The Southeast is in for a pair of new branding efforts from regional operators looking to reposition their brands in an ever-changing industry. Triton PCS Inc.’s SunCom Wireless brand and SouthernLinc are each launching ad campaigns geared to reaching new customers as well as reinforcing relationships with existing customers.
SunCom, which recently negotiated itself out of an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliation following Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s acquisition of AWS late last year, said the new campaign would stress its SunCom brand and include a “Truth in Wireless” tagline. In support of the new tagline, SunCom has adjusted its rate plans to include all taxes and fees in the pricing as well as providing the option for month-to-month contracts.
“If a customer’s advertised service plan is $39, the customer will be charged $39-with taxes and fees already included,” SunCom explained.
SunCom also introduced its “Our No Small Print Guarantee” that the carrier said includes “straightforward language” that will be in the same-sized type as other information in its advertisements. That straightforward language includes telling customers that they will be charged $200 if they terminate service while under contract and that SunCom will terminate a customer’s account if they use an above average amount of calling minutes compared with other customers in the area on its unlimited calling UnPlans.
Similar to other rebranding efforts, SunCom also has signed a celebrity spokesman in Harry Connick Jr. to appear in its $30 million advertising campaign. The campaign will include TV commercials-directed by acclaimed Hollywood figure Robert Altman-as well as radio, print, outdoor and online advertising.
SouthernLinc said its new branding campaign includes a new logo, new colors and modifying its name to SouthernLinc Wireless. The iDEN carrier, which is owned by regional power company Southern Co. and serves approximately 300,000 subscribers, said the refreshed brand “is meant to appeal to both business owners and consumers alike.”
In support of the new look, SouthernLinc Wireless said it will launch a new advertising campaign this month as well as more aggressive service plans, which it hopes will reposition the carrier in the midst of recent upheaval in the wireless telecommunications space.
“In the face of recent mergers and acquisitions in the wireless industry, SouthernLinc Wireless is taking this step to better enable our customers-current and future-to easily find us amongst the advertising clutter,” said Bob Dawson, chief executive officer and president of SouthernLinc Wireless.
Julie Pigott, SouthernLinc vice president of marketing, added that the new branding effort will provide a more consumer-oriented focus to SouthernLinc’s branding without harming its strong business and government customer base.
“We’re not shying away from the business or government segment with the new branding, but are instead looking to attract a broader consumer base,” Pigott explained.
SouthernLinc launched a prepaid offering in late 2003 that was geared toward both business and consumers and included use of the carrier’s traditional cellular, Instant Linc walkie-talkie service and text-messaging capabilities.
Pigott added that while SouthernLinc does not break-out the make up of its customer base, it traditionally has a higher percentage of business and government users in its larger markets, while a stronger consumer presence in its rural markets that have fewer competitors.
SouthernLinc is set to become one of the last iDEN-based operators in the United States, following Nextel Communications Inc.’s merger announcement with Sprint Corp., which includes the eventual migration of Nextel’s network to CDMA technology. Analysts expect a similar future for Nextel Partners Inc., which has an option to force a sale to the new Sprint Nextel if the deal is approved.
Pigott said that SouthernLinc was still comfortable with the Motorola Inc.-developed technology, noting that Nextel recently signed an agreement with Motorola to support its network through 2008 and the continued use of the technology by a handful of small U.S.-based carriers as well as in a number of international markets. SouthernLinc also has a close working relationship with Motorola and in many cases has launched the latest iDEN handsets before Nextel.
In addition, Pigott said SouthernLinc customers have come to depend on some of the advantages the network technology provides.
“iDEN is still the best push-to-talk technology available today in the market and is important to our customer base,” Pigott said.
Pigott added that SouthernLinc has not announced any plans to upgrade its network with more advanced iDEN iterations-like the higher data speed capabilities of WiDEN-or overlay a different technology, but that it will continue to monitor iDEN’s migration path.
