Verizon and AT&T are the wireless industry’s Montague and Capulet. They’re always in battle, mainly because they are, by far, the top two carriers in the game. Both have had their victories lately.
AT&T got the iPhone, which brought in million of customers who otherwise probably wouldn’t have patronized Ma Bell. Verizon picked up Alltel last year, making it the nation’s No. 1 carrier. Their latest feud began last night on Monday Night Football. Big Red ran a spot showing how much more of the country it blankets with 3G coverage compared to AT&T.
Not only does Verizon smack down AT&T’s coverage, but they mock their biggest competitor along the way. The phrase “there’s an app for that” is the tagline for the iPhone, AT&T’s biggest draw. Verizon’s campaign shows that “there’s a map for that,” referencing the enormous red coverage area in its own 3G coverage map, versus the small blue dots in AT&T’s coverage map. Here’s the ad as it ran:
Verizon has seemingly picked a good time to throw down with AT&T. Earlier this year, a J.D. Power and Associates report found AT&T among the bottom of carriers in terms of service provided.
Just last week we highlighted a Laptop magazine report in which AT&T graded lowest for customer service on three tiers. AT&T could also lose iPhone exclusivity next year, and many analysts think it’s a near certainty that we could see the iPhone on most major carriers at some point in the near future.
It’s no lock that this ad does anything for Verizon. Most of the time, people are satisfied with coverage as long as it works in their local area. But for those who travel nationwide, Verizon’s appeal will only grow. They plan for that to continue into next year, when they launch their LTE network.
2 comments… read them below or add one
MediaCurves.com conducted a study among 403 Americans who viewed the new “There’s a map for that” Verizon Wireless ad. Results showed that one-third of non-Verizon Wireless customers reported they would be likely to switch their wireless phone carrier to Verizon Wireless. An overwhelming majority of respondents (94%) reported that the Verizon Wireless ad was effective, with 39% indicating that is was ‘extremely effective’ and 51% reporting that it was ‘somewhat effective’. More in depth results can be seen at:
mediacurves.com
Thanks,
Ben
Thanks for trying to contribute information, Ben, but I have to wonder why the sample pool in your study was so small. Only 403 Americans? Seems like it would be easy to come up with that 94% with such a small group. Did Verizon pay for this study?