AT&T Screwing Up the Ad War
You might have noticed the advertising war going on between AT&T and Verizon. Verizon's argument seems to be that its network is way better. AT&T counters with: Nuh uh!
Really, watch them for yourself:
There have been lawsuits thrown back and forth and so on over the network, but the usual take is that Verizon has the more pervasive network. It certainly seems that way in Knoxville, Tennessee. Verizon users can make calls from my house whereas AT&T users find themselves playing a roulette game to see if their calls go through.
But that is only anecdotal evidence and it isn't demonstrative of the true state of things. Is AT&T's network really inferior? Who knows? The truth is that it doesn't matter. The perception is that the network is inferior and all the ads in the world won't change that. Honestly, have you ever seen a commercial and thought "This doesn't mirror my experience but because this company bought time on national TV my perceptions must be in error." Of course you haven't.
Fighting over the network coverage is a battle AT&T can't win and it is a battle the company is stupid for trying to fight. Why is Verizon yakking about the network in the first place? Because the company doesn't have the iPhone. Verizon's biggest weakness is that the company can't sell you the phone everyone wants. If AT&T has what everyone wants, and Verizon doesn't the crafty play is to attack the network. Verizon has done a nice job.
What should AT&T's response be? Should AT&T fall into the trap of arguing about how great its network is? No way, that is like charging tanks with horses, knightly but useless. Even if what AT&T is telling you is true, it just doesn't matter because you already know better. So how should AT&T fend off Verizon?
If you're an Apple fan you might think about brand identity and the Think Different campaign and wonder if AT&T should go in that direction. OR perhaps AT&T should consider doing something along the lines of the Get a Mac ads. Either of those would be a mistake. Apple was trying to stay alive with the Think Different campaign and trying to grab the high-end computer user with the "I'm a Mac" ads. AT&T is fighting for more than a few points of market share—AT&T and Verizon are in a battle for dominance.
With that in mind AT&T needs a three pronged attack:
First: Play up the thing that scares Verizon the most. The iPhone. The iPhone is why Verizon is talking about the network so let everyone know that you can't get one on Verizon. Pop up the map showing all the places you can use your iPhone on Verizon.
Second: Paint Verizon as an oppressive beast. Bing is now standard on Verizon Blackberry Storms. Even if you didn't want it on your Storm there is a standard Bing search. Worse, Verizon wants to jack up early termination fees. AT&T's Logo does look like the Death Star, but if there is an asthmatic, evil Jedi in the house he is running Verizon. AT&T needs to play up that it's not about forcing things onto your phone or punishing you for leaving early, yet.
Third: Push the future. Supposedly AT&T's network will kick the living crap, speedwise, out of Verizon's network sooner or later. In the tech world sooner or later means nothing, sooner or later Duke Nukem Forever is coming out. But delivering something and promising something are different things. AT&T should hint that if you are stupid enough to sign a Verizon contract today you'll be surfing in the slow lane before your contract is up.
The basic premise is AT&T has the phones, AT&T respects the customer, and AT&T is the future. There is some danger here, if you convince everyone only the hardware matters and the iPhone comes to Verizon, well, that could be seen as a problem. Why stick with AT&T if you can use the iPhone on Verizon? There is the promise of the faster network but it doesn't really matter. AT&T is about signing people up to AT&T right now, not six months from now.
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The big issue (to me at least) is AT&T;‘s me too isn’t a me too and it was kinda deceptive. The Verizon ad was speaking of 3G coverage but the AT&T;covers 97% of Americans must mean phone or possible edge. you really can’t know because they don’t say. (which is odd that there isn’t a disclaimer on the bottom)
But 97% of Americans cannot get 3G coverage from AT&T;- so that is deceptive.
The deception really irks me, but really they should just drop the maps cause they won’t win. I love my iphone even without 3g coverage but I hate that I have to pay for 3G Coverage and can’t use it so I am paying and hundreds of thousands of Americans (guess) are also giving AT&T;money for nothing. (BTW - that is something Verizon could use so AT&T;better hope that Verizon doesn’t find out)
1. Verizon has the Droid and soon the Google Phone. That obviously doesn’t matter to the rabid Apple brand-loyalists, but my friend recently went iPhone—>Droid and isn’t coming back any time soon.
