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Poor Sprint.

July 22, 2010 in Marketing | 0 Comments

I feel for Sprint, I really do.  They were the first and only top-tier national fiber optic voice and data network yet they never made it past #3. They started when analog telephone calls and digital data packets were coin of the realm.  Today, when speed is needed more than ever, when iPhone users are complaining about dropped calls while sitting in front of computers with sluggish load times, poor Sprint and its lightning fast fiber still aren’t getting any respect. Fiber is an idea consumers understand. Sadly, the story has never been correctly told.  

FIOS, a Verizon product built on Fiber, is gaining mindshare in NY as a faster means of digital transport. (Fiber into the house makes machines scream.)  Sprint, on the other hand, is airing a TV spot promoting the HTC EVO mobile phone running over its 4G network — the world’s first 4G network – using a strategy about “firsts.”  The TV spots borrows a visual idea from Honda and Google (so much for firsts) showing other technology innovations tipping over in dominoes fashion. A Model T, knocks over a bi-plane which knocks over a steam locomotive, etc. It’s so far removed from fiber, a medium that connotes speed and clarity, you might as well be watching a Fruit Loops commercial.  

Verizon, via Droid, is implying “futures” in its TV work. Sprint focuses its images on the past. Quick, close your eyes. Visualize which company gets credit for speed? No contest.

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AT&T Vs. Verizon

December 29, 2009 in Marketing | 0 Comments

Coverage

In my mind Verizon is putting a beat down on AT&T when it comes to the wireless wars. By now everyone knows 3G is the network that runs iPhones and smartphones.  Most also know that iPhone coverage over the AT&T network is pretty poor, with dropped called aplenty.  If you know someone with an iPhone, you’ve heard the complaints.

Advertising

Then there’s the advertising.  Every day I open my paper paper to find three successive full page, all type, orange ads with B- headlines such as “Don’t dumb down your smart phone” or “Is AT&T Better? Appsolutely” or “When you compare, there’s no comparison.” Today’s investment in The New York Times alone probably cost north of $200,000.  These ads which have been running every day for weeks create no muscle memory for AT&T. Together they tout what I’m sure research indicates is AT&T’s 4 key customer advantages: “faster, simultaneous talk and web, most apps, and most popular.”  They package these 4 things under the line “a better 3G experience.” Too much.

Verizon on the other hand and its “phone wars” tested ad agency McCann-Erickson are pushing one primary idea: 3G coverage.  The brilliant TV ad where the kid’s dense Verizon map blocks out the football game creates a memorable game-changing branding idea.  Coverage.  It’s smart on so many levels. Coverage = no dropped calls = good sound quality = fast.  AT&T and BBDO need an idea (as in one) or it may soon be a TKO. Peace!

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Aol. vs. Yahoo

December 11, 2009 in Brand Planning, Digital Marketing, Marketing | 0 Comments

Aol. and Yahoo have both finally figured out that good content begets readership, viewership, referral, and participation which begets — the same.  These two seminal online brands will be dooking it out for years to come. They both took different paths to get here and both have CEOs with unique perspectives, but the battle should be fun to watch. Coke and Pepsi, AT&T and Verizon fun.

Armstrong vs. Bartz

My bet is on Aol. Tim Armstrong hitched his ride to a rising star (Google) and got that success smell on him — but I think he created some of that smell with his focus and good leadership. Carol Bartz’s career advanced by good blocking and tackling and good business decisions, something Yahoo hadn’t had for a while prior to her arrival.  Yahoo made lots of decisions, just not with a solid brand idea driving them. Until proven otherwise, I’ll give Mr. Armstrong the edge and write it off to “derring do.”

Ad dollars are moving online, no doubt, but those in the know will tell you the lion’s share are going to Google thanks to AdWords and their direct-to-consumer, DIY, analytics-powered ad model. As Aol. and Yahoo re-create their online brands and lead the market in the generation of original content (paid and contributed), search will stay a powerful, lucrative utility, but won’t be the best way to find good content. That will be the domain of Aol and, hopefully, Yahoo. Peace!

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Is the Economy Turning?

July 1, 2009 in Marketing | 0 Comments

The front page of The New York Times today has pictures of smiling Iraqis, smiling Al Franken, a smiling German choreographer, a not so smiling uninsured couple and a big fat, juicy hamburger.  4 out of 5 ain’t bad. The first section of the Times is 34 pages thick with ads from Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Verizon, Liberty Travel, HSBC, New Balance, Chevrolet, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Sirius-XM radio and Cadillac.

 

The financial pages suggest hope and the bank ads are about saving, not spending. My friend Cory Teffiletti, who publishes a newsletter called “The Digital Influencials,” is once again filling his space with some exciting start-ups and Twitter is growing so fast, we marketers haven’t quite figured out what to do with it. In fact, it seems there is a Twitter Conference on every corner of every major city this summer.

 

Right or wrong, marketers of every stripe are embracing social media as a new way to improve sales and that has started up a cottage industry of consultants. Social media is also making traditional agencies fight harder for their breakfast – another good thing. Embrace the good people. I smell goodness in the market. Peace!

 

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