consumers to support something. You show them why they should support it. None of Sprint's commercials were successful in doing that. But that was only part of the problem. Once consumers finally tried the phone, they found a device that was glitchy, unimpressive, and occasionally painful (as with the Nintendo 3DS, some users have complained of eye strain, feeling nauseous, etc.). Instead of banking on the success of just one phone (as Sprint might be doing with the iPhone), the company needs to realize that there's more to life than 3D or Apple.

First things first: get rid of Dan Hesse. No, not out of the company – out of the commercials! He crops up, disappears, and then finds his way back into their silly 30-second ads. While he may very well be the nicest guy in the world, there is nothing about a speech from a corporate exec that makes me say, “Sign me up!” Rather, I am more likely to say, “Go away!” before turning the channel and running in the opposite direction. Sprint's other commercials (from the old lady who turned 100 to the hype and hoopla for unlimited data) aren't much better. In fact, this might be the best of the bunch, and it's not very good at all:

For customers within Sprint's coverage area, the service is great, reliable, and fairly priced. Customers outside of the coverage area, however, are often left in the cold. That – and a nauseatingly endless marketing campaign – has given AT&T and Verizon a strategic edge. Realistically, Sprint may be without the needed capital to expand, especially if the iPhone deal proves to be true. But if the company doesn't expand soon, it may lose further ground to its competitors. While many consumers choose Sprint because of its unlimited pricing, many more choose AT&T and Verizon because of their larger coverage areas.

Consumers come to Sprint for one thing: unlimited data. Many speculate that Sprint will soon be unable to provide unlimited data to its customers, citing the cost of bandwidth as the primary reason. Granted, one could argue that the profits made from text messaging (the weakest of any data sent) are high enough for any telecommunications company to give consumers a break every now and then. But in the long run, the cost of that bandwidth could very well make it impossible for Sprint to continue offering an unlimited data package. If that happens, the company will lose the one edge it has over Verizon and AT&T (and T-Mobile, for that matter). Thus, Sprint

reduce its expenses. This doesn't mean that the company should cut employee salaries, layoff workers, buy cheaper equipment, and allow the quality of its service to deteriorate. Rather, Sprint needs to invest more in research and development and find new and innovative ways to deliver its service to consumers. By doing so, Sprint will either come up with a way to reduce its costs without tarnishing its service – or uncover a grand excuse to charge us more for the features consumers want most. Either way, Sprint wins.