2. Um, AT&T;has no room at all to refer to anyone as an oppressive beast. Neither does Apple for that matter; even less probably. Quick, what’s the default search for Safari on the iPhone? It’s YAHOO. What if you don’t want Yahoo? Heck, what if you don’t want Safari? What if you want to get an app that works but Apple hasn’t approved for the one and only store that sells apps for the iPhone? Yuck Foo. If AT&T;was foolish enough to try that tactic, they’d be laughed out of the room.
3. Yeah, the future. Because Verizon certainly isn’t working on improving ITS network while AT&T;spends its money on lawsuits instead of improving its crappy 3G coverage.
“2. Um, AT&T;has no room at all to refer to anyone as an oppressive beast. Neither does Apple for that matter; even less probably. Quick, what’s the default search for Safari on the iPhone? It’s YAHOO. What if you don’t want Yahoo? Heck, what if you don’t want Safari? What if you want to get an app that works but Apple hasn’t approved for the one and only store that sells apps for the iPhone? Yuck Foo. If AT&T;was foolish enough to try that tactic, they’d be laughed out of the room. “
Hey man, we are talking advertising, not reality. If AT&T;makes an issue of the oppressive nature of Verizon people will buy into that.
“If AT&T;makes an issue of the oppressive nature of Verizon people will buy into that.”
Really? You think if Microsoft made an ad accusing Apple of monopolistic practices, people would “buy into that” just because they see it in a commercial?
Not everyone swallows the corporate line the way Apple fans do.
“Really?”
Yes, really. The reason people will believe the message is because they already hate Verizon. This just gives something else to latch onto. People go with a cell phone company because they “have” to have a cell phone, they still detest the companies.
“You think if Microsoft made an ad accusing Apple of monopolistic practices, people would “buy into that” just because they see it in a commercial?”
Since Apple isn’t already hated, people see Apple stuff as a luxury, it probably wouldn’t work. Not that it wouldn’t be honest. But since when was the point of advertising being honest?
“The reason people will believe the message is because they already hate Verizon. This just gives something else to latch onto.”
Not as much as they hate AT&T;. In fact, aren’t most iPhone fanboys chomping at the bit to SWITCH to Verizon?
“But since when was the point of advertising being honest?”
As long as you’re advocating that AT&T;lie, then why stop at accusing Verizon of doing what AT&T;& Apple do even worse? Why not recommend AT&T;accuse Verizon of killing puppies or orphans? What is the point of this article?
“Not as much as they hate AT&T;. In fact, aren’t most iPhone fanboys chomping at the bit to SWITCH to Verizon?”
Yep, people pretty much hate every cell provider. I don’t know if every iPhone fanboy is chomping at the bit for verizon but I wouldn’t mind the change.
“As long as you’re advocating that AT&T;lie, then why stop at accusing Verizon of doing what AT&T;& Apple do even worse?”
The only thing I accused verizon of was running a good ad campaign.
“Why not recommend AT&T;accuse Verizon of killing puppies or orphans?”
I haven’t heard verizon deny that the company regularly kills orphans and puppies but, even if they did, that wouldn’t be effective advertising. A better map trumps killing puppies any day. People are after usefulness.
Painting Verizon as an oppressive beast when AT&t;is also an oppressive beast isn’t a big deal. You don’t even have to lie. You just point out that Verizon is a heavy handed company that does not respect its customers. AT&T;can just leave out that they aren’t snowflakes and rainbows in this regard.
Once Verizon is painted as the provider who thinks they are to good for its customers it will stick. Though the danger of that tactic is that since Verzon’s advertising is better they’ll find someway to beat the crap out of AT&T;.
“What is the point of this article?”
The point is that AT&T;is screwing up the ad war by directly responding to Verizon’s ads with an ad that says “Not true!” It sounds whiney and it isn’t effective.
I’ve got no preference for cell phone companies. If it were up to me I’d like an iPhone on TMobile, I’ve never had that service so I don’t hate them…. yet.