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Technology Stocks : AWE - ATT Wireless -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anonymous who wrote (257)	2/4/2002 11:15:17 AM
From: Kent Rattey	Respond to of 329

AT&T Wireless' Super Failure: mLife _POSTEDON 2002-02-04 14:09:30 by Ben Silverman Every year at least one company makes a total ass of itself on the Super Bowl of Marketing (that would be the NFL Championship game, which this year lived up to its Super Bowl title). In the past we've seen dotcom's spend lavish amounts of money on ads only to disappear before the next football season started. We've then see those same dotcom's parodied. We've had pop stars and politicians hocking soda and snack foods; former athletes and comedians selling beer and of course, enough animals to fill Noah's ark. Last year wireless firm Cingular topped the list of bad marketing initiatives with its awkward ads which gave viewers no idea of what exactly Cingular is. The company still runs some ads which don't let viewers know that Cingular is a wireless phone service provider. That's brilliant. This year AT&T Wireless decided to go a similar route with the launch of its marketing campaign for mLife, which for the time being appears to be a simple rebranding of AT&T Wireless with some bells and whistles added. Or it could be something else, I'm not quite sure. The mLife campaign, which was ridiculed no less than three times on NBC's "Today Show" this morning, is another example of marketing people dictating corporate strategy, or at the very least, given too much money to play with. To dispell any rumors, I have a severe case of marketing hatred. At one company I worked at I had a plan in place to essentially subjugate the marketing department and make them accountable to the business development and sales department. The marketing people got scared when they realized they may have had to actually quantify their work. Back to football, I watched the game with four friends and gauged their reaction to the "mLife" campaign. Before AT&T Wireless decided to "unveil" what mLife really was in the second half of the game, I told my friends at halftime that mLife was something new from AT&T Wireless. But they had harsh words for the advertising campaign before knowing. Friend #1 (male, 29-years old, online advertising sales rep): That's just stupid. I don't see why anyone would be excited about going to a website to check out something that's being marketing like this. Friend #2 (female, 27-years old, graduate student): Is this a commercial for MetLife? Friend #3 (male, 30-years old, ex-online marketing director): This is just dumb. Friend #4 (male, 34-years old, artist, French): I don't understand. The most striking comment was from my friend who asked, "Is this a commercial for MetLife?" MetLife in fact filed a lawsuit last week against AT&T Wireless claiming trademark infringement. A last-minute deal was reached that allowed AT&T Wireless to launch its mLife campaign. MetLife withdrew a restraining order it got that would have prohibited AT&T Wireless from running the campaign; something that would have cost the company millions. AT&T Wireless withdrew its application for a trademark for "mLife" as part of the deal. While the two companies have nothing in common in the services they offer consumers, the MetLife brand is strong and identifiable. Both mLife and MetLife are service, not product offerings. So I suspect there was a number of people thinking mLife was MetLife if for no other reason than because no product was seen during the first-half advertising. AT&T Wireless and its outside firm Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide simply did not do their homework when it came to handling the possible conflict with MetLife. The mLife website continues the debacle. To read about mLife's service you're hit with links that open new browser windows. Isn't it about time companies figured out that simple navigation is the key to presenting information? The mLife website is neither mysterious like the ads nor usuable. It's simply crap. One of mLife's service offerings is a voice-activated portal powered by Tellme Networks. This appears to be in lieu of hyping the essentially useless "wireless web" that had been a miserable failure for all involved. Text-messaging and ring tones are similarly hyped. I don't know if these services were previously a big part of the AT&T Wireless marketing effort before, but I have to think the average wireless phone user is more concerned with pricing, the phone itself and the availability of services such as long-distance, roaming, weekend minutes, etc. The biggest problem is now I am confused as to whether mLife is a new service offering from AT&T Wireless or whether it's replacing the AT&T Wireless brand. I don't understand if it's something like a premium service or simply the name used for a group of standard services. The AT&T Wireless website does nothing to ease my confusion, hyping mLife but just linking to the mLife website. Get some brand identity! AT&T Wireless investors had mixed reactions to the new campaign. Not surprising, the reaction probably depends on whether you're shorting the stock or not. There is some indication that the mLife.com website was flooded with traffic, but what good are eyeballs these days? The purpose of advertising on the Super Bowl itself is eyeballs. Empty web traffic without transactions is useless, just ask the countless failed dotcoms. A striking example of better marketing comes from AT&T Wireless competitor Nextel. The company recently unveiled a marketing campaign starring "NYPD Blue" star Dennis Franz. Franz's "Q score," which represents his popularity among consumers, is most likely high, especially among men. The commercials revolve around Franz repeatedly saying, "I don't do commercials." The use of that phrase is very subtle and very good marketing, implanting the idea that a respected actor who does not traditionally do commercials has lent his name to Nextel. The ads also feature the Nextel prominently and the company's actual service and products in use. AT&T Wireless spent about $8 million on marketing during the Super Bowl last night. That's just for the ad time and doesn't count developmental costs, outside agencies and other collateral material. In my estimation, it was money that would have been better spent ensuring that customers stop getting their calls dropped. I guess that's too much to ask. Ben Silverman is the editor of Dotcom Scoop. He can be reached at editor@dotcomscoop.com.