This whole business of rebranding a company with a bad image reminds me of that "Get a Mac" commercial where the PC guy is going to spend a little money to "fix Vista" and a lot of money on advertising. When the Mac guy questions his strategy, the PC guy decides to put all the money into advertising.
This whole business of rebranding a company with a bad image reminds me of that "Get a Mac" commercial where the PC guy is going to spend a little money to "fix Vista" and a lot of money on advertising. When the Mac guy questions his strategy, the PC guy decides to put all the money into advertising.
It's so true! I guess it means the AT&T marketing beat the engineering department, so we'll see more campaigns starting anyday now.
The other thing that makes me laugh is how the banner (shown in this article) says "Rethink Possible" and then underneath that it says '3G not available in some/all areas'.
Come on AT&T, do you see the glaring inconsistency in that? You're killing even your own fantasy.
No matter how many times AT&T puts on a new logo, splits up, unifies, or "rebrands" itself (um, telephones, that's about it), they'll still be the same old bloated wasteful dinosaur of the 80's. They could never handle competition because they always seem to think they can't fall- even after they did. My father worked for AT&T for 30 years. They dropped him cold without notice in 1992 along with 1000s of other loyal employees. My family has been screwed ever since. Not that they were paying him much to begin with.
So, that Death Star logo parody has special meaning for me. So true.
Rethink Possible. Hmm, a bit like Think Different, but worse.
Shhhh! This is an example of AT&T "innovating".
I like this "removing the name from the logo" bit. I think they're trying to make it as hard as possible to identify them. That way when they piss you off it's hard to recommend to people they avoid AT&T.
"What company was this again?'
"It was... welll... you know, the one with the globe for a logo! What're they called?"
It gives the phrase "victimized by a nameless corporation" a whole new meaning!
Maybe they should try changing their name to Cingular...
Oh wait, they already tried that...
Cant speak to other places, but here in Indiana, I was a cingular customer before Cingular was bought by what used to be called ATT Mobility, they were great! I talked to some techs about the time ATT bought them and they told me that some ATT exec said that Cingular (at the time, a division of ATT Mobility) had too many towers and over coverage in Indianapolis/central Indiana as a whole and ordered every other tower geographically shut down. I can almost pinpoint the week in 2006 when my cell phone started dropping calls, and I was literally in the Verizon store shopping for a new handset in Jan of 2007, and wanted to think about a blackberry before buying one so I left empty handed planning to return and do the switch that weekend, the next day the iphone was announced, and here I am on ATT in 2010...this time, not even iphone 4 will keep me, screw the $150 i have spent in apps, I will be moving to VZW or t mobile on July 12 hen my 2 year sentence...er contract...runs out/.
Maybe AT&T could rethink the possibility of them keeping some of their promises - like tethering. Maybe they could rethink the possibility of truth in advertising - "least dropped calls" - I think not. Maybe they could rethink the possibility of not increasing fees and decreasing service just because people have an iPhone instead of a Blackberry. Maybe Apple can finally let a competing company, like Verison, have the iPhone. Competition is a very good thing for the consumer.
Okay, not sure how people started in on this idea that rollover was somehow in jeopardy and/or is being pulled as a feature... THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Period, end of sentence. Lets look at the quote and if it seems confusing we should break it down into manageable chunks...
Quote:
The report also noted that services from AT&T such as rollover minutes lack mention in the commercials "if they don't fit under the new framework."
The report also noted... (aka The story happen to mention)
that services from AT&T (notice the plural .. services ... this is referring to lots of stuff)
such as (now they are picking out ONE service as an EXAMPLE)
rollover minutes *
lack mention (won't get TALKED ABOUT)
in the commercials (can't really make this any clearer except maybe having it read)
in THESE NEW commercials (more clear?)
"if they don't fit under the new framework." (see below)
Okay that last part could cause some to say huh?!?! Here's another way to put it...
Quote:
IF ANY SPECIFIC AT&T FEATURE ISN'T IN SOME WAY RELEVANT TO A NEW COMMERCIAL THEY ARE SHOOTING THEY WILL NOT GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO MAKE MENTION OF IT.
This in no way means that they are going to DROP EVERY AT&T FEATURE just because it doesn't get a specific mention in one of these new (SERIES) of ADs AT&T is having made. They simply DON'T want to inject all kinds of CRAP into an AD just because its a 'major feature'.
