April 04, 2005
Cricket Breaks Out of Industry Norms, Puts a Human Face on Wireless
SAN DIEGO AND CHICAGO - Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of unlimited local and long distance wireless services, and its advertising agency Element 79 Partners, today launched a new advertising campaign featuring real Cricket® customers sharing their stories of how they make unlimited use of their Cricket service - adding a human touch to the wireless telecommunications industry.
"We pride ourselves on serving the needs of our customers who live, work and play within their Cricket calling area, and who better to help us continue to get the word out about our affordable, high-quality and unlimited service than our own customers," said Al Moschner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Cricket. "To showcase real Cricket customers in our advertising, we held casting calls across the nation at which hundreds of customers turned out to tell us how they use their Cricket service. We will continue to hold casting calls across the nation to find those customers who have interesting, funny and quirky stories to tell. We are thrilled with the outcome so far and believe their messages will resonate well with our existing and potential customers."
"As we produced this radio campaign, we met with hundreds of passionate Cricket customers and heard how the brand delivers on its promise," said Alan Spindle, creative director, Element 79. "It takes a lot of hard work up front but the stories and anecdotes are so interesting. It's almost like a peek into their lives, and all this personality gives Cricket a distinctive human voice in a cluttered, very corporate marketplace."
Out with the Old, In with the New
The Company also announced it is bidding farewell to its beloved green couch - its first and familiar icon.
"The green couch has served us well these past six years and has an amazing almost cult-like following," said Moschner. "When we launched Cricket and the couch, we were about providing unlimited local wireless services. Now, Cricket is much more than that. So, it's time to move on from the couch, refresh our brand and tout what we're all about today - affordable, unlimited, local, long distance and international wireless services, as well as exciting innovative new data applications and our new prepaid product, JumpTM by Cricket®."
The Company today also announced its new icon will be the stand-alone K in Cricket that will be followed by three, humorous taglines reinforcing it as the pioneer of unlimited services including:
Stop counting. Go Cricket. - highlighting the fact that Cricket customers don't have to count minutes given Cricket's unlimited, flat-rate features.
I don't count - also reinforcing that Cricket customers don't have to worry about keeping track of their minutes.
Not the commitment type - highlighting the fact that Cricket customers don't have to get locked into long-term contracts.
The green couches will be donated locally in Cricket markets to various charities and non-profit organizations.
Cricket's new radio spots begin airing today.
About Cricket
Cricket is a simple and affordable wireless solution offering unlimited mobile services over our high-quality, all-digital network. Predictability, simplicity and value are the foundations of our business. As the pioneer of unlimited anytime minutes and no long-term contracts required, we offer an affordable alternative for those individuals and businesses looking for flat-rate wireless services. Operating in 39 markets in 20 states stretching from New York to California, Cricket® is available to customers in more than 840 different municipalities. For more information, please visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket is a business of Leap Wireless International, Inc. [OTCBB: LEAP], headquartered in San Diego, Calif. Leap is a customer-focused company providing innovative mobile wireless services targeted to meet the needs of customers who are under-served by traditional communications companies. For more information visit www.leapwireless.com.
About Element 79
Founded in 2001, Element 79 Partners is part of Omnicom Group, Inc. A full-service agency, Element 79 is fully committed to helping its clients win by providing better creative solutions in a simpler, faster fashion. Some of the businesses it handles includes Alberto Culver, Capital One, Children's Memorial Hospital, Dole juice, Frito-Lay Snacks, Gatorade, Hillshire Farm, Hoover Company, Long John Silver's, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses, Propel fitness water, Quaker, Supercuts and Tropicana. With headquarters in Chicago, Element 79 also has an office in New York, through which it handles global assignments for PepsiCo. For more information please visit www.element79.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains "forward-looking statements" reflecting management's current forecast of certain aspects of Leap's future. Some forward-looking statements can be identified by forward-looking words such as "believe," "think," "may," "could," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "seek," "plan," "expect," "should," "would" and similar expressions. This news release is based on current information, which we have assessed but which by its nature is dynamic and subject to rapid and even abrupt changes. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:
* our ability to attract and retain customers in an extremely competitive marketplace;
* our ability to attract, motivate and retain an experienced workforce;
* changes in economic conditions that could adversely affect the market for wireless services;
* the impact of competitors' initiatives;
* our ability to successfully execute service expansion plans;
* failure of network systems to perform according to expectations;
* our ability to comply with the covenants in our senior secured credit facilities; ailure of the Federal
* Communications Commission to approve the transfers (a) to a third party of the ireless licenses covered by
* the asset purchase agreement between Cricket Communications, Inc., and a tird party and the other parties to such agreement (b) to Cricket Licensee (Reauction), Inc. of the Fresno, CA license and the licenses for which it was the winning bidder in the FCC's Auction #58; and (c) to Alaska Native Broadband 1 License, LLC of the licenses for which it was the winning bidder in the FCC's Auction #58.
* global political unrest, including the threat or occurrence of war or acts of terrorism; and
* other factors detailed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" included in our Form 10-K for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2004, and in our other SEC filings.
