While Verizon has often focused most of its company’s advertising efforts around being “reliable” and AT&T has focused most of its marketing around being “fast,” this changed last week when AT&T began to push the claim that it was in fact America’s true most reliable network. Verizon didn’t take too kindly to this claim, with the company responding by publishing a full page response ad in the Wall Street Journal. “Others have tried to claim reliability. But to us it’s not a hollow claim. Or a slogan. Or a fancy ad campaign,” reads one line from the ad.
It seems that AT&T may have stepped over the line with its newest marketing attempt, as the company quickly finds itself being made out to be the bad guy. AT&T reportedly helped fund the same reports that it is now using to cite as proof that it’s most reliable, something that Verizon is now using against the company.
Verizon seems to have made a smart move with its new ad, making AT&T out to be an evil and deceiving company (not far from the truth) and making itself out to be the honest customer focused good guys. It will definitely be interesting to see how this newly formed marketing war goes down.
