BT Group Turning EE into its Flagship Brand for UK Consumers

Telecoms giant BT (EE) has today announced another shake-up of its branding, which in simple terms will see EE – over time – become the “flagship brand for our consumer customers” (i.e. converged broadband and mobile plans etc.) and BT become the flagship brand for their Enterprise and Global units.

The announcements (here and here) are somewhat laced with a heavy dose of self praise, as well as a certain degree of ambiguity, which makes it difficult to identify the specifics of what is actually being announced and to summarise them below.

On the consumer side, there’s a clear recognition that having both BT and EE in an already crowded market – doing the same sort of things as each other – means “we must have two of everything, and that makes life harder for our customers and our people – two accounts, two apps, two product roadmaps, and multiple systems … we need to simplify things, for everyone.” This is a valid point.

However, at the same time, they state that the BT brand will still play an “important but more focused role” for consumer customers on standalone broadband and landline services, which suggests – to us at least – that EE won’t be the flagship brand for all consumer products (as above, there’s a clear reference to EE focusing on convergence products). BT further adds that “nothing will change for our BT customers.”

Suffice to say, it’s unclear how BT will resolve those earlier gripes about duplication if there are still so many points of cross-over between the two brands and consumer products. BT also talks about its plans to launch new products and services, including “ones that go beyond the connectivity we provide today,” although this “won’t happen overnight“. No solid examples of potential new products are given.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT Consumer, said:

“This is where our new chapter begins. From today, we’re starting the preparations to make the EE brand our flagship brand for Consumer customers focusing on convergence and future services.

While retaining much of the identity that is instantly recognisable to millions today, the new EE will evolve and stretch into new areas and be focused on convergence of networks, devices and new services beyond connectivity.

Why EE? Well – our customers tell us that EE is synonymous with the best mobile connectivity and its popularity in the broadband market is growing steadily as we’ve driven awareness that EE’s fibre network is powered by BT.

While EE’s rural mobile coverage spreads further than any other operator, EE is also favoured by customers in our towns and cities – which is where there is an overwhelming demand for multiple services beyond fixed lines.

Since EE launched in 2012, it has captured the hearts of customers across all demographics – topping the service charts, with a strong brand that can stretch into new areas beyond connectivity as well as offering the best network and service.

The BT brand will still play an important but more focused role for Consumer customers on standalone broadband and landline services. BT Sport will continue to broadcast the best in sport, as it prepares for its own new journey, in a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery. And Plusnet, our value brand, will continue to serve customers with basic no-frills broadband and landline.

Nothing will change for our BT customers. We will continue to serve and support them through our unrivalled nationwide sales and service with local presence all over the UK, just as we do today.”

Apparently, the operator will share more about their launch plans “later this year“, or “over the coming months“, depending on which paragraph you read. It’s all a bit vague, albeit also quite interesting. The biggest risk here is that in trying to simplify their business, they might inadvertently end up causing more confusion for consumers. This is probably why the transition will be a gradual one.