Verizon is giving itself a refresh. On Wednesday, the carrier introduced a host of new offerings ranging from expanding its discounted streaming perks program to its home internet users and a new guaranteed trade-in offer for wireless users. To ring in the new era, the carrier debuted a new logo, too.
Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon's Consumer Group, equates buying home internet and entertainment services today as akin to going to a bazaar in India or a "spice market in Istanbul."
"It's complicated, it's frustrating … and we said this is a time for us to break through," Sampath told CNET.
Just like with its myPlan offering for its wireless users, Verizon will now let its home internet users add perks like streaming services for $10 per month per perk to its home internet service.
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Called myHome, the new offering can provide some decent savings on the Disney bundle (ad-free Disney Plus, Hulu with ads and ESPN Plus, previously $19 per month), a Netflix and Max bundle (normally $17 per month if purchased separately) and Walmart Plus (normally $13 per month and includes Paramount Plus Essentials). So if you selected all three of the above, you'd save $19 per month and get access to six streaming services.
There are no contracts for any of the perks, and similar to its wireless version, you can add or remove them at any time.
"You don't want streaming, you want to stop Paramount after Yellowstone season 5, you don't have to buy it," he said. "You want to add it back when season six starts again? You can do that, we support that every day."
There is additionally an option for YouTube Premium (normally $14 per month), and Verizon says it plans to add additional options to its pool of myHome perks in the future, with Apple One and Apple Music Family discounts -- both already available for wireless customers -- slated to arrive for home internet users "later this summer."
The carrier is also planning to add an option for users to subscribe to YouTube TV and its Fios TV cable-like option through this system, though neither will have a discount at launch.
The carrier says that expanding its perks program to its home internet customers will open it up to over 67 million homes across the country. The perks program is available to new and existing subscribers across the company's Fios, 5G Home or LTE Home services regardless of which internet speed or plan they have.
Offering perks for streaming appears to be the latest trend in home broadband providers. As part of its new rights deal with Disney signed last year, Charter now offers Disney Plus and ESPN Plus as part of some of its TV options. Comcast has begun offering a StreamSaver package that bundles in subscriptions to Netflix (with ads), Apple TV Plus and Peaco*ck Premium (with ads) for $15 per month for its internet users.
Verizon looks to be following suit, hoping that by being the home for streaming services it further entrenches itself at the center of its users' lives. Switching to a different provider for home broadband would also have customers give up the streaming discounts, possibly negating some of the savings a user might get by moving to a new internet service.
"The operative word is flexibility," Sampath said. "Choose all, choose nothing, choose one of them -- we're good with it."
A new logo
In addition to the expansion of perks to its home internet users, the carrier is also rolling out a new logo and plans to refresh its stores over the next couple of years. The company is retiring its long-standing red check mark in favor of a new red V.
The carrier is hoping the new logo will be more modern and recognizable. The goal, said Leslie Berland, Verizon's new chief marketing officer, is to keep people aware of how the carrier impacts their lives.
"We're seen as sort of a telco company, but we're actually a life company," she said.
"Whether you're at home, on the road, traveling, whether you're at work, Verizon is there. So there's been this opportunity that we've identified, and we see this as a major opportunity for the company, which is to enable the brand to better reflect all that the company is in how people live, work and play."
The company's longstanding checkmark, Berland says, "spoke to reliability, but it also became something that that was seen as transactional." The new V is less of a "generic symbol" and could be more identifiable to the carrier.
A new phone upgrade promise
As it has done in the past, Verizon is continuing to look to move users onto new devices and switch to its latest plans (and its accompanying 36-month terms that tie you to the carrier or else you risk giving up the deals).
The carrier is once again pushing its best device deals for those who switch to the carrier or on its priciest Unlimited Ultimate offering, but it's also making a new pitch for those on other plans that they will have a guaranteed device trade-in value so long as they are on any of its myPlan options.
The carrier says it's accepting any Apple, Samsung or Google phone under these terms, even if their batteries don't hold a charge for long or if the screens are cracked. For those on its priciest Ultimate plan that means up to $830 off a new iPhone or $800 off a Samsung or Google phone with a trade-in, while Plus users will get $415 off an iPhone and $400 off a Samsung or Google device.
Those on its cheapest Welcome plan will get $200 off a new Apple, Google or Samsung phone with a trade-in. It is worth noting that the trade-in money is traditionally doled out as bill credits over 36 months, and if you leave the carrier before the new device is paid off you'll be on the hook for what is still owed and may forfeit the remaining credits.
"Accidents happen in life. It happens," Sampath said. "Don't worry. Your phone is worth more at Verizon."
While Verizon has offered "any device, any condition" at various times as a limited-time offer in the past, Sampath said this is the "new platform" for the carrier.
"This is supremely valuable to the customer," he said. "We know how to do it operationally … everyone could have done it, there's nothing magical about this other than that we are doing it. But we know how to operationally make this work. And it's a longer-term platform for us."
Taking on T-Mobile with a New Access program
Finally, Verizon seems set to take on T-Mobile's loyalty program with a new revamp of its Up offering. Now dubbed Verizon Access, the new program lives inside the My Verizon app and will include new presales, giveaways, discounts and offers for Verizon customers.
The company says it will offering discounts at stores like Fanatics and services like Fandango as well as presales to concerts and giveaways that include free tickets to NFL games (including the opening weekend game in Brazil and the Super Bowl), "red carpet movie premieres," expedited lines at certain venues plus presale access to concerts like singer Jelly Roll's upcoming tour.
"It's a very exclusive thing," Sampath said, adding that "we're not giving you free pretzels and $3 off of Little Caesars Pizza," two perks T-Mobile has offered as part of its T-Mobile Tuesdays loyalty program.
The program will be available to all Verizon users, both home and wireless. As with the myPlan and myHome perks program for streaming discounts, Verizon is aiming to get exclusive deals. Sampath noted that offers for discounts at Hilton hotels, with T-Mobile includes as part of its Magenta Status loyalty program, is something you can get with other services like AARP or AAA.
"These are premium experiences that customers want (that) you can't get anywhere else," Sampath said.