In short they are taking a page from the Apple AD design... Have a point and make the point and don't necessarily throw in a ton of other things the product CAN do (into the end of the AD) ... just because they are features of the product. Go find some of those ... 'How would Microsoft box an Apple Product' mockup movies people were making a while back. That gets the idea across far better than trying to explain it.
God I hope Apple releases a Verizon iPhone so the free market can do it's job and get rid of these jokers.
At one time, when they owned Bell Labs, lots of major things we use today, incl. transistors, wireless telephony, lasers, microwave, UNIX, C-language, ........ won lots of Nobel prizes too!
At one time, when they owned Bell Labs, lots of major things we use today, incl. transistors, wireless telephony, lasers, microwave, UNIX, C-language, ........ won lots of Nobel prizes too! Sad, where they are now.
AT&T and Verizon are both 'spinoffs' from the old 'Ma Bell' from yesteryear.
If I'm not mistaken...
AT&T (for the most part) took over (kept control of) the long-distance half of the business and the local services were chopped up into the 'baby bells' Bell Atlantic/Bell Pacific/etc and it was Bell Atlantic that eventually morphed into Verizon.
Does nobody want to acknowledge that the millions AT&T has spent to upgrade their service, build more towers, and improve coverage?
What about the recent report of 75% improvement and fewer dropped calls?
How about their U-verse service which, IMHO, beats Comcast and Time Warner.
Give AT&T a break already. They are trying like hell to get better. What more do you expect? What would finally make you 'happy' with their service? Why don't you switch to Sprint or Verizon - those networks have their own problems too - but they haven't spent the money that AT&T has over the past two years to improve their networks.
(And no, I DON'T work for AT&T, but I used to work for Apple.)
I've had AT&T since before the Cingular days. I've never had one problem with AT&T's service. Have there been some dropped calls, yes, but they're few and far between. I love the roll over minutes, internet speed is good, I'm satisfied. I can't say anything about Verizon because I have never had them, but people seem satisfied with them also. The only other wireless company I've had was ALLTEL, that was not a very good experience. Give AT&T a break, Verizon would have problems too if their network was inundated with millions of iPhones, and all that extra data demand.
Hey AT&T, why don't you "rethink" the possibility of giving us the ability to tether our iPhones, just like every other country has for almost a whole year now!
Tethering works great for me on ATT now, but then I'm not afraid of a little thing called jailbreaking.
And you shouldn't be either. It just works, it's perfectly safe, and I've been tethering on ATT for years now.
Years ago, when they were aquired by Cingular. Cingular implies the one source for all tele/wireless needs. They should have kept the Cingular name, retired the sullied name of AT&T (remember Lily Tomlin's operator character for '60s Laugh In... "We don't care, because we don't have to), and addressed the complaints then.
AT&T can improve its image, simply by improving its service!!! Its unfortunate that in high traffic cities like New York service can be less than good. after all can AT&T simply ignore all the complaints?? If they do they'll be crying later.
AT&T can improve its image, simply by improving its service!!! Its unfortunate that in high traffic cities like New York service can be less than good. after all can AT&T simply ignore all the complaints?? If they do they'll be crying later.
this is the new AT&T branding logo to match the PHRASE
After over a year and a half with a 3G iPhone (replaced once under warranty) all across the Dallas area, I have always dropped EVERY call made or received while on 3G, provided the call was over a minute or two in length. It's basically been an Edge phone except when I manually switch to 3G for data say while waiting in the car for something. It's so bad I've wished Apple had put a hardware 3G/Edge switch on the side. It's really hard to believe no one has made them accountable for selling a service that they cannot reliably provide. And saying "not reliably provide" is being nice. For me it's not been provided at all, at least for voice.
More than once with AT&T tech on the phone they told me to just leave it on Edge. "That's what I do..." was exactly what one of them said.
This is typical of huge multi-national companies. Instead of fixing the problems that lead to their bad reputations, they try to change their image through propaganda.
I left Verizon - thank gawd - when I bought my iPhone 3Gs, & haven't looked back since. Granted, I have had dropped calls, and slow data at times, but I'd bet the farm that if VERIZON had made the deal with Apple (which I'm SURE they're sad & pissed they DIDN'T...) - THEY would be the ones with the sullied reputation...
I, for one, am GLAD I am no longer with the Verizon beast-monster. I remember pointing out to my wife sometime around 2003 or 4 that I thought Verizon always seemed to have a LOUSY choice of phones. They never seemed to have just a cool phone that could do "it" for me. They seemed to love being in "control" of what we could get, dragging their feet on the phone approval process... CONSTANTLY. They explained that away as "protecting the customer". But they sure came out as fast as they could with an iPhone wannabe poser phone when they saw the writing on the wall with the iPhone...!
