Comcast vs. Verizon

Comcast learned a lesson with Xfinity. Get real with your consumer. Newer better, faster doesn't work. These two communications behemoths have been battling it aggressively for months. Bigger than the Superbowl, the 2001 election, Jen vs. Angelina - these campaigns for your cable dollar is being fought tooth and nail in advertising. Since Comcast introduced Xfinity, a new name for the same service that sounds like a strip club, Verizon has been having a field day with what has become a branding disaster for Comcast.

Here's Comcast's intro to Xfinity and their attempt at being NEWer, FASTer, and BETTer. And in doing so confusing consumers who aren't thrilled with them already and dating the brand by about 10 years.



Comcast fell flat with this attempt. Xfinity. Wowie. It's fast and amazing. Flashing lights and fancy graphics whizzing by. All to make you feel you are traveling at warp speed into an intergalactic world where things are, um, fast. It's just way to much hype for a product that really isn't any different than it was yesterday. It's boring. And it's been done before.

Verizon countered with exactly what most of us were thinking. Xfinity? X-phoeey. What does that even mean? Aren't you still Comcast with the same product line and faulty customer service?



What Verizon did right here was focus on their brand strategy. They used humor to connect to their consumers and were successful in saying something that was logical, honest and intelligent.

Finally, Comcast decided to put up their dukes, and fire back with anti Verizon messages that demand attention. Someone in the marketing department had an epiphany. They're calling it Get the Facts. A smart attempt to back track from the confusion of Xfinity - getting back to basics and focusing on the product offering. They are presenting the Get the Facts campaign with a humor not excess, something that makes consumers pay attention. The ads are supporting with a section on their website that directly compares the two communication giants feature by feature, as well as real stories from consumers who've been burned by Fios. The negative testimonials aren't my taste but the campaign is certainly a step in the right direction. The ads are pretty funny too. Check it out: