The Apple, AT&T, Verizon, Droid Wars

For those interested in business, marketing, and ad strategy, there’s no better lesson than following cell phone campaigns and their outcomes. As the holidays approach, the AT&T and Verizon wars just had another missile fired as Apple throws a punch in favor of AT&T in a war that started with the iDon’t and There’s a Map for That ads of Verizon.

Check out the interactive history of this war below.

Latest – Apple Defends AT&T
Verdict – If you don’t know, AT&T’s only advantage over Verizon is that their data connection can maintain a call and surf the internet/apps while maintaining the call. Verizon you can only do one or the other. A good point to bring up, unfortunately it could do a call, surf the web, and make you dinner at the same time, but if you don’t have cell service, you’re going to end up hungry.

Apple iPhone Ad – What Time’s The Movie? from Arik Hesseldahl on Vimeo.

Earlier: AT&T Defends Itself
The Verdict – AT&T was pretty miffed to have its 3G network coverage slapped on, so they came out with an ad reminding everyone of the nationwide coverage their cellular network has. The only problem is that Verizon’s ads were about Smartphone coverage (where 3G is a must). Also, this ad shows major cities they have coverage in, which I imagine even T-Mobile has fine cell service there.

Oh, and this ad is just really dumb. Luke Wilson?

Verizon Ads AT&T is Defending Itself Against
Verdict: These ads must’ve been so effective, AT&T sued over them, giving them even more coverage. Worse, they are currently losing (meaning they are accurate). The seasonal ads showing “There’s a Map for That” are relatively effective, but the points that arise and AT&T’s reaction to them (rather than having a plan to improve their network) will go a lot further than the ads themselves.

In summary, it looks as though Verizon has the upper hand and the network. It will remain to be seen how the Droid does, and how the new Smartphones on Verizon’s network affect it. AT&T needs to improve their network this year or its going to be over…that is, improve their network instead of spending money on ads complaining about Verizon.

Let’s hope today’s rumors of the iPhone exclusivity ending are just that or time may be running out.