If you have had access to a television for any amount of time over the past three months, you have seen the constant and heated struggle between Verizon Wireless and AT&T regarding 3G coverage with their respective wireless devices. What started as a virtually necessary move by Verizon to combat the staunch opposition they met with the release of the iPhone and its ever growing popularity has turned into a substantial turning of the tide.
Verizon Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton admitted that the iPhone was the most groundbreaking device to ever enter the market and ultimately became "very disruptive" in Verizon's overall marketing strategy. Because of this, Verizon made the decision to abruptly throw out the pre-planned holiday advertisements with the "Maps" campaign. (Stratton can be seen explaining why the "Maps" campaign was necessary while providing an overview of Verizon's nine-year marketing history at http://adage.com/brightcove/single.php?title=53522445001) Add this with the release of the brand new "Droid" smartphone, and you've got a formula for disaster for AT&T. This decision has led to a tremendous score for Verizon on many levels and couldn't have come at a better time.
Verizon took a bold step in launching the "Maps" campaign, and in the process led to an even larger victory with AT&T responding with countless lawsuits and counter-ads that have done nothing to combat the original claim: Verizon has more expansive 3G coverage. The impact has been seen in many different forms, but most notably in an article I came across that reported that according to YouGov marketing claims. The report stated that Verizon's awareness among individuals age 18-30 has grown from a dismal 40% to an astounding 62.2%, surpassing and actually taking a bite out of AT&T's awareness rating weighing in at 54.4%. (A link to this study will be attached at the end).
In sum, AT&T's rebuttle has been received as whiny and overly-defending. While the iPhone my have an application available to buy movie tickets or even sing like T-Pain, they don't have an app. that can outdo what Verizon has done and will continue to do with their marketing efforts.
Here's the study of awareness ratings previously mentioned:
http://www.electronicista.com/articles/09/12/15/may.be.building.on.droid.success/
1 comment:
I agree that AT&T's response has been childish and not well thought out at all.
I think that with the Iphone and the Ipad being locked down to AT&T for a long time to come they should focus their marketing efforts on their pluses rather than on others' faults
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