PLUS - I remember always bitchin' about dropped calls! Yes! - And using their software to transfer my music onto my phone left A LOT to be desired... I also remember with Verizon, I could NEVER walk around my apt. Here in NYC. *- *Well whadaya know - with my iPhone & AT&T - I miraculously somehow CAN now...!
Then Apple comes out with the iPhone on AT&T, and EVERYONE finally gets on the bandwagon & starts scrambling to supply users with cool "touchscreen" phones... FINALLY. Hmm... I wonder why ???
Well, I don't miss Verizon one IOTA. PLUS, I'm glad I'm able to talk - AND surf or send emails - AT THE SAME TIME. Can't do THAT on Verizon...! - Why don't they get THEIR ACT TOGETHER ?? I don't hear ANYONE bitchin' about THAT.
All in all, my wife & I are are pretty happy with AT&T. I look forward to the OS 4 update from Apple. Gonna make the user experience a lot better.
And, AT&T has offered an app that allows us to track & submit dropped calls & data whenever & wherever they happen, I swear, I've had fewer dropped calls. - No - REALLY...
I'm happy. So 'nuff with you haters. I have a feeling you just like bithin' & moanin', and AT&T happens to be the "IT" corporation at the moment.
Comments
It's unfortunate that APPLE is only concerned about the $$$$ they get from AT&T instead of the quality of service that APPLE's customers are getting.
This whole business of rebranding a company with a bad image reminds me of that "Get a Mac" commercial where the PC guy is going to spend a little money to "fix Vista" and a lot of money on advertising. When the Mac guy questions his strategy, the PC guy decides to put all the money into advertising.
The other thing that makes me laugh is how the banner (shown in this article) says "Rethink Possible" and then underneath that it says '3G not available in some/all areas'.
Come on AT&T, do you see the glaring inconsistency in that? You're killing even your own fantasy.
So, that Death Star logo parody has special meaning for me. So true.
Rethink Possible. Hmm, a bit like Think Different, but worse.
Shhhh! This is an example of AT&T "innovating".
I like this "removing the name from the logo" bit. I think they're trying to make it as hard as possible to identify them. That way when they piss you off it's hard to recommend to people they avoid AT&T.
"What company was this again?'
"It was... welll... you know, the one with the globe for a logo! What're they called?"
It gives the phrase "victimized by a nameless corporation" a whole new meaning!
Maybe they should try changing their name to Cingular...
Oh wait, they already tried that...
Cant speak to other places, but here in Indiana, I was a cingular customer before Cingular was bought by what used to be called ATT Mobility, they were great! I talked to some techs about the time ATT bought them and they told me that some ATT exec said that Cingular (at the time, a division of ATT Mobility) had too many towers and over coverage in Indianapolis/central Indiana as a whole and ordered every other tower geographically shut down. I can almost pinpoint the week in 2006 when my cell phone started dropping calls, and I was literally in the Verizon store shopping for a new handset in Jan of 2007, and wanted to think about a blackberry before buying one so I left empty handed planning to return and do the switch that weekend, the next day the iphone was announced, and here I am on ATT in 2010...this time, not even iphone 4 will keep me, screw the $150 i have spent in apps, I will be moving to VZW or t mobile on July 12 hen my 2 year sentence...er contract...runs out/.
why not spend $40 million instead of 2 billion to get better coverage.
The report also noted that services from AT&T such as rollover minutes lack mention in the commercials "if they don't fit under the new framework."
The report also noted... (aka The story happen to mention)
that services from AT&T (notice the plural .. services ... this is referring to lots of stuff)
such as (now they are picking out ONE service as an EXAMPLE)
rollover minutes *
lack mention (won't get TALKED ABOUT)
in the commercials (can't really make this any clearer except maybe having it read)
in THESE NEW commercials (more clear?)
"if they don't fit under the new framework." (see below)
Okay that last part could cause some to say huh?!?! Here's another way to put it...
IF ANY SPECIFIC AT&T FEATURE ISN'T IN SOME WAY RELEVANT TO A NEW COMMERCIAL THEY ARE SHOOTING THEY WILL NOT GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO MAKE MENTION OF IT.
This in no way means that they are going to DROP EVERY AT&T FEATURE just because it doesn't get a specific mention in one of these new (SERIES) of ADs AT&T is having made. They simply DON'T want to inject all kinds of CRAP into an AD just because its a 'major feature'.
