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November 22, 2005
What's In A Name?
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
What's in a name?
A lot. History. Image. Attitude. Branding. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but might not sell so well. Patagonia toothfish sounds nasty. Chilean seabass, on the other hand, we'll hunt that practically to extinction.
Names, in other words, have meaning. In the case of the new AT&T, the old SBC, the older Southwestern Bell, the name means control. Control of your telecommunications experience, of what comes out of the wire or through the air, control like the old Ma Bell had. (A gracious good afternoon...)
But control is beyond the reach of any phone company in an age of Moore's Law. Moore's Law of Fiber makes it impossible to control the backhaul market. Moore's Law of Radio makes it impossible to control the wireless market. The only way to maintain control, in order to pay-off capital costs, is through government fiat.
The Bell System, the old AT&T, had that kind of control because capital was short and beause it accepted strict regulation of its rates. The new AT&T can never have that control, because capital is abundant and because it refuses to accept rate regulation.
While it was flying under the radar, as SBC, Ed Whitacre's ambitions to control your telecommunications experience actually worked. With the new name, they won't. Because he has now inherited all of the old AT&T's political enemies, while gaining virtually nothing in the way of consumer acceptance.
It's really quite funny, and the end will be tragic. There's plenty in a name. There's enough to kill you.
Comments (3)
+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Business Models | Business Strategy | Consumer Electronics | Journalism | Telecommunications
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Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. Jacqueline Bodet on November 22, 2005 04:10 PM writes...
Inquiries regarding advertising and marketing initiatives developed by one of the new AT&T’s agencies of record, Rodgers Townsend, may be directed to Jacqueline Bodet at (314) 259-8381 or jbodet@rodgerstownsend.com
Rodgers Townsend is a full-service marketing communications agency serving a wide range of national and regional clients, including AT&T, The Hartford, Energizer, Maritz, Ameren, Pleats, Grand Prix Speedways, the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, St. Louis Children¹s Hospital, the St.
Permalink to CommentLouis Rams and Spectrum Brands.
2. Brad Hutchings on November 23, 2005 12:40 AM writes...
(copied to jbodet@ rodgerstownsend.com)
Dear Jacqueline,
What the hell were they thinking with that new at&t logo? And what's with the lower case? It looks like a h4X0R group or something. I mean, seriously, why not go all the way and call the company at&t;-) (with a winky smiley)?
As a young man, I lost one year with my Dad to the Air Force (he was stationed in Thailand) and one year to divestature (he was always home after bedtime and worked weekends). Don't you think that at the very least, you could honor the people who actually built and maintained the brand by not making the logo so goofy looking?
Sincerely,
Brad Hutchings,
Permalink to CommentSBC and Sprint Customer
3. Jacqueline Bodet on November 29, 2005 01:24 PM writes...
I did not receive a copy on this posting, but wanted to thank you for your response and address your comment.
Rodgers Townsend is not responsible for the development of this logo, as it is a branding initiative. Rodgers Townsend, however, played a major role in introducing the new AT&T Inc. last week following approval of the $16 billion merger of SBC Communications and AT&T.
Look for more RT broadcast, print, direct marketing and online work when the communications giant launches its full campaign in January 2006.
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