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What do word of mouth, outdoor billboards and NFL games have in common? They're all being using as marketing vehicles for broadband companies.
As broadband service providers race to wire America, competition for business and residential users is heating up. And even though each service provider might believe their technology and service is unique, what may make the final difference in success or failure is plain-old marketing.
But establishing a broadband brand often means narrowing the scope of marketing to a precise target. "We focused on how do we support other ISPs and how do we promote DSL directly to the end user," says Steve Bartholet, director of DSL product marketing for Qwest.
For Broadwing, the national backbone provider, marketing began with a name change, then extended down to attributes such as customer service. "We're marketing to large and medium clients," says Pat Galvin, vice president of corporate marketing for Broadwing Inc. "The base of the business is service. That's the core religion of our brand. It's always going to be service."
Qwest is probably more well-known for its national fiber backbone than perhaps its local DSL service. But both areas are important growth opportunities for the company.
Qwest recently launched a national, $20-million "Ride the Light: Qwest" campaign that will run through 2001. The message for the business-to-business marketplace is that Qwest is a one-stop shop. "We don't cobble third-party components into a makeshift solution like many of our competitors," says Stephen Jacobsen, executive vice president, global business and government markets for Qwest. "Our message is that Qwest has the advantage of owning these components under one roof."
The campaign broke in the Wall Street Journal and includes national and regional TV, direct marketing and Internet components. Campaign spots highlight Qwest's network architecture, software engineering capability, professional services division and CyberCenter hosting applications.
Locally, Qwest concentrates its DSL marketing on working with 370 ISPs in 70 DSL activated cities and directly with end users. Qwest syncs up different marketing activities with different segments: large business, small business and residential customers, for instance.
"There are customers out there that are very loyal to their ISP," says Bartholet. "What's worked for us is engaging the ISPs and educating them." Qwest has dedicated marketing teams inhouse to work with various ISPs, Bartholet says, especially the smaller players that need marketing help.
Residentially, Qwest first launched DSL service in Phoenix in 1997. "We started with targeted marketing," Bartholet says, typically direct mail and some telemarketing. Since DSL often isn't initially rolled out marketwide, and some homes even in DSL areas aren't close enough to the central office for DSL service, direct mail allows Qwest to target only those homes that can get the service. Bartholet says Qwest won't run print or radio ads until 60 percent to 70 percent of a market is served by DSL.
Marketing messages also change through time. In any market, the early customers are the truck chasers and very technically-oriented. "We had a lot of gamers on," Bartholet says, in the early days.
The product message evolves over time. "We started talking about the speed and what it does for you," Bartholet says, as Qwest tries to answer the question: "Why do I care about going fast."
"That's where a direct mail piece can elaborate a little more," he says. "For small business, it's showing how you can increase productivity, increase your sales, improve customers' service."
For residential subscribers, Bartholet says it means telling customers the Internet experience goes beyond email and chat. "It's about digital cameras, how online shopping becomes a totally new experience for you, travel sites, leisure time activities," he says.
Qwest also offers tier services to get more customers in the door. It dropped its $40 a month pricing to $29.95, then $19.95 for a 256 kpbs service that's now running at 640 kpbs. "That continues to keep the product fresh," Bartholet says. "We need to keep the price competitive and attractive."
Bartholet sees future Qwest DSL marketing messages highlighting how faster speeds can accent social trends, such as Internet photo sharing through digital cameras, and home networking.
Over at Broadwing, the company has spent the past year recreating its identity. Rick Ellenberg, who took over Cincinnati Bell, bought IXC Communications in 1999 and renamed it Broadwing.
"Cincinnati Bell carries no weight outside Cincinnati, so we came up with Broadwing as the company name," Glavin says.
"The real difference is that in our industry there is a huge vacuum on the service end," Glavin says. "The historical backbone providers didn't do a good job with small- and medium-sized business customers." That's the vacuum Broadwing aimed to fill.
"We're going to be aggressive for the customer," Glavin said, which became the starting point for Broadwing's $20-million advertising campaign that began in January. "We focused our advertising on the service and not necessarily the assets coming out of the blocks," Glavin said.
Glavin used TV and print, rotating a heavy schedule through professional sporting events. "The reality is we advertise for three groups," Glavin says, employees, customers and Wall Street. "If you're going to have a retail organization, when they see their name in the paper or on TV that gives them the confidence to walk into a CIO's office and talk about the new company they work for," Glavin says.
With customers, the goal is demand generation and brand recognition, Glavin says. In those ads, Broadwing focuses on its assets--fiber optic network, engineering capability, network operation centers, etc.
And as for Wall St., Glavin says "There's no getting away from that."
"We did TV, print, outdoor, in the top 10 markets," Glavin says. "We absolutely nuked those cities." Broadwing hit affluent male and business customers through network sports, CNBC, CNNfn and other targeted cable networks.
Broadwing spent most of the $20 million in the first two quarters of the year, and to Glavin, the company accomplished its goal. "Our first year, we said let's just get on the radar screen." Glavin says Broadwing's research shows the company is among the top five backbone providers in unaided awareness, behind Qwest, Global Crossing, Teligent and Williams. "That's a major accomplishment."
"Timing has a lot to do with it," Glavin acknowledges, citing the troubles of AT&T and others. "Customers are pretty willing to write a check. They are willing to give the next generation carriers a shot at their business. No CIO has to stick by AT&T or MCI to keep their jobs."
When branding a company, Glavin says it's important to be patient. "I can't accomplish brand awareness and brand relevance in the same year." But Glavin is starting the process to market what Broadwing thinks is it's competitive edge.
The company launched a smaller advertising campaign in October, built around an "all optical theme." "We've invested in Corvis and we're big believers in optical transmission. It begins to get me down that road of brand relevance," Glavin says.
Next year, Glavin says Broadwing will advertise more in the technology press and less in the business press. Although TV ads will be part of the campaign, Glavin is focusing on the CIO at Network World, for instance. Ads will focus on network products and service guarantees.
Glavin also says marketing extends beyond advertising into other areas, such as operations. When he arrived at Broadwing, the company had 40 1-800 numbers. Now Broadwing has just one call center.
"You can collect data on sales leads you didn't have previously," Glavin says. That's critical since the fall 2000 campaign includes a 1-800 number. "You have to have the staff to handle and execute sales leads. You want to be able to close your lead loop down."
A second focus for 2001 will be trade shows, Glavin says. "If you're new on the block, you have to have a presence at trade shows." Companies also have to coordinate efforts with their own public relations departments, he says, since news releases can have a big impact on Wall Street and, by extension, the company's reputation in the marketplace.
Other broadband companies position themselves as part of an overall value chain. New Edge Networks is a wholesaler of bandwidth to small and medium-sized cities, providing connectivity to ISPs, ASPs and CLECs. "We use 'Powered by New Edge Network'," says Dan Moffat, president, CEO and co-founder of New Edge, in the company's marketing materials.
"We do cooperative marketing with our partners," he says, and will often pick up the tab for carrier and consumer ads, depending on the campaign. "We do print, TV radio and direct mail."
"We have a semi-unique footprint that's a luxury," Moffat says, concentrated on rural areas. "We're seeing less competition," he acknowledges, " rather than more competition."
There's another advantage of working in smaller markets. "You get a lot of good word of mouth in these markets," he says. "You can't do a mass marketing campaign in Walla Walla, Wash. You need local partners." But even in Walla Walla, there will be two or three ISPs New Edge works with, Moffat says.
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