Sprint's research project analyzed why the target market perceives Sprint negatively. Through secondary research and focus groups, the project found: (1) Sprint has a negative brand perception as "second tier" and "untrustworthy"; (2) Sprint's advertising lacks memorability and does not motivate consumers to research plans; (3) Consumers are loyal to their current provider despite competition. The target market stays on family plans to save money and Sprint does not offer ideal characteristics like reliability, speed and customer service. In conclusion, Sprint needs to improve its reputation and perception to attract the target market.
2. TODAY’S PRESENTATION
• Overview of Sprint and what they are
facing as a brand
• Research objectives
• Research conducted
• Findings
• Conclusion
3. SPRINT BACKGROUND
• Problem: Sprint has little top of mind
awareness in the target market and is
perceived negatively throughout the
mobile service industry.
• Goal: Discover why Sprint is not
considered a top tier mobile service
provider by the target market.
PROBLEM/GOAL
BRAND INTRODUCTION
• 1899: BrownTelephone is founded
• 1983: General Telephone & Electrics Corp. acquires
the Southern Pacific Communications Corp. and
renames the company GTE Sprint Communications
• 1984: United Telecom enter the long distance phone
market
• 1986: GTE Sprint and US Telecom merge
• 1987: Nextel is founded
• 1992: Following the merge of GTE Sprint and US
Telecom the company is renamed Sprint Corp.
• 1999: Sprint builds the first nationwide PCS network
• 2005: Sprint purchase Nextel and rebrands as Sprint
Nextel
• 2013: Nextel network is shutdown and Sprint
Nextel becomes Sprint Corp. again
4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• Objectives of this research were:
1. Learn about the target market and Sprint
brand
2. Discover why the target market is staying
on their family plan
3.Determine attitudes of consumers towards
Sprint and the mobile service industry
4. Uncover how effective Sprint’s marketing
and advertising is.
5. RESEARCH METHODS
• To meet my research objectives, I
conducted two types of research:
• Secondary
• Databases
• Primary
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
6. SECONDARY RESEARCH
• Databases Used:
• Mintel, Business Insights: Global, Business
Source Complete,Advertising Redbooks,
MRI+(Mediamark Research & Intelligence),
Statista
• Purpose:
• Acquire market share, revenue, brand
background, competitors, current
customers, ad spend, industry trends,
consumer trends
7. PRIMARY RESEARCH
• Two types of research was conducted:
• 1. Qualitative research:focus group
• Consisted of 10 participants that met criteria needed
• Ages ranged from 18-26
• Session lasted nearly 2 hours
• Focus Group Guide consisted of 31 questions: the types of questions included
screener, lifestyle,product use, brand questions, and product questions.
• 2. Quantitative research:Online Google Forms survey
• 740 responses
• Male & Female
• Ages ranged from 18-34
• Survey included 29 questions that ranged in style and type
8. RESEARCH FINDINGS
• From my secondary and primary research,
the five findings on the following slides were
determined using systematic analysis
techniques
9. 1. TARGET MARKET HAS A NEGATIVE
PERCEPTION OF SPRINT
• Qualitative research found that participants held common negative feelings of
Sprint as a mobile service provider.
• Participants were asked:“Imagine you’re shopping around for a new mobile service
provider, what brands immediately come to mind?”
• Top answers consisted ofAT&T, Verizon, andT-Mobile with Sprint being added in at
the end with a participant saying, “Oh I almost forgot about Sprint.”
• “When you hear Sprint, what are the first things that come to mind?”
• ”2nd tier”, “value brand”,”not trustworthy”,“shitty”,“subpar”,”mediocre”, ”dull”
• ”Think about the Sprint, and imagine it as a person.Who would this brand be? How
would you describe this person?What personality characteristics would this person
have?
• “Unprofessional”,“someone who is ill prepared”, “con-man”, “someone who will take
advantage of me” ,“…they come across as informal”
• Secondary research validated my findings with data supporting that Sprint is
not thought highly of
Target market is ages 18-34 and considered ‘millennials’
10. 1. TARGET MARKET HAS A NEGATIVE
PERCEPTION OF SPRINT
Where would Sprint be on your list for mobile service
providers?
