{"id":52796,"date":"2020-02-18T07:52:39","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T12:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.portada-online.com\/?p=52796"},"modified":"2021-04-09T13:47:41","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T17:47:41","slug":"t-mobile-sprint-5-things-vendors-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portada-online.com\/feature\/t-mobile-sprint-5-things-vendors-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"T-Mobile-Sprint: 5 Things Vendors Need to Know…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Justice Department finally approved the T-Mobile and Sprint merger. The combined company spent more than U.S. $2.7 billion in advertising in 2019 and will certainly take new marketing decisions. This will impact vendors (media, agency, sponsorship and other marketing service providers) who support the telco giant with marketing strategy, planning, and execution.\u00a0 An analysis by Portada’s editorial team: 5 thinks you need to know….\u00a0<\/em><\/h4>\n

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1. T-Mobile and Sprint Merger = One of the Three Telco Juggernauts\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"After the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, the new company now is officially one of the three U.S. telco giants. The merged entity will manage around 100 million direct customers\u00a0<\/strong> (excluding\u00a0 wholesale users), around the same level as Verizon (116 million) and AT&T (93 million). Retail store wise , T-Mobile-Sprint has approximately 9,300 stores<\/strong> (Sprint 4,000 and T-Mobile has more than 5,300 stores.)<\/span><\/p>\n

… Competition (Need for Marketing) Continues to be Huge…
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AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile-Sprint will very likely face a fourth major player: Dish. Part of the reason why the DOJ (Department of Justice) approved the merger is that Dish may be able to join AT&T, Verizon and Sprint as a fourth player, therefore increasing competition<\/strong> (and marketing dollars). The DOJ, in seeking to create a viable fourth wireless carrier, insisted Dish be allowed to sell a 50 percent stake<\/strong> to strategic investors as long as they do not include T-Mobile and Sprint rivals like AT&T, Verizon or cable companies including Comcast, sources explained. As importantly, the DOJ approved the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, because Dish, recently bought Sprint prepaid brands Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

… Currently: US $2.7 Billion in Advertising Expenditures<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Both Sprint and T-Mobile spent approximately US $2.7 billion in advertising together in 2019<\/strong>, according to their annual reports. In 2019, T-Mobile U.S. spent approximately US$ 1.6 billion<\/strong>\u00a0on advertising, while Sprint expenses totaled $1.1 billion<\/strong>, $1.3 billion, and $1.1 billion for each of the years ended March 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. (Competitors Verizon and AT&T spent US $ 2.64 billion and US $3.52 billion<\/strong> in advertising last year.)
\nWith US $8.56 billion, Telco was the third largest ad-category after retail and automotive (Statista). The U.S. telecom<\/b> industry was expected to increase its digital ad spending by 16.2%<\/strong> to $13.45 billion in 2019.<\/strong> (E-Marketer). In 2018,\u00a0 AT&T was the second-largest U.S. advertiser<\/strong>, Verizon the 10th largest with T-Mobile (23) and Sprint (39).<\/p>\n

2. Sponsorships: Expansion of Sponsorship Portfolio with Emphasis on Local Properties<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sports and entertainment event sponsorships are another extremely important channel for telco marketers. In 2017, AT&T spent between US $195 and US $200 million in sports and entertainment sponsorships, according to sponsorship.com<\/a>. Similarly, Verizon spent between US $160 and US $165 million, and T-Mobile between US $50-55 million.<\/strong> Sprint did not make it to the top 50 sponsorship investors in 2017<\/strong>. While Sprint was a 2019 Super Bowl advertiser, it did not advertise in the last Super Bowl two weeks ago<\/strong>. T-Mobile did with its spot promoting its nationwide 5-G network (see below).<\/p>\n

Portfolio Expansion with stronger local ties<\/strong>
\nWe expect the combined company to expand its sponsorship portfolio (Major League Baseball, T-Mobile Arena, American Music Awards, etc.) with ties to local properties in new and underperforming markets.<\/p>\n