SBC to adopt AT&T name, post merger

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 27 October 2005 17:01

IT Industry - Strategy

SBC Communications says it will adopt AT&T as its name following completion of its acquisition of AT&T, which is expected later this year.

"The AT&T name has a proud and storied heritage, as well as unparalleled recognition around the globe among both businesses and consumers," said Edward E Whitacre Jr, chairman and CEO of SBC Communications Inc. "No name is better-suited than AT&T to represent the new company's passion to deliver innovation, reliability, quality, integrity and unsurpassed customer care. This is the brand that will lead the industry in delivering the next generation of communications and entertainment services."

At merger close, SBC says it will unveil "a fresh, new logo" and that, after completion of the merger, "the transition to the new brand will be heavily promoted with the largest multimedia advertising and marketing campaign in either company's history, as well as through other promotional initiatives." A new stock market ticker symbol will also be announced.

SBC says the AT&T brand was selected because it provides the best brand platform to bridge the combined companies' wide range of customer segments, diverse geographies and robust portfolio of products, services and customer care. "The AT&T brand is especially strong in the critical enterprise market, where leading chief information officers and industry experts widely acknowledge it as the brand of choice and where it is strongly associated with industry innovation and leadership. Additionally, it has almost universal awareness as a communications brand: Internal research shows that in the United States, consumer awareness of the AT&T brand is 98 percent and business awareness is virtually 100 percent, while global awareness is nearly as high."