Dive Brief:
- In an effort to steal customers from T-Mobile, AT&T is offering up to $450 in credits to switch carriers.
- The move is strategic, as T-Mobile is expected to announce a plan next week offering $350 in credits for customers to switch.
- After their failed merger, the two brands spent much of 2013 ads attacking each another in an attempt to poach customers.
Dive Insight:
When a market is as highly saturated as mobile, brands may often see no choice but to run negative ads against their opponents. AT&T and T-Mobile are particularly butting heads because they offer similar network technology. The new idea of offering credits to switch may work because it will offset plan cancelation charges that often come with switching carriers. What both brands may consider, rather than attempting to poach customers back and forth from one another, is to take a more positive approach and work to keep the customers they have. This, of course, is tough if competitors continue to run attack ads.
