BellSouth Launches Extensive Branding Effort

"Dinner Time" is one four TV spots BellSouth is launching tonight as part of its corporate-wide branding campaign. It draws from the carrier's equity in hometown roots. The voiceover lists this family's communications products: "3 pagers, 5 e-mail addresses, 2 Web sites, 4 cell phones…" Although pleased, the carrier recognizes the one important rule this family follows when the phone rings– "not at the dinner table."

As part of a move to position the company in the electronic space, Atlanta, GA-based BellSouth is giving itself a facelift. Rather than simply launching an advertising campaign touting brand or product attributes, BellSouth is revolutionizing its look and voice across the entire company. The carrier is dubbing itself "the communications company that releases the power of e-Interaction," and the theme of the new brand will extend into all company communications, using the tag line "connect and create something."

"You're going to see ads around e-commerce and high-end business data services, Web-based technology, and Wireless Application Protocol solutions," said William Pate, BellSouth vice president for advertising and public relations.

Branching Out
The new brand will extend from traditional media advertising to retail stores, web sites, company publications, sports marketing programs, public relations, direct mail, customer brochures, product packages, new experiential sponsorship strategies, trade shows, and internal communications. This is the first corporate branding campaign created by advertising agency Merkley Newman Harty, New York, since it won the entire branding assignment in November 1999.

"One of the great things that employees, customers, and shareholders are going to see about this campaign is the full integration of BellSouth – really for the first time in the history of the company – around a singular look, feel, personality, communication strategy, and messaging strategy across every single business unit," Pate said.

Internally, an unprecedented unveiling of the campaign is planned for all employees, who will play a critical role in fulfilling its themes and messages. BellSouth employees will experience the new brand via a Web site with e-mail, HTML-postcards, banner ads, a live broadcast, and a series of newsletter articles.

Prime Time
As its foray into "e-space," BellSouth launches externally with a total of six 30-second television spots, four of which will run initially—Dinner Time (see photo at top), Store, Skyscraper (see photo below), and Park Bench. Television spots will begin to air on March 9 on programs such as NCAA Basketball Conference Championships (SEC, ACC), NCAA March Madness, Malcolm in the Middle, Friends, Frasier, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and the PGA Honda Classic. The spots will also be carried on cable stations such as ESPN, CNN, E!, VH1, and Oxygen.

In "Skyscraper," Stuart Kobak trudges up the stairs outside a large office building. As he climbs, a voiceover gives a lengthy history of failed business ventures by this "hopeless dreamer, hapless entrepreneur." As he enters the building, the camera pans up to reveal the results of his latest "pipe dream" and the building's moniker, "Kobak.com." The BellSouth answer this time is "e-commerce."

Print advertising begins March 10 with 4-color spreads in major daily newspapers in 15 Southeast markets, in USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Vanity Fair, Money, Fortune, Inc., National Geographic, Martha Stewart Living, People, Entertainment Weekly, Business Week, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and black & white ads in the Wall Street Journal.

The corporate branding campaign also will include numerous elements such as five out-of-home billboards in 15 Southeast markets, phone kiosks, BellSouth vans, and experiential sports sponsorship activities.

Edited by Ellen Jensen