No More Hangups; Dorris Tackles MCI's Relaunch Amid Tough Market - Brief Article

Brandweek, March 19, 2001

With its tracking stock set for a May debut, WorldCom's consumer-based spinoff MCI will also get a chance to rebrand itself. Industry watchers say MCI has so much brand equity that it has hampered WorldCom's plan to fold it within the company But with WorldCom's stock price in a slump and the Iong-distance business considered dead by many analysts, numerous questions remain about MCI's rightful place in the market. Joyce Dorris, vp-marketing for MCI since early January, maintains that a return to price-per-minute comparisons is unlikely that the Looney Toons gang is likely headed to the showers and that MCI will pursue a local market presence--where it makes sense.

After a hiatus of several months, MCI will also launch new advertising via Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/EURO RSCG, New York, which runs the unit's $75 million account. Though Dorris was mum on upcoming campaign details, she provided some insight into how MCI will reinvent itself in a recent talk with Brandweek news editor Todd Wasserman.

Brandweek: MCI's been pretty quiet lately. What have you been up to?

Joyce Dorris: It's been business as usual. We're very proud of what we've been doing. We've gained 3.5% market share in the last three years and added more than 1 million customers ... We're particularly proud that we're gaining long distance share in areas where [regional Bell operating companies have come in], like Kansas and Oklahoma.

BW: How is MCI'S local business doing?

JD: Where we can price local [service] profitably we're going to enter with our service. If it doesn't make sense to enter, we're not going to. We're not pulling out of local, we're just using our surgical campaign strength to take the message to the customer who makes sense for us.

BW: Like most long-distance companies, MCI has had a tough time in local markets. Do you see that changing?

JD: Obviously, we're challenged by the current regulatory environment. It's harder than we thought, but just because it's hard doesn't mean it can't be done ... It's really being fought state by state.

BW: Last year at this time, the major long distance companies were focusing on price-per-minute comparisons. Do you see that battle resuming?

JD: I think long distance is at the point where people talk as much as they have time for. People don't feel constrained [by price]. Consumers are making more long distance calls than ever before and calls from home are associated with more positive emotional connections ... The calls I make from home are more intimate, more relaxed and longer. There's an emotional connection that doesn't come through on wireless or e-mail.

BW: Have the major long distance companies declared a truce in the price war?

JD: At the current price point, customers won't be stimulated to make more calls if the prices drop because they're already so affordable.

BW: What sort of advertising message will MCI offer?

JD: When we return we will again aim for a differentiated message that stands apart. There's nothing immediately around the corner. We're lining up our choices. We know that TV advertising to consumers is important.

BW: Will Michael Jordan and the Looney Toons be back?

JD: When we go back on air, it would be safe to say we wouldn't include the Looney Toons. It would be different. That's what we aim for.

BW: Why would WorldCom put money into the long distance business when most people think it's past its prime?

JD: Obviously, WorldCom is looking to us to sustain our cash flows and our current profitable long-distance business. And we think advertising is consistent with that mission. While it's true that the expectation is that voice long distance will shrink, it's just more of a challenge to maintain our market share.

BW: Do you see long distance as a way to draw consumers in to buy other products and services?

JD: It's clear that existing customers are receptive to add-on sales, but we are not using long distance as a loss leader. It's still a $40 billion market and 75% of that goes to our competitors ...It's still a very healthy business.