Competition between wireless providers Verizon and AT&T has seemingly reached a boiling point with a bout of besmirching ads and lawsuits. Verizon took the first jab with the familiar-sounding phrase “There’s a map for that” comparing Verizon’s 3G coverage to that of AT&T. AT&T countered with commercials featuring celebrity spokesperson Luke Wilson while touting the thousands of apps exclusively available on the iPhone. Verizon appears to have the edge with the more aggressive ads and frequent commercial spots, but is someone winning the telecom arms race?
Using E-Score Brand we looked at both Verizon and AT&T’s scores from this January. Surprisingly the two wireless providers are scoring even. Both Verizon and AT&T scored an identical 40% top-two box appeal. Purchase and viewing consideration by non-users for Verizon stands at 12% with AT&T close behind at 8%. When asked “Is a brand I would recommend to family and friends” Verizon scored 32% and AT&T scored 31%.
AT&T and Verizon’s combative ads seem to have canceled each other out. In early 2008, before the public spat began, appeal scores for AT&T and Verizon were identical at 38%. Similarly, both Verizon and AT&T’s appeal scores now stand at 40% in January 2010.