AT&T consumer perception drops during summer '09

In a comparison of Verizon Wireless and AT&T consumer perception among adults 18 and older, goodwill toward AT&T has dropped precipitously compared to rival Verizon, according to daily YouGov BrandIndex data.

Urban iPhone overload and data outages during the summer season may be to blame.

BrandIndex measures "consumer perception" by averaging scores in response to questions about the quality, value, satisfaction, recommendation, reputation and impression of a brand.

AT&T has always lagged behind Verizon Wireless, but the gap began widening noticeably in mid-June, according to the data. Between June 16 and Sept. 10, AT&T's Index score dropped from 18.3 to 14.6, "a substantial drop for this kind of score," a BrandIndex spokesman said.

Verizon's score dropped less than two points' worth in the same time period.

Drops in quality ("Is it high quality or low quality?") and recommend ("Would you recommend the brand to a friend?") scores contributed to the overall drop, according to the spokesman.

YouGov's BrandIndex interviews 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample. Respondents are drawn from an online panel of more than 1 million individuals. Margin of error is +/- 2 percent.