The Brand Lingers on!!

AT&T - the company is no more. With California approving its acquisition by SBC Corporation, the final nail in the coffin of the creator of the telephone industry has been hammered in. But the brand lives on as SBC renames itself as AT&T.

Brand Managers of the world need to look back at what created a brand so strong that it survives beyond the demise of the company that created it. AT&T as a brand was not built by legions of MBAs "strategically managing" its growth. Actually the brand lost a lot of its sheen in the era where brand managers as a group were on an upswing.

So what created the AT&T brand and what can others learn from it? I would hazard to say - nothing very fancy. Rather - it seems to be more a reaffirmation of the basics:

1. Meet needs by offering something that people want - not just once - but consistently evolve as needs change
   
2. Clearly articulate your offering - and build an organization to support the articulated offering
   
3. Communicate far and wide about your offering - set expectation about what, where, when, why and how to expect - internally as well as externally
4. Build trust - internally and externally by consistently meeting promises

SBC has come a long way from being the smallest of the Baby Bells way back in 1984 to being the largest telecom service company in the US. While it will certainly benefit from the AT&T brand value, it will remain to be seen if the AT&T brand is enhanced or diminished under the new AT&T!!!