Brand Love Hate

AT&T Brand Hate

I have been catching up on my InfoWorld reading and came upon an interesting Enterprise Insight column about AT&T and its customer service practices. David's phrases near the end - "gotcha approach" and "negative brand equity" say it all - no matter how much a company advertises or says it's new, its brand is defined by the experiences and relationships it fosters - or ruins - with customers.

Cingular Re-branded as AT&T

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!

New Logos, So What?

Om Malik and Joel Cheesman have some interesting takes on the new logos from AT&T, Intel (PDF) and Kodak.  Although I generally agree with the "Who cares?" reactions of Om and Joel, I do find the business of names and logos interesting.  The changes by all three seem like new type treatments more than anything else.  Intel and Kodak don't bother me, but the lower-case lettering in the new AT&T logo feels like a weakening, which is contrary to the strengthening message put forth by the SBC merger.