Backing Up the Brand

In a region where competition runs strong, a branding campaign can be the very thing that entices people to remain loyal to you, even as more carriers enter the market. There are more than 18 million people in the Los Angeles area. This area is not only crowded with people, it also is crowded with wireless messages as one reseller and five carriers compete for customers.

AirTouch, L.A. Cellular, Nextel, Pacific Bell Wireless and Sprint PCS all vie for attention from potential Los Angeles customers, and each one has its own branding strategy. Steve Crosby, L.A. Cellular vice president of external affairs, said he wants people to think about experience, consistency and a high-quality network when they hear the company's name. The carrier drives that message home in several ways. It constantly reminds customers in its TV, print and radio ads that it was rated No. 1 in overall call quality. Last year, an independent company, netScan, conducted a study of the Southern California wireless carriers. It found L.A. Cellular offered the best accessibility, fewest dropped calls and the clearest connection. Besides advertising, Crosby works with local reporters to get the study's results out to the public.

"We beat the point over and over, and it is showing in our growth and (customer) satisfaction," he said.

Similarly, Sprint PCS pushes its own message to Los Angeles customers: clarity. Having such a well-known parent company helped get the idea out, said Joe Edward, Sprint PCS director of marketing, Los Angeles area. Sprint's legacy, the "pin drop" vision, captured the idea of clarity that Sprint PCS hoped to convey in its own branding campaign. The company introduced itself to residents and businesses as "The Clear Alternative to Cellular" through outdoor advertising. It painted a picture of the inside of a building on the outside wall of an actual office building. At first glance, it looked like you could see through the building. The company's "clear" message accompanied the mural. Sprint advertised clarity before customers even had a chance to try out the service. Thousands of customers signed up before it launched service, banking that they would receive clear connections.

"The brand name 'Sprint' is a marketer's dream," Edward said. "That was one of our biggest assets in starting PCS in Los Angeles."

According to Rick Rosillo, Nextel director of marketing for the southwest area, Nextel's brand is synonymous with business. In Los Angeles, that brand stands out, he said.

"Nationwide carriers would probably create an awareness of coverage," he said. "Some of the regional companies might look at it from an economic viewpoint. Some of the other large old Bell systems might promote service. We brand ourselves as a business carrier."

Rosillo said the best way to get a brand statement out is to back it up with something tangible. Nextel representatives show potential customers the features that it can offer, including 2-way radio, cellular and paging. The company also promotes that its service is national in scope and 100% digital.

"We have looked at businesses and decided a mobile person in business requires security, integration and the benefits of being on the road and having the same features as in the office," he said.

Doug Dobie, AirTouch director of strategy, said existing customers think of AirTouch as a California-oriented company with sizeable presence across the country that emphasizes service over price. The whole company is responsible for getting that brand out to the public. Almost daily, the company's senior manager highlights employees who deliver the brand and superior service. He plays tapes of exemplary customer service calls to thousands of employees to show them what he is looking for in an AirTouch representative.

"Brands are built through interactions and services rather than media campaigns. Most people not in the category need more explaining than a 30-second ad," he said. "The goal is to have every employee relating to the brand and having it tied into everything we do."

Steve Sitton, Pacific Bell Wireless president and general manager of the Los Angeles region, expects the name to convey high-quality untethered service. It tries to distinguish itself by offering superior voice quality and coverage. Its commercials promote voice quality, showing a Pacific Bell Wireless conversation rising above the clutter of other wireless conversations.

"We have invested more than $750 million in the last couple years in the Los Angeles area alone to try to exceed the service that our competitors offer," he said. "We feel service is going to be the key to getting and keeping our customers."

Is It Working?

It sounds like these carriers have their branding totally together, but do they? Dennis Garlington, Dalby Emprise Consulting principal, and Jon Stevens, Arthur Andersen manager, say no.

"When I put GTE, AirTouch and Sprint side by side, I can't tell which is which," Garlington said. "It is an open invitation to take today's newspaper and compare the ads on this company and go with the one that has the best price."

Getting your name out through retail stores, community involvement, sports teams and charities is not enough. These things promote name recognition, he said, but name recognition is not the same as branding. Garlington defines name recognition as a repetitive use of your name in a good, better, best context in your advertising. Branding is the delivery of a set of features that you use to carry through on your promises. The only message he has seen so far from wireless companies has been about price.

Stevens agreed, adding that wireless companies either are "out-technologying" or out-pricing one another, but no one is out-branding the others.

"On the price side, companies keep coming up with different plans or bundles, but they are really not brands or unique things," Stevens said. "If you just create different packages, that cheapens the overall brand."

Back Up What You Say

According to Garlington, the key to good branding is deciding on the message, conveying the message and then backing up the promise you made. He pointed out Nextel as a good example. It promises to help run businesses better, and it follows through with a set of features that matches its promise.

"For the moment, I don't see anybody else doing that," he said. "(The others) promise to be bigger, faster and cheaper, and there is no proof because on the next page of the newspaper there is evidence they were lying."

Many branding campaigns and messages even sound alike. L.A. Cellular and Pacific Bell Wireless, for example, both push call quality. Many carriers also highlight customer service.

Before you choose your message, you must look inside your company and figure our what you do best. Then, decide how to package the ability to caputre the public's imagination, Garlington said, because ultimately it comes down to an agreement that you make with the public.

"You say, 'I am going to do this better than anyone else. I promise to do that,'" he said. "They come back and say, 'I'll buy.'"