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# 31 Sponsor Cingular

kat2220

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Cingular name going away? UPDATE yes: The largest wireless service provider in the United States, Cingular Wireless, will soon undergo a name change. This carrier had been jointly owned by AT&T and BellSouth, but last week AT&T finally got Federal permission to acquire BellSouth. As the sole owner of Cingular, AT&T has said in the past that it intends to change the carrier's name to "AT&T Wireless". The re-branding is expected to happen over the next several months. This wireless service provider's headquarters will remain in Atlanta.(cdrinfo.com) MORE: Cingular's sponsorship contract with Richard Childress Racing expires at the end of the 2007 season, but the Cingular name will expire before then, leaving the branding of the #31 car driven by Jeff Burton up in the air, according to a story in this week's NASCAR Scene. With the Bell South-AT&T merger approved Dec. 29, AT&T has announced that it is phasing out the Cingular name and replacing it with AT&T. That's a problem for RCR's #31 team because it cannot change the name on the hood of the car. When Nextel became NASCAR's top series sponsor in 2004, the sponsorship agreement grandfathered in existing team-sponsor telecommunications relationships, but it does not permit any changes. Sprint Nextel's Dean Kessel confirmed that remains the group's position Jan. 3. Cingular spokesman Clay Owen would not speculate about the future of the sponsorship. "We look forward to the start of the 2007 NASCAR season with Jeff Burton behind the wheel of the #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet," Owen said in a statement Jan. 5. "It's an exciting time as we begin the early planning stages of transitioning our brand into the AT&T family." Kessel said there is no wiggle room to allow a change. "We grandfathered in the companies that were involved in the sport, and that was our take," he said. "We're not looking to renegotiate anything." Part of the Bell South-AT&T merger includes yellowpages.com. Kessel said Sprint hadn't investigated whether that would be permissible as a possible replacement for the team. Cingular could still sponsor a car in the Busch Series or Craftsman Truck Series.(SceneDaily.com)(1-10-2007) UPDATE: AT&T Inc. will begin next week to extinguish the brand of cellphone operator Cingular to imprint its more-than-century-old name firmly across its services. AT&T (Charts), which took full control of No. 1 U.S. mobile carrier Cingular with its $86 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. last month, will launch a campaign Monday to mark the change. In its first stage, Cingular will share its orange logo of a bouncing jack with the AT&T globe logo on everything from television ads to sales uniforms and monthly bills. AT&T's name and logo will eventually replace Cingular in a process expected to take several months, with the exact timing determined as more customer feedback comes in, Wendy Clark, vice president of advertising at AT&T, said. One new ad will portray a familiar Cingular image - grain harvesters mowing a field to represent "bars" showing maximum cellphone reception. But in a new take, the harvesters will change direction and mow the AT&T globe out of the stalks. The new AT&T was formed in the merger of SBC Communications and AT&T Corp. in late 2005. Adding to the mix, in late 2004 Cingular bought AT&T Wireless, eradicating that brand because of its poor reputation among customers.(CNN) NO WORD how this effects the sponsorship of the #31 Chevy Jeff Burton drives for Richard Childress Racing as it is not mentioned in the article and have not heard.
 
Well to heck with them, if Nextel is changing its name, Cingular should be allowed to also.
 
I am most thoroughly ticked off about the whole deal! I adore my Cingular Wireless and Bell South, and despise AT&T (mainly because while I was employed by "Ma Bell", I learned a lot of the dirty secrets).
 
Cingular / AT&T hope to stay as #31 sponsor: #31-Jeff Burton said sponsor Cingular would like to stay in the sport and is looking at ways to remain a car sponsor while changing its name to AT&T. When Nextel signed the title sponsorship for NASCAR's premier series in June 2003, it grandfathered in Cingular and Alltel as team sponsors. It prohibited other telecommunication companies from becoming team sponsors and prohibited any moves by Cingular and Alltel to other teams or, in case of a merger or name change, to a new brand. With Cingular's merger with AT&T and the Cingular name being phased out, the sponsorship of the #31 Richard Childress Racing team and Burton is up in the air because AT&T cannot be branded on the car. Cingular is in its final year of its deal with RCR. "I can tell you that Cingular is extremely excited about their involvement with AT&T," Burton said Monday. "I can tell you that they're extremely excited about being involved in this sport. They love their sponsorship opportunity and they're going to do everything in their power to continue it. It's an interesting situation to be in, and time will tell exactly what happens. But from a marketing standpoint, it certainly is going to require some creativity and it's going to require some interesting strategies. But they're committed to doing what it takes to make it work, and I'm confident that they will."(SceneDaily.com)
 
Cingular / AT&T hope to stay as #31 sponsor: #31-Jeff Burton said sponsor Cingular would like to stay in the sport and is looking at ways to remain a car sponsor while changing its name to AT&T. When Nextel signed the title sponsorship for NASCAR's premier series in June 2003, it grandfathered in Cingular and Alltel as team sponsors. It prohibited other telecommunication companies from becoming team sponsors and prohibited any moves by Cingular and Alltel to other teams or, in case of a merger or name change, to a new brand. With Cingular's merger with AT&T and the Cingular name being phased out, the sponsorship of the #31 Richard Childress Racing team and Burton is up in the air because AT&T cannot be branded on the car. Cingular is in its final year of its deal with RCR. "I can tell you that Cingular is extremely excited about their involvement with AT&T," Burton said Monday. "I can tell you that they're extremely excited about being involved in this sport. They love their sponsorship opportunity and they're going to do everything in their power to continue it. It's an interesting situation to be in, and time will tell exactly what happens. But from a marketing standpoint, it certainly is going to require some creativity and it's going to require some interesting strategies. But they're committed to doing what it takes to make it work, and I'm confident that they will."(SceneDaily.com)

i kind of feel like that if nascar or nextel tells a team they cant have a certain sponsor...then they should pony up the money the sponsor was going to pay them..............
 
Guys, we've been down this road before. Remember, it's all about money and sponsorship now, not racing. Racing is only what is the result of the business end of the sport.

Let's say that you own this little eatery down the street. Your business isn't big, but you are doing fine thank you. Now you hear about someone who is planning on setting up business right next to your shop, doing the same thing, and this new guy is known for doing everything he can to get as much business as he can. The thing is, you have the right to reject this business. Are you going to say, I'm confident that my business will continue to suceed, even if this new guy horns in on my business, or will you use your power and tell the other guy to find another venue?

Money talks and who walks?
 
so is it going to be cingular until the name change then completely change to sylvania?
 
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