Sprint Nextel Reveals New Brand Identity

Sprint and Nextel announced how they will handle the transition to the combined company that is expected to complete by the end of the summer. The name for the company will be Sprint, however Nextel's brand name will continue to be used for certain services provided by the company.

Originally, it was believed that the merged company would take the name Sprint-Nextel. However, according to officials, internal studies showed that the Sprint name alone carried a better positive response on its own. Sprint Nextel will only refer to the corportation itself.

Nextel will remain as a product name, used for services such as Direct Connect, which will be provided over Nextel's former iDEN network. Sprint says it plans to target these services to "selected businesses, public-sector customers and those high-value individuals who have proven to be avid users of Nextel services."

Although Nextel may be getting phased out as a primary brand, Sprint's new logo will incorporate the yellow and black colors that have become synonymous with Nextel. Also, the new logo incorporates an artistic impression of the pin drop, which has been a major part of Sprint's brand identity for years.

Nextel's logo will stay the same, except for the text "Together With Sprint," and will be used to show the company's new ties. Similarly, Sprint's initial advertising will also include the line "Together With Nextel" to reinforce the idea of a combined company in consumers' minds.

Nextel's sponsorship of NASCAR will remain as is through the 2006 season. The company says an announcement regarding the series name and branding will come before the 2006 opening race.

"The companies are in the enviable position of possessing two incredibly valuable brands with overwhelming positive and powerful equity in the marketplace," said Mark Schweitzer, designated Chief Marketing Officer for the new company and Nextel's current senior vice president of marketing. "Our brand strategy and logo will integrate the most valuable assets of each company's identity."