Visible has launched a couple of new TV ads with increased emphasis that it is a Verizon-owned brand. Both new ads immediately start off with a phone screen that reads "Visible by Verizon." Wave7 Research reports that the ads are variations of one another. There's a 15-second variant that has aired over 300 times since June 1st. A longer, 30-second ad has aired over 100 times. Both ads also highlight that Visible offers service for $25/month because it doesn't have the added overhead costs associated with running branded stores.
A Visible Rebrand Seems Underway
The fact that both ads start off by informing viewers that it's "Visible by Verizon" suggests a rebrand is underway for Visible with Verizon following the lead of some of its peers. In late 2018, T-Mobile rebranded MetroPCS to Metro by T-Mobile. And in May of 2022, DISH rebranded Republic Wireless to "Republic Wireless by DISH."
Visible's website is still only branded as "Visible." Update 06/15/2022 - Visible has now updated its website with the new branding, "Visible by Verizon."
However, besides the two new TV ads, there are other signs suggestive of an upcoming rebrand.
Towards the end of May, Visible announced a partnership with Live Nation. As per the announcement, Visible is now the "official wireless provider for the 2022 Live Nation Insomniac Festivals," which will take place in a small number of cities throughout the year. The press release for the new partnership uses imagery that shows it's "Visible by Verizon."
"Visible by Verizon" Has Launched At BestBuy.com
Further evidence of a likely rebrand has also come in the last few days. Dennis Bornique of prepaidcompare.net shared with BestMVNO that Best Buy online is now selling a Visible SIM card and the Visible Midnight 5G phone. With that information, BestMVNO was able to uncover a landing page for Visible on the Best Buy website. Branding on the Best Buy Visible landing page shows that it's "Visible by Verizon" and not just Visible. However, Walmart.com's Visible landing page has not been updated with this branding.
It's worth noting that the online launch of Visible at Best Buy could pave the way for an upcoming Best Buy store launch. However, nothing has been observed in Best Buy stores at this time. Visible did launch online only at Walmart several months ago, but to date, nothing has been launched in that store either.
Why Might Visible Be Rebranded?
When MetroPCS was rebranded to Metro by T-Mobile in 2018, T-Mobile's then CEO John Legere said in a video that the name change was done to help remove the stigma of subpar service that is sometimes associated with prepaid brands. He also wanted the general public to know they don't have to make compromises on performance or value when they use a prepaid service. Having a well-known brand name attached to a lesser-known or smaller brand name can certainly be used to help grow a customer base. Especially when that brand name is associated with an industry leader like Verizon has long been. Verizon still leads the wireless industry with over 143 million retail connections. Leveraging the power of Verizon's name could help fuel Visibile's growth. And even more so if the brand abandons its online-only strategy and enters retail.
“This ‘Verizon by Visible’ branding effort is a change for Visible, which originally tried to distance itself from Verizon. Now, Visible is attempting to associate itself with Verizon, likely in an effort to reassure customers about its network performance and stability.” – Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research