In short they are taking a page from the Apple AD design... Have a point and make the point and don't necessarily throw in a ton of other things the product CAN do (into the end of the AD) ... just because they are features of the product. Go find some of those ... 'How would Microsoft box an Apple Product' mockup movies people were making a while back. That gets the idea across far better than trying to explain it.
Found it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUXnJraKM3k
Did I miss something?
When did AT&T innovate anything?
God I hope Apple releases a Verizon iPhone so the free market can do it's job and get rid of these jokers.
At one time, when they owned Bell Labs, lots of major things we use today, incl. transistors, wireless telephony, lasers, microwave, UNIX, C-language, ........ won lots of Nobel prizes too!
Sad, where they are now.
At one time, when they owned Bell Labs, lots of major things we use today, incl. transistors, wireless telephony, lasers, microwave, UNIX, C-language, ........ won lots of Nobel prizes too! Sad, where they are now.
AT&T and Verizon are both 'spinoffs' from the old 'Ma Bell' from yesteryear.
If I'm not mistaken...
AT&T (for the most part) took over (kept control of) the long-distance half of the business and the local services were chopped up into the 'baby bells' Bell Atlantic/Bell Pacific/etc and it was Bell Atlantic that eventually morphed into Verizon.
Seriously guys, this is a bit much.
Give AT&T a break already. They are trying like hell to get better. What more do you expect? What would finally make you 'happy' with their service? Why don't you switch to Sprint or Verizon - those networks have their own problems too - but they haven't spent the money that AT&T has over the past two years to improve their networks.
(And no, I DON'T work for AT&T, but I used to work for Apple.)
I've had AT&T since before the Cingular days. I've never had one problem with AT&T's service. Have there been some dropped calls, yes, but they're few and far between. I love the roll over minutes, internet speed is good, I'm satisfied. I can't say anything about Verizon because I have never had them, but people seem satisfied with them also. The only other wireless company I've had was ALLTEL, that was not a very good experience. Give AT&T a break, Verizon would have problems too if their network was inundated with millions of iPhones, and all that extra data demand.
6 beers and millions spent in advertising.
Hey AT&T, why don't you "rethink" the possibility of giving us the ability to tether our iPhones, just like every other country has for almost a whole year now!
Tethering works great for me on ATT now, but then I'm not afraid of a little thing called jailbreaking.
And you shouldn't be either. It just works, it's perfectly safe, and I've been tethering on ATT for years now.
But no...
AT&T can improve its image, simply by improving its service!!! Its unfortunate that in high traffic cities like New York service can be less than good. after all can AT&T simply ignore all the complaints?? If they do they'll be crying later.
this is the new AT&T branding logo to match the PHRASE
More than once with AT&T tech on the phone they told me to just leave it on Edge. "That's what I do..." was exactly what one of them said.
I, for one, am GLAD I am no longer with the Verizon beast-monster. I remember pointing out to my wife sometime around 2003 or 4 that I thought Verizon always seemed to have a LOUSY choice of phones. They never seemed to have just a cool phone that could do "it" for me. They seemed to love being in "control" of what we could get, dragging their feet on the phone approval process... CONSTANTLY. They explained that away as "protecting the customer". But they sure came out as fast as they could with an iPhone wannabe poser phone when they saw the writing on the wall with the iPhone...!
PLUS - I remember always bitchin' about dropped calls! Yes! - And using their software to transfer my music onto my phone left A LOT to be desired... I also remember with Verizon, I could NEVER walk around my apt. Here in NYC. *- *Well whadaya know - with my iPhone & AT&T - I miraculously somehow CAN now...!
Then Apple comes out with the iPhone on AT&T, and EVERYONE finally gets on the bandwagon & starts scrambling to supply users with cool "touchscreen" phones... FINALLY. Hmm... I wonder why ???
Well, I don't miss Verizon one IOTA. PLUS, I'm glad I'm able to talk - AND surf or send emails - AT THE SAME TIME. Can't do THAT on Verizon...! - Why don't they get THEIR ACT TOGETHER ?? I don't hear ANYONE bitchin' about THAT.
All in all, my wife & I are are pretty happy with AT&T. I look forward to the OS 4 update from Apple. Gonna make the user experience a lot better.
And, AT&T has offered an app that allows us to track & submit dropped calls & data whenever & wherever they happen, I swear, I've had fewer dropped calls. - No - REALLY...
I'm happy. So 'nuff with you haters. I have a feeling you just like bithin' & moanin', and AT&T happens to be the "IT" corporation at the moment.
Have fun with that.