Why Total Wireless is dropping Verizon from its name and logo

Three years after being acquired by Verizon, Total Wireless has a new brand logo—one that no longer includes the name of its parent company. The prepaid, value-based carrier formerly known as Total by Verizon will go by Total Wireless moving forward. A new logo, which showcases Total Wireless in a red circle and omits Verizon and its red checkmark, reinforces the switch. That work will begin rolling out today on signage and in stores. 40 under 40 entries are open The final deadline for nominations is Aug. 2 Enter here “When we first went through the acquisition, we wanted to make sure that customers knew and had confidence that Total was part of the Verizon family,” said Cheryl Gresham, chief marketing officer of Verizon Value, which includes Total. She said customers had concerns around the ability of the Total network, including typical prepaid category pain points such as speed. By calling the brand Total by Verizon, awareness and consideration grew. Now, Total has its own growing fleet of stores; the brand has quadrupled its store count in the last year and plans to have thousands of locations, primarily in urban neighborhoods, within the next few years. Many consumers, or 74% according to Total’s research, erroneously believe they must visit a Verizon store to purchase a Total prepaid phone, Gresham noted. “We wanted to make sure there was a distinction that Total was its own unique brand,” said Gresham. “We found that removing [Verizon] from the name and logo lockup was better understood.” Total worked with Hugo Collective, a Hispanic and female-owned agency, on the new look. While the primary logo remains red, some other colors, including teal and blue, will also be present in ads and stores as the brand looks to attract multicultural consumers. “They are a group of people on their way up—they are moving, they are excited about life and they just need a wireless provider that can fuel them better than the rest of the category has,” said Gresham, noting that Hugo worked with designers in both the U.S. and Mexico on the new palette. “We were purposeful on the red because we want to keep the connection with Verizon,” she added. Some signage in stores will still say Verizon as well. To spread the word, Total will begin airing an ad campaign touting its new name. The campaign, which was created with Ogilvy, will include out-of-home, paid social on channels such as TikTok and Snap with influencers and creators, as well as linear and connected TV. The new look for Total comes on the heels of Verizon’s own logo refresh late last month. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

Why Total Wireless is dropping Verizon from its name and logo

Featured Stories