AT&T to halt 5G E advertising
In the previous years we wrote quite a bit about AT&T’s launch of a massive national ad campaign touting a new 5G “standard” dubbed “5G E” (E standing for Evolution). This was AT&T’s LTE Advanced-based solution, rather than a true 5G network (which is dubbed “5G+”). In addition to the ad campaign, AT&T also used the 5G E branding as a connectivity icon on the top info bar of the smartphones running on its network. AT&T’s 5G E branding has been under scrutiny from day one; Sprint took legal action in early 2019 while T-Mobile challenged the ads through the National Advertising Division (NAD), which regulates the advertising industry. The National Advertising Review Board recently recommended AT&T to stop the use of the 5G Evolution term in its marketing. The carrier announced that it will comply with these recommendations, though it will continue to show the 5G E icon on phones.
The NPD Take:
- We were among the industry voices to criticize AT&T for its 5G E branding as it has tremendous potential to confuse consumers about a subject that is already quite complex to comprehend due to different 5G spectrum types. On the other hand, AT&T was not the first to deploy this marketing tactic during a network upgrade phase. We had seen similar arguments at the time when the industry was moving from 3G to 4G networks with several European and U.S. carriers marketing their 3G HSDPA networks as 4G services.
- AT&T’s 5G E branding may have been confusing, but we cannot deny the fact that it has helped grow 5G awareness among consumers. According to the NPD Mobility Survey conducted in February 2020, 11% of consumers who are aware of 5G services cited the 5G logo on their phone as the source of their alertness of the technology.
Verizon’s low-cost MVNO now truly “Visible”
Verizon had long been criticized for its lack of a compelling prepaid offering to compete with rival prepaid services. The response to this was a digital MVNO brand called Visible, which offers unlimited data service at $40/month ($25 for the first month). The service debuted in May 2018 with an “invitation-only” model, requiring new users to receive an invitation from an existing user to join the service, and then quickly opened up to any user wishing to bring their phone (limited to select models) to the network. The service has been around for almost two years now and has organically grown via targeting digital millennials, and is now making some noise with a nationally broadcasted TV advertisement that explicitly mentions the Verizon network.
The NPD Take:
- Visible’s new TV ad is certainly welcome as the MVNO has not been quite “visible” per se. According to the NPD Mobility Survey conducted in February 2020, only 2% of consumers cited awareness of the Visible MVNO.
- The decision to highlight the Verizon network is important considering the carrier’s leading position in network image. The pandemic-driven economy downturn will force many postpaid customers (including the Verizon ones) to seek low-cost alternatives, and the Verizon network asset coupled with the affordable rate plans should be a major asset for Visible.
Tracfone offers add-on telehealth service
Two of Tracfone’s prepaid brands, Total Wireless and Simple Mobile, have begun offering customers in select markets the ability to subscribe to the Doc.com telehealth service that allows users to make unlimited video calls to doctors and nurse practitioners for $5.99/month compared to a regular price of $9.99/month. The add-on option is available to existing customers immediately, while new customers will need to wait a minimum of three days before activating it.
The NPD Take:
- Value-add services such as OTT video and music service subscriptions or family-oriented apps (such as family trackers) have been quite popular in the postpaid world, but not so much on the prepaid side of the business where differentiation is strictly limited to pricing. Given the pandemic conditions, the new telehealth service partnership should help the Tracfone brands differentiate themselves in the market.