’s service, I loath seeing money spent on “rebranding” campaign. Those inside the industry know that today’s AT&T is just a moniker for SBC. To the average consumer, AT&T is still AT&T, old “ma Bell” abd nothing will change that. However, there was once a company that really did its own thing and so very successfully and innovativley under the AT&T brand – that was the now defunct AT&T Wireless. AT&T should focus on bringing back the spirit of that organization, instead of spending money on rebranding (just as Comcast should spend money on THEIR network – and not “Xfinity”).
Where do I get the rights to create ATT logos? This company is a massive destroyer of shareholder wealth. First they buy Comcast for $4000 per sub and then sell it for $2000. They spend hundreds of millions becoming SBC \"the global neighborhood telephone company\" and then hundreds of millions more to become ATT just to satisfy Ed Whittacres ego. Verizon is a much better run company.
So I think that Comcast rebranding of Xfinity needs some work. I was not impressed with the features rolled out. Xfinity claims that you can have TV Everywhere but only in you home. I’m a DISH consumer/employee and you can take your Smartphone, laptop, and Ipad where ever and get your subscription. This is great when on the road or at the mall. The options avail is great and they make it easy to enjoy your TV. Find out more here when you go to the DISH website.