A corporate merger is not unlike a marriage. Two separate parties enter the union with two individual identities, and emerge from the ceremony as one entity, committed to achieving common goals and bearing a common name.
The wireless industry witnessed the engagement last week of BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., as well as the marriage of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., a grand event that spawned Verizon, the merged companies’ new brand, name and identity.
However, this entirely fresh look is, at the moment, the exception among personal communication services companies when it comes to brand positioning.
“Both Sprint and AT&T have other divisions which are spending money and really enhancing their brand. Data this and data that … Wireless units are not focused on increasing their brand,” said Hunt Eggleston, president and chief technology officer of Technology Trends Inc. in San Diego.
The emphasis on wireless data services is evident in Sprint PCS’ “Wireless Web” campaign, which has been in full-force for several months. In addition to pushing its new service, Sprint PCS also has been successful in promoting PCS technology as superior to cellular with its “Free and Clear” campaign and slogan, “The Clear Alternative to Cellular.”
“I think the companies that don’t have much brand recognition are trying to create one. Sprint has done a very good job of projecting PCS as being better than cellular. In some consumers’ minds, there is a difference. Cellular equals old, and PCS equals new,” Eggleston said.
Many PCS companies are taking a conservative approach to marketing spending until their various mergers and/or initial public offerings go through. AT&T is expected to spin off its wireless unit at the end of the month, at which time Eggleston said “we’ll see some major spending.” BellSouth and SBC announced plans to create a new brand as a result of their merger, but have yet to do so, and Sprint Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. still are waiting to hear from the Federal Communications Commission on whether or not their union will be allowed.
Vodafone AirTouch plc is in the process of combining its wireless assets with Bell Atlantic’s to create Verizon Wireless, but it has done little in the recent past to better position the AirTouch brand, Eggleston said.
“A lot of the AirTouch people have a lot of money right now but not a lot is happening. They’re all focused on other stuff,” said Eggleston.
While companies like Sprint PCS are driving home the benefits of their technology, others like VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and U S West Inc. are touting the freedom and advantages of owning a PCS phone. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is VoiceStream’s spokeswoman, promoting the company’s philosophy that VoiceStream can help subscribers “Get More From Life,” and U S West, with its slogan, “Life’s Better Here,” also positions itself as the only provider of “One Number Service.” It lets subscribers use their home or office phone number for their PCS phone.
In spite of the company’s imminent merger, Ashley Pindell, spokeswoman for Sprint PCS, said Sprint is going about business as usual. When asked about plans for a new name and brand if the merger with MCI WorldCom materializes, Pindell said, “I don’t think that’s been determined yet.”
Eggleston believes a Sprint/MCI WorldCom marriage probably will make few waves in terms of either corporations’ market position.
“Migrating to the MCI WorldCom name is not going to be at all hurtful, in part because Sprint has been known as the low-price leader,” he said.
Perhaps the most pressing and compelling issue for PCS-and all new companies-is the exhausting search for an available Internet domain name. Owning an easy-to-remember and appropriate domain name is essential to successful advertising and brand positioning.
However, “It has gotten unbelievably complicated,” said Russell Meyer, executive director of corporate identity for Landor Associates, a worldwide branding consulting and design firm. “You can forget about any real word being available. Combined and created words-even some of the those aren’t available.”
“Once you cross that one, you have to ask, does it communicate something? Is it pronounceable, spellable, recognizable? Are there any negative associations with any languages?” Meyer said.
Bell Atlantic said it started with a list of more than 8,500 names before it settled on Verizon, which combines the words “veritas,” which is Latin for truth, and “horizon.”
Although it may seem unnecessary, or perhaps even illogical, to do away with such well-established and recognizable corporate names as Bell Atlantic and GTE, doing so can help ease the difficulties of combining separate organizational structures and initiatives.
“I think there are two different dynamics going on. Any brand name that is well known has equity attached to it. There are emotional characteristics attached to it. A new organization might not be in line with these characteristics,” explained Meyer. “The name change can be used as a platform to talk about the new company.”
Meyer said a company also will be successful in positioning its brand if there is thought and purpose behind its new identity.
“Success is having a clear and compelling story and communicating that story. It’s how that brand can touch the audience both rationally and emotionally,” he said.
