SAN FRANCISCO-AirTouch Communications Inc. and U S West Media Group announced U S West Cellular will adopt the AirTouch name before the companies’ domestic cellular units merge.
U S West Cellular will assume the AirTouch cellular brand in May throughout its 12-state service area. U S West Cellular’s properties cover 20 million people including the major cellular markets of Seattle, Portland, Ore., Denver, Phoenix, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Salt Lake City. After the brand introduction, the AirTouch brand will cover most states west of the Mississippi and in parts of Georgia, the companies said.
AirTouch, U S West, Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile and PCS PrimeCo L.P. also have developed a product-centered national branding strategy that is expected to be announced early next month, AirTouch said. The strategy will build on the marketing plan of U S West’s TalkAlong, a phone that can be purchased in a box and activated by calling a customer service number. AirTouch said more than 200,000 TalkAlong units have been sold nationwide through convenient mass market retailers.
In related news, AirTouch announced that its brand name also will debut in nine states in the Northeast in May for the Message Center paging properties that AirTouch acquired in December. Message Center serves more than 350,000 customers primarily in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut, AirTouch said.