The forward-looking statements should be considered in the context of these risk factors. Investors and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Leap and the Leap logo design are registered trademarks of Leap Wireless International, Inc. Cricket is a registered trademark of Cricket Communications, Inc. Cricket Unlimited Access, Cricket Unlimited Plus, Cricket Unlimited Classic and Jump are tra
"We pride ourselves on serving the needs of our customers who live, work and play within their Cricket calling area, and who better to help us continue to get the word out about our affordable, high-quality and unlimited service than our own customers," said Al Moschner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Cricket. "To showcase real Cricket customers in our advertising, we held casting calls across the nation at which hundreds of customers turned out to tell us how they use their Cricket service. We will continue to hold casting calls across the nation to find those customers who have interesting, funny and quirky stories to tell. We are thrilled with the outcome so far and believe their messages will resonate well with our existing and potential customers."
"As we produced this radio campaign, we met with hundreds of passionate Cricket customers and heard how the brand delivers on its promise," said Alan Spindle, creative director, Element 79. "It takes a lot of hard work up front but the stories and anecdotes are so interesting. It's almost like a peek into their lives, and all this personality gives Cricket a distinctive human voice in a cluttered, very corporate marketplace."
Out with the Old, In with the New
The Company also announced it is bidding farewell to its beloved green couch - its first and familiar icon.
"The green couch has served us well these past six years and has an amazing almost cult-like following," said Moschner. "When we launched Cricket and the couch, we were about providing unlimited local wireless services. Now, Cricket is much more than that. So, it's time to move on from the couch, refresh our brand and tout what we're all about today - affordable, unlimited, local, long distance and international wireless services, as well as exciting innovative new data applications and our new prepaid product, JumpTM by Cricket®."
The Company today also announced its new icon will be the stand-alone K in Cricket that will be followed by three, humorous taglines reinforcing it as the pioneer of unlimited services including:
The green couches will be donated locally in Cricket markets to various charities and non-profit organizations.
Cricket's new radio spots begin airing today.
About Cricket
Cricket is a simple and affordable wireless solution offering unlimited mobile services over our high-quality, all-digital network. Predictability, simplicity and value are the foundations of our business. As the pioneer of unlimited anytime minutes and no long-term contracts required, we offer an affordable alternative for those individuals and businesses looking for flat-rate wireless services. Operating in 39 markets in 20 states stretching from New York to California, Cricket® is available to customers in more than 840 different municipalities. For more information, please visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket is a business of Leap Wireless International, Inc. [OTCBB: LEAP], headquartered in San Diego, Calif. Leap is a customer-focused company providing innovative mobile wireless services targeted to meet the needs of customers who are under-served by traditional communications companies. For more information visit www.leapwireless.com.
About Element 79
Founded in 2001, Element 79 Partners is part of Omnicom Group, Inc. A full-service agency, Element 79 is fully committed to helping its clients win by providing better creative solutions in a simpler, faster fashion. Some of the businesses it handles includes Alberto Culver, Capital One, Children's Memorial Hospital, Dole juice, Frito-Lay Snacks, Gatorade, Hillshire Farm, Hoover Company, Long John Silver's, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses, Propel fitness water, Quaker, Supercuts and Tropicana. With headquarters in Chicago, Element 79 also has an office in New York, through which it handles global assignments for PepsiCo. For more information please visit www.element79.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains "forward-looking statements" reflecting management's current forecast of certain aspects of Leap's future. Some forward-looking statements can be identified by forward-looking words such as "believe," "think," "may," "could," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "seek," "plan," "expect," "should," "would" and similar expressions. This news release is based on current information, which we have assessed but which by its nature is dynamic and subject to rapid and even abrupt changes. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:
* our ability to attract and retain customers in an extremely competitive marketplace;
* our ability to attract, motivate and retain an experienced workforce;
* changes in economic conditions that could adversely affect the market for wireless services;
* the impact of competitors' initiatives;
* our ability to successfully execute service expansion plans;
* failure of network systems to perform according to expectations;
* our ability to comply with the covenants in our senior secured credit facilities; ailure of the Federal
* Communications Commission to approve the transfers (a) to a third party of the ireless licenses covered by
* the asset purchase agreement between Cricket Communications, Inc., and a tird party and the other parties to such agreement (b) to Cricket Licensee (Reauction), Inc. of the Fresno, CA license and the licenses for which it was the winning bidder in the FCC's Auction #58; and (c) to Alaska Native Broadband 1 License, LLC of the licenses for which it was the winning bidder in the FCC's Auction #58.
* global political unrest, including the threat or occurrence of war or acts of terrorism; and
* other factors detailed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" included in our Form 10-K for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2004, and in our other SEC filings.
The forward-looking statements should be considered in the context of these risk factors. Investors and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Leap and the Leap logo design are registered trademarks of Leap Wireless International, Inc. Cricket is a registered trademark of Cricket Communications, Inc. Cricket Unlimited Access, Cricket Unlimited Plus, Cricket Unlimited Classic and Jump are tra
