The ever-aggressive marketing battle between Qwest and Comcast is getting hotter, as the companies take aim at each other in a new round of print and broadcast ads.
In a full page ad in The Denver Post, Qwest tells customers, “Don’t get Comcastuck,” its latest salvo against the cable company’s digital phone service and its “Comcastic” campaign.
“We were looking for a very powerful headline to draw readers into the ad, and we thought that it would work very well for them,” said Laura Sankey, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Denver-based Qwest. “We wanted to give them a lot of information on what the benefits of Qwest are and the issues with cable phones.”
The ad also warns that Comcast customers’ digital phone service “may not work during extended power outages.”
Denver-based McLain Finlon produced the ads, as well as Qwest’s previous “Jack My Price Up” campaign, which capitalized on the perception that cable companies raise rates after discounted introductory offers.
Comcast Colorado spokeswoman Cindy Parsons said the modems that power the company’s digital phone service offer backup battery power for eight hours, and customers can purchase an additional battery for a total of 16 hours of backup power.
At the same time, Philadelphia- based Comcast is running a TV commercial urging Colorado residents to “hang up on Qwest” and choose Comcast’s digital-voice home-telephone service.
This is the first time Comcast has singled Qwest out by name in a local ad. A previous ad campaign by the company featured two turtles, the Slowskys, who prefer slow Internet speeds, compared with Comcast’s speeds.
Comcast has 800,000 subscribers in Colorado but doesn’t specify how many have its digital phone service. Qwest, by comparison, has about 2 million access lines in the state.
“This is just another standard incremental marketing campaign we’re using locally to build value around our digital phone service,” Parsons said.
Directly calling out a competitor by name in advertising is a good strategy because it eliminates vagueness and generalities for consumers, said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a New York-based research and consulting firm.
“When directing your strategy at a general market, it can become so diluted and meaningless,” he said. “Mentioning the competition’s name doesn’t put you in a defensive position. You’re throwing down the gauntlet.”
The Comcast commercial touts a six-month discounted price of $24.99 for Comcast Digital Voice if customers sign up before Saturday. In central Denver, the regular price of the service ranges from $39.95 to $54.95, depending on whether customers already have one or more of Comcast’s other services – cable TV and high-speed Internet access.
A Qwest print ad in Washington state, similar to the one in papers here, refers to recent snowstorms and power outages in which “many Comcast customers lost their phone connection.”
To lure customers, Qwest is offering customers across its 14-state territories free local phone service for three months if they switch to Qwest from another phone-service provider.
Qwest also began a new TV ad campaign Wednesday, in which financial advisers suggest ways for people to save money. In addition to insulating a home, carpooling and cutting up credit cards, switching from cable to Qwest is a cost-saving measure, according to the 30-second spot.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
