Earlier this year, I sat on the phone with a Cingular Wireless customer service employee concerned about an issue with my bill. As I was talking to her, I found myself asking this question:

"Is Cingular going to suck now that AT&T is taking over?" To which she replied, "I hope not."

When she said this, I realized it was probably harder for her to sit on the phone and answer this question. Primarily because she was the one working for a major company undergoing a massive change. I asked if she'd heard that question before. Not surprisingly, she said "yes."

By now we all know--"Cingular is the new AT&T," cue Oasis "All Around the World" jingle here. But as someone who has been a faithful Cingular customer since before it was even Cingular, I couldn't help but wonder if the merge would come with less personal service, more service loopholes and higher rates.

Still, while the customer in me was concerned, my inner-outer brand strategist was inspired. And after almost a year of watching those above-referenced commercials, I can honestly say AT&T has executed the brand strategy campaign of the decade. Here are five reasons why:

1) Early start. Cingular did not officially become AT&T until July but the company started promoting the change last year. To the point of the phrase, "Cingular is now the new AT&T," finding its way into the American consciousness long before the transition.

2) Strong internal communication. After my customer service rep's initial "I hope not" reply, she went on to say the employees had not anticipated changes to the overall service structure. She also had the inside scoop to instill confidence in me as a remaining customer. It was obvious internal change communication efforts had been well underway and the employees were well-prepared to handle any customer concerns and questions.

3) Market saturation. Think about it, Cingular/AT&T promoted the change everywhere. Via TV commercials, Internet ads, billboards, radio ads, on their bills, on its Web site and in the customer service greeting and scripts. Everywhere. Hence the tagline as an embedded societal phrase (see No.1).

4) Partnerships. Between Apple's iPhone and the latest BlackBerry, AT&T has positioned itself as the wireless gadget provider of the year. And genius thinking preceded this. In "iPhone--The Missing Manual," author David Pogue says one of the reasons AT&T was given exclusive service provider rights for the iPhone was because AT&T let Apple have creative license over all of the iPhone's technology. Pogue says cell phone companies typically micromanage a phone's development process, which is why their features are limited. Not so with AT&T and the iPhone. Beyond that, the product was kept under wraps even with AT&T employees, who worked with mock interfaces until closer to the release date.

5) Timing. When AT&T made its official announcement that Cingular was out and AT&T was in, the company knew it needed to launch with an enormous bang. What better way to do this than with the simultaneous launch of the iPhone and Apple's bold support of AT&T as its exclusive service partner.

Say all you want about the iPhone but according to many gadget experts, it's still one of the most cutting-edge gadgets on the market. While hype has since subsided and Apple has since slashed iPhone prices by $200, remember this: the week the iPhone was released, people were coming to U.S. soil from "all around the world" (reference to jingle intended) to stand in line and by the phone.

And no other cell phone commercial or ad could compete with either AT&T's or Apple's. Adding to AT&T's marketability is it's global wireless capabilities, hence its simple and influential tagline, "Your world. Delivered."

So, is the customer in me happy? Very. I'm actually surprised by the reasonable rates offered for unlimited data and a sufficient amount of minutes for my iPhone. And the customer service reps are just as, if not more, informative and helpful.

What do you consider to be the brand campaign of the year and why? Do you agree with what I'm saying about AT&T's brand campaign? Why or why not?

Judy Asman Communication

http://www.judyasman.com