“Our brand name sucks. So let’s buy a better one. Then kill it by substituting our crappy name for theirs.”
That appears to be the rough plan of what AT&T is doing to Cingular.
AT&T, which took full control of No. 1 U.S. mobile carrier Cingular with its $86 billion purchase of BellSouth last month, will launch on Monday a campaign to mark the change.
“We did not enter that decision lightly,” Wendy Clark, vice president of advertising at AT&T, said in an interview. “We came to understand that consumer customers and business customers alike are looking for a single provider. We heard it so consistently across the marketplace.”
[...]
The new AT&T was formed in the merger of SBC Communications and AT&T in late 2005. Adding to the mix, in late 2004 Cingular bought AT&T Wireless, eradicating that brand for its poor reputation among customers.“The good news is there is a difference between AT&T and AT&T Wireless,” Clark said. “We have benefited significantly…by having 12 months under our belt as the new AT&T.”
Unless this is part of a “New Coke” strategy, Wendy Clark might need to polish up her resume.
UPDATE: Colbert helps us all understand:
