AT&T, Hood Scoops and Kellyanne Conway
When I was younger, I had a car that had a hood scoop on it. It looked cool, looked fast and made me feel like I was driving a rocket of a car. The only thing was that hood scoop didn’t actually scoop air into the engine as it suggested. It was blocked off, serving no functional purpose other than to slightly reduce my gas mileage. But, still, that feature made me feel like a rally driver as I worked my way through Boston traffic, racing between stop lights, taking on-ramps a bit too quickly, and driving like any guy in his early 20s (read: poorly). Of course, one afternoon when a colleague asked me in the parking lot if the car had a turbo, my breathe caught, my hands got clammy, and I found myself struggling to mumble, “No”.
I HAD A CAR THAT HAD A HOOD SCOOP ON IT. IT LOOKED COOL, LOOKED FAST AND MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS DRIVING A ROCKET OF A CAR.
Still, the fact that my car had what amounted to a bit of ornamental BS on it didn’t bother me. Somewhere, at some point in time, someone at that car manufacturer had decided that putting a non-functioning bit of kit on my little car would make it more appealing. And, in a way, they were right. I knew when I bought it that the hood scoop wasn’t necessary or even real, but like tail fins in the 50’s, it was strictly ornamental. Now if the dealer or the car ads had suggested that the scoop was more than just styling, that it made the car go faster or that it was, in fact, modern ram air intake system that both enhanced fuel economy and performance, that would have been wrong. But they didn’t, so for me, the informed consumer, it was okay.
AT&T CALLS IT 5G. IT ISN'T.
Source: att.com
Which is exactly why AT&T’s announcement this week that it would be rolling out 5G mobile phone service to various markets this year is decidedly not okay. For those who don’t follow the technical details of the cell phone market (i.e., everyone), here’s a basic primer. Your cellphone, whether it be an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy or some ancient, retro Motorola StarTac that you bought off Craigslist, all work by connecting to a cellular receiver somewhere nearby. And every few years, the industry figures out how to cram more connections and more data into each of those receivers. The result? Faster, better connections for your talking, texting and browsing pleasure. First we went from Analog to Digital, then to 3G, then to 4G. What’s next? 5G.
But, the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance hasn’t yet figured out what technologies will make up 5G. The standard is still being defined. So, while it’s one thing to say that AT&T has improved upon its 4G service (it has), when the company actively comes out and says that it is launching a future technology years before anyone else, one of two things is going on. Either (1) AT&T has leapfrogged the industry and is really ahead of the game, or (2) AT&T is trying to trick its customers. Any guesses what’s going on here?
AT&T HAS RIPPED A PAGE OUT OF THE KELLYANNE CONWAY PLAYBOOK AND USED ALTERNATIVE FACTS TO GENERATE SOME EXCITEMENT IN ITS BUSINESS.
If you guessed (1), then either you work in marketing at AT&T or you’re not paying attention. No, AT&T has ripped a page out of the Kellyanne Conway playbook and used alternative facts to generate some excitement in its business. Heck, even AT&T admits in their press release that what it’s touting as 5G Evolution isn’t 5G. But, the goal is clearly to lay claim to a future that it doesn’t yet own.
“AT&T today announced 5G Evolution plans to pave the way to the next generation of faster speeds for its wireless customers with the latest devices in over 20 major metro areas by the end of this year. We continue to lay the foundation for our evolution to 5G while the 5G standards are being finalized. ”
And while the tech blogs are jumping all over this, competitors are mocking it, and people are somewhat confused, it isn’t stopping AT&T from pushing ahead with what is a pretty deceptive form of marketing. If anything the company is doubling down,
TMOBILE'S CTO MOCKS AT&T
Truth is it’s not the first time AT&T has done this. Back in 2012, the company pressured Apple (yes you read that correctly) to display “4G” on the iPhone 4S despite the fact that the phone was connecting to AT&T’s enhanced 3G network, not its actual 4G network.
COMPANIES THAT BUILD BRANDS UPON PROOF POINTS, NOT PUFF POINTS, ARE WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE AND OUR BUSINESS. THOSE THAT DON’T OUGHT TO BE CHIDED INTO EITHER DOING THE RIGHT THING OR SPIRALING DOWN INTO OBSOLESCENCE.
“What’s the big deal?”, you ask. When companies start thinking of their customers as being unworthy of the truth, when they find it easier to resort to using marketing to confuse rather than simplify, when they are just too lazy to actually market what they have, then we’ve crossed over into the Twilight Zone-esque world in which modern politics seems to thrive. Companies that build brands upon proof points, not puff points, are worthy of our praise and our business. Those that don’t ought to be chided into either doing the right thing or spiraling down into obsolescence. Marketing as a field has a hard enough of a time explaining how we add value to the businesses we serve. We don’t need hacks who struggle with accuracy and honesty to make it worse for the rest of us.
So, AT&T, for the rest of us fighting the good fight, trying to make brands work harder – but honestly – for the businesses they serve, own up to the facts. Call it 4G plus, 4G Enhanced, or call it Fred. Just don’t call it 5G.