Did you hear the one about the company that sued its competitor for telling the truth?
AT&T has sued Verizon. No big deal; these guys slug it out in court on a regular basis. This time, it’s about the advertising Verizon is doing for their 3G network, which is the faster set of connections that make doing things like surfing the internet on your smartphone a tolerable experience. Verizon’s 3G network is quite a bit larger than AT&T’s 3G network. The ads are actually pretty clever, playing off how much fun using an iPhone isn’t when you’re in the wrong location.
AT&T thinks Verizon is being mean unfair. Verizon, responding to that claim, has actually altered their ads to be specific about what their map comparisons mean.
As a technology guy AND a one-time-and-somewhat-unappreciative-of-the-way-that-company-works Verizon employee, I’m actually impressed that they bothered changing the words they were using in the early versions of the ad.
Let’s be clear: the maps say what Verizon wants them to say, and conveniently leave out some facts. But the facts that are depicted are accurate. So AT&T decides the best way to get at them is a LAWSUIT?
Preposterous. And one more example of what happens when people try to resist business change.
Fight war with every weapon you have. And make no mistake; business is war. But don’t fight when you’re wrong; it just makes you look bad. And helps the other guy.
This content, AT&T Sues Verizon. The Business Change of “He’s Better Than Me!” first appeared at Answer Guy Central: Grow Your Business.
