Relying On Instinct

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse has endured an uphill battle since taking the helm of the embattled carrier last December. Relentless customer erosion--some 638,000 contract subscribers switched off around that time--triggered a wave of layoffs and store closures.

Mr. Hesse's favorite story--the one he uses to motivate the troops--is that of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose epic 1914-1916 Endurance expedition to Antarctica is one of the greatest survival stories of all time.

Similarly navigating the icing waters of the wireless business, Mr. Hesse counted among his many challenges the need to develop a broad marketing strategy to appeal to a mass consumer audience.

Well, he may finally have traction. Since launching last week, Sprint's new Samsung Instinct touchscreen phone is reportedly selling like hot cakes. Credit in part Sprint's marketing machinery: the full-court press includes an action movie trailer-style website, and the "Sell Out" campaign, that pays bloggers twenty bucks (not me) for promoting the phone while offering ten grand for the best consumer-produced Instinct video.

Mr. Hesse obviously gets the product placement/YouTube/viral sensibility of today's youth market, who can get the GPS/video/Internet-ready Instinct for $129 with a two-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate.

Competitors are taking notice, too. Sprint's stock jumped 13 percent last week after Verizon President Denny Strigl told investors of Sprint's improving performance. All good, but strong instincts must be balanced with informed decisions. Verizon, Apple and AT&T remain stiff competition, and there are still weak signals of Deutsche Telekom's acquisitive interest. Stay tuned.

Jeff Heilman

7/2/08

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