Rant: Cingular is now the new AT&T. I get it.
Steve Safran April 28th, 2007
Companies change names all the time, especially in the telco business. You usually find out this way: Telcom A sends you a note saying “We’re now Telcom B. Here’s your bill.” Never once has this confused me. But, for some reason, we are being exposed to - nay, hammered over the head with - “Cingular is now the new AT&T.” (And AT&T is the new black.) This noise started in January. Please make it stop. We understand. We’re not walking around with our Cingular phones and thinking “Wait - what happened to the bizarre jack-shaped dude on the bills?” We can handle it. Let it go.
12 Comments Add your own
1. Joe | April 28th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Ironically, we’re still running sponsor billboards for Cingular because no one in sales will verify that we’re supposed to change the logo.
2. Zack | April 29th, 2007 at 7:14 am
I bet this will continue until the release of the iPhone. The iPhone got a lot of exposure attached to the name Cingular.
3. Matt Sokoloff | April 29th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Wait, he’s a jack???? And when will my world be delivered?
4. Mitch | April 29th, 2007 at 9:06 am
It’s because they’re doing it during Idol. I had a 10 year old, upon seeing my Cingular…err AT&T phone, blurt out, “Cingular is now the new AT&T!”
Gotta admit, they’ve done a good job of it.
5. thechicagochannel | April 29th, 2007 at 9:14 am
i get better reception 300 miles away from home than i do in my own kitchen.
the new at&t is still the same old cingular.
6. Jason Parker | April 29th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
If anything, this long, drawn-out campaign is more confusing, not less. I mean, the fact that the Cingular brand hasn’t gone away makes me wonder if it ever is. I had both Bellsouth and Cingular for local and cell, respectively, but right now I’ve really got no idea what company(ies) is(are) providing me with phone service.
What Mitch said is exactly right, but it’s also the problem. at&t (it’s lowercase now, so cool!) wanted to convince people that ‘Cingular’ IS now ‘at&t’ but by running the ads so much, they’ve accidentally created a new third brand, ‘Cingular is the new at&t,’ rather than inform them that one is now part of the other. Which will only confuse people more when they do eventually drop the Cingular name altogether.
7. Safran | April 29th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Jason - agreed. What’s they’re doing is reinforcing the Cingular brand. And I hadn’t even gone there, but you’re right - there’s a whole third “Cingular is now the new at&t” brand. And they’re actually trying to get across at least TWO messages in one awkward sentence: 1. Cingular has changed its name and 2. “The new at&t” isn’t that old AT&T.
Mitch: I admit they’ve got the campaign in my head. But so what? I’m a Verizon Wireless customer. “Can you hear me now” is an effective campaign. It has become part of the vernacular. It’s a challenge to the other guys. I dare say it’s the most effective campaign ever run by a cellphone company. It is designed to draw customers into Verizon Wireless. Even if you don’t think the Verizon Wireless service is any better, the campaign has put it in your head that it is.
“Cingular is the new at&t” tells me nothing, apart from the name change. It doesn’t tempt me to join Cingular or at&t or whatever. I STILL see signs for Cingular. How about taking that ad campaign money and spending it on new signage?
8. Dave | April 29th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
ALL ROUND THE WORLD!!!
Enough. I can only take so much of the Gallaghers.
9. James | April 30th, 2007 at 3:29 am
I just saw a banner ad on NBC.com for “Wireless from AT&T, formerly Cingular,” so it looks like we’re on to phase two.
10. Jason | April 30th, 2007 at 7:11 am
This has something to do with the fact that the AT&T/Cingular/Bellsouth merger has not gotten final regulatory approval. I believe once final approval is granted, the Cingular and Bellsouth names will fall away.
11. Chris Weaver | May 1st, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Part of the problem with not fully changing the branding is NASCAR’s contract with series sponsor Nextel which WON’T allow the Cingular Sponsored Race Team to rebrand with a new name and logos on the race car.
The Cingular brand was grandfathered in as a sponsor when NASCAR’s top series changed series sponsors from Winston to NEXTEL.
Cingular/AT&T has filed action against NASCAR and Nextel in Federal Court.
Meanwhile Cingular/AT&T is running endless “Cingular is the new AT&T” ads and other other Graphic Placements during the NASCAR TV Broadcasts.
Since they can’t put the AT&T logo on the car on the track they are rubbing it in with these other paid ads.
12. Richard A. Aspinall Sr. | July 12th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I had a prepaid cell with Cingular. They told me they were going to new technology. Said I had to buy more minutes[I had 690] Buy new phone or lose everything. Because it was prepaid I couldn’t take my # to another company. I called my sen. she filed a complaint with FCC they talked to ‘The New AT&T” and I was told new policy AT&T would refund money, just go to special website after 4-1-07, [this was 2-7-07] and file claim and get refund. I was told yesterday 7-11-07, that my claim was invalid because my account expired 3-31-07. What’s wrong with this picture?
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