4%
20%
26%
50%
On the top
In the middle
At the bottom
Not on my list
11. 1. TARGET MARKET HAS A NEGATIVE
PERCEPTION OF SPRINT
• There is a lack of feelings towards the overall brand
• Only emotional connections had are negative
“I don’t know what is going on with Sprint. I am so sorry I changed
to them. I cant wait for my contract to be over. Service is bad,
horrible and almost non existent. 4g does not work, 3g sometimes,
even with wifi in site it is ****. When I need it most it will drop my
calls. I live inTexas and drive to Oklahoma, there is no signal more
than half of the trip. I have heard they fired 300 employees,
service is the worse ever.Had to vent”
- Mintel qualitative question answer
12. 1. TARGET MARKET HAS A NEGATIVE
PERCEPTION OF SPRINT
How likely are you to consider or stay
with Sprint as a service provider?
3% 3%
15%
26%
53%
Definitely
Probably
Might or might
not
Probably not
Definitely not
13. 1. TARGET MARKET HAS A NEGATIVE
PERCEPTION OF SPRINT
How likely are you to recommend Sprint to a friend or colleague?
14. 2. SPRINT’S ADVERTISING IS NOT
RESONATING WITH THE TARGET
MARKET
• My qualitative research showed emphasis on the issue that
Sprint’s advertisements were not memorable because the
content included in the ad is lacking.
• “Have you seen any advertisements from Sprint recently?
Are they impactful?Why or why not?”
• “I feel like I saw one onTV but I don’t remember what it was
even about because there was nothing interesting about it”
• “I can only remember that the guy fromVerizon is in a Sprint
ad”
• “The only ads that come to mind are one’s about business
plans..”
The negative perception of Sprint could be adding to the
lack of attention received towards their ads.
15. 2. SPRINT’S ADVERTISING IS NOT
RESONATING WITH THE TARGET
MARKET
2012-2013 “Everything’s
Important” with James
Early Jones & Malcolm
McDowell
2013-2013 Family Plan,with
odd family the ‘Frobinsons’
2015-2016 Bring in
another carriers bill and
Sprint will “cut it in half”
2016-2017 “Can you
hear me now” guy from
Verizon
Participants were asked what they thought of each of Sprint’s ads from previous years,
this is what was said:
“They are funny
but I can’t figure
out the message..”
“ I feel like the last
two ads are just for
publicity sake..”
“The family ad is trying way
too hard to catch my
attention”
16. 2. SPRINT’S ADVERTISING IS NOT
RESONATING WITH THE TARGET
MARKET
93
545
102
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Yes No Maybe but I do not
recall
Has an advertisement from Sprint ever made you
look further into their service plans options?
17. 2. SPRINT’S ADVERTISING IS NOT
RESONATING WITH THE TARGET
MARKET
367
187
35
76
57
18
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Verizon AT&T Sprint T-Mobile None Other
What service provider do you feel is the most
trustworthy when it comes to accurately
portraying its services in advertisements?
Loyalty Can’t be
Bought
• No brand
resonance
• Little
emotional
benefit
18. 2. SPRINT’S ADVERTISING IS NOT
RESONATING WITH THE TARGET
MARKET
1% 4%
19%
33%
43%
The best
One of the best
About the same
as the others
Not quite as
good as the
others
Definitely not as
good as the
others
Compared to other mobile service providers
advertisements, how would you rate Sprint’s?
19. 3.CONSUMERS ARE BECOMING MORE
LOYAL TO THEIR MOBILE SERVICE
PROVIDER EVEN AS COMPETITION
BETWEEN THE CARRIERS INTENSIFIES.
• The share of each of the
major mobile service
providers is similar in size
signifying that competition is
intense
Verizon 35.74%
AT&T 33.13%
T-Mobile 16.88%
Sprint 12.80%
• A decade ago there were
seven major U.S. wireless
carriers and today the
largest four carriers
control 98.8 percent of the
U.S. market,according to
the FCC.
20. 3.CONSUMERS ARE BECOMING MORE
LOYAL TO THEIR MOBILE SERVICE
PROVIDER EVEN AS COMPETITION
BETWEEN THE CARRIERS INTENSIFIES.
10%
9%
81%
I changed providers for
mobile service in the
past year
I have plans to change
providers for mobile
service in the next year
I have no plans to change
providers for mobile
service in the next year
Which of the following is true for you?
21. 3.CONSUMERS ARE BECOMING MORE
LOYAL TO THEIR MOBILE SERVICE
PROVIDER EVEN AS COMPETITION
BETWEEN THE CARRIERS INTENSIFIES.
