A lot has been written on the Cingular Wireless name change/re-branding/de-branding, and here are the three articles that helped me understand what the heck was going on:
- AT&T Hangs Up on Cingular
- AT&T to Replace Cingular Brand Monday
- AT&T Prepares to 'De-Brand' the Cingular Wireless Name
One thought that is contrary to some of the articles - I'm not sure Cingular was truly a youthful brand. It certainly was a strong brand and this change is debatable, but my parents have Cingular Wireless. To me the young wireless brands would be Helio, Virgin Mobile and maybe T-Mobile. That being said, Cingular and its orange guy/jack/thing definitely feels younger than corporate blue AT&T, even with those letters in lower case. Also, the pairing of the Apple iPhone with Cingular as its provider becomes a little more interesting now that it will actually be AT&T.
Oh, and if you're still confused about the business moves that have made Cingular AT&T, Stephen Colbert from Comedy Central breaks it down well in this video clip, enjoy!