• Mintel secondary research and my primary research
showed that consumers aren’t switching carriers due
to:
• perceiving value in their service provider
• sufficient internet speeds
• changing being more trouble than its worth
• being happy with their current carrier
• not trusting other providers information
22. 3.CONSUMERS ARE BECOMING MORE
LOYAL TO THEIR MOBILE SERVICE
PROVIDER EVEN AS COMPETITION
BETWEEN THE CARRIERS INTENSIFIES.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Plans to change in the next month
Plans to change post contract
expiration
Plans to change prior to contract
expiration
Would like to change at some point
Not interested
Which of the following best describes your interest in changing your mobile
service provider?
23. 4. TARGET MARKET STAYS ON THEIR
FAMILY PLAN TO SAVE MONEY
• Qualitative research shows that people are not interested
in leaving their service provider or family plan
Are you apart of your mobile service provider’s family
plan? Why?
“Yes I’m on my
family plan to
save money”
“I’ve looked into getting
my own service, but the
prices aren’t even
comparable”
What are your thoughts on leaving your family plan in the future? Would you
stay even if your parent/guardian switched carriers? Why?
“I plan to leave
eventually, but
right now it’s the
only way I can
afford service”
“If my parents
switched I would have
no choice but to
switch too… due to
the price”
“I plan to stay on my family plan
as long as possible to save
money and frustration”
24. 4. TARGET MARKET STAYS ON THEIR
FAMILY PLAN TO SAVE MONEY
Which of the following are reasons why you are a
part of a Family Plan?
23%
1%
65%
11%
I do not have the
financial means to afford
my own service
I am unsure of how to
acquire my own service
Save money
I am not part of a family
plan
25. 4. TARGET MARKET STAYS ON THEIR
FAMILY PLAN TO SAVE MONEY
Do you pay for the service you utilize on your
family plan?
69%
19%
12%
Yes
No
I am not part of
a family plan
26. IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF MOBILE NETWORK
1. Reliability
2. Price
3. Data limit
4. Speed of data
5. Coverage
1. Price
2. Data limit
3. Customer service
4. Reliability
5. Coverage
SPRINT’S
CHARACTERISTICS
5. IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS NOT
FOUND IN SPRINT NETWORK
Data found from Mintel and qualitative research
27. 5. IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS NOT
FOUND IN SPRINT NETWORK
209
116
117
262
242
416
503
575
Customer service
Phone options
Frequent phone upgrade opportunities
Mobile internet speed
Cellular reception
Amount of data
Price
Reliability
When choosing a mobile service provider which of the following would
effect your decision?
28. 5. IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS NOT
FOUND IN SPRINT NETWORK
• Qualitative data showed that the target
market looks for these qualities when
considering a service provider.
• “price”,“reliability”,“cell reception and coverage”,
“internet speed and quality”,“customer service
quality”,“data limit”,“what phones are offered”
What features do you like about your mobile service provider? Why?
• “I get a free HBO subscription with my AT&T plan…”
• “Verizon’s go90 app let’s me stream video without using any data”
Secondary research shows that T-Mobile offers “Netflix on Us” as added value
Sprint does not offer any partnerships with companies to add extra value
• “I feel like I’m getting more out of my
service plan”
29. 5. IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS NOT
FOUND IN SPRINT NETWORK
If Sprint offered a partnership similar to what AT&T
does with HBO orT-Mobile with Netflix, would you be
more likely to consider Sprint’s services?
12%
44%
44%
Yes
No
Depends on
the partner
30. RESEARCH FINDINGS SUMMARY
• 1.Target market has a negative perception of Sprint
• 2. Sprint’s advertising is not resonating with the target market
• 3. Consumers are becoming more loyal to their current mobile
service provider even as competition between the carriers
intensifies
• 4.Target market stays on their family plan to save money
• 5. Ideal characteristics are not found in the Sprint network
31. CONCLUSIONS
• Secondary research,along with the primary research that I
conducted, was used to determine my research objectives
and findings about Sprint.
• To summarize,the target market is not motivated to look
further into Sprint or the mobile service industry in
general.Sprint does not appeal to the target market and
they are not interested in leaving their current carrier or
family plan.
• Based on the research I conducted and analyzed I believe I
can create a practical and powerful creative
communications strategy built around increasing Sprint’s
brand reputation and mobile service perception in
millennials.
Thank You!
