Analysis of digital activity of telecom operators

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Digital activities
of the top telecoms
in 2022 (Russia)

Analytics | Strategy | Сommunications

Case
The telecom market in Russia is built around four key players. Operator switch process is very simple for a consumer. Offering benefits is a big chase among operators. It is becoming more difficult for brands to fight for the attention and loyalty of their audience. This pushes communication strategy shifts and brand refreshes to happen more often than a standard global industry practice.

Convergent conducted the study around the recent digital activities in Telecom industry, focusing on the Brands' consumer communications.
Insight
The most recent shift of communications happened in the spring of 2022. Brands noticeably changed their tone of voice, as well as creative and audience engagement formats. They shifted from mass targeting to helping each person shine, stimulating it via contests aimed at discovering talents in each human.

Convergent regularly analyzes trends in different market segments to know how the changes affect the consumers' habits and perception. This data helps our clients and us to better navigate in the volatile environment.

Mission

Find points of growth in communication with consumers. To do this, we had to evaluate industry communication landscape in terms of communication approaches, formats and digital tools:

How is the brands' global communication strategy changing?
What content are they publishing? How does it increase visibility, sell the product and engage customers?
How have the content format and audience needs changed recently?

Communication goals
of telecom operators

1

Brand awareness

2

New followers

3

Engagement

4

Loyalty

1. Brand awareness

MTS's tone of voice is cheerful, vivid and creative, which helps them win over younger audience. At the same time, the brand targets families with children as their new segment.

To increase brand awareness, MTS:

is active on social media, bringing to focus the features of its products;
uses trending tools to convey its messages: it shoots reels, publishes clips, stories, and makes mini apps.

2. New followers

The brand attracts audiences by launching creative contests, without using the raffle model.

Examples of the creative contests the company organized throughout 2022:

#FutureArtMTS: a contest for creative 3D head design. The winners participated in the MAMM exhibition and won such awards as a tablet, collectible toys and 3D pens;
A creative contest where people had to guess the performer and the song based on associative pictures. The winners were awarded with tickets to the Wild Mint weekend festival.

4. Loyalty

Boosting trust with useful content that meets the needs of the audience:

webinars on trending topics, such as "How to Attract Clients in a New Environment", which was held in March;
including useful services to subscriptions (online movie theaters, scooter rentals);
being proactive in responding to questions on social media;
explaining popular terms in a special column;
having bloggers post announcements of their content in the official MTS group.

1. Brand awareness

MTS's tone of voice is cheerful, vivid and creative, which helps them win over younger audience. At the same time, the brand targets families with children as their new segment.

To increase brand awareness, MTS:

is active on social media, bringing to focus the features of its products;
uses trending tools to convey its messages: it shoots reels, publishes clips, stories, and makes mini apps.

2. New followers

The brand attracts audiences by launching creative contests, without using the raffle model.

Examples of the creative contests the company organized throughout 2022:

#FutureArtMTS: a contest for creative 3D head design. The winners participated in the MAMM exhibition and won such awards as a tablet, collectible toys and 3D pens;
A creative contest where people had to guess the performer and the song based on associative pictures. The winners were awarded with tickets to the Wild Mint weekend festival.

4. Loyalty

Boosting trust with useful content that meets the needs of the audience:

webinars on trending topics, such as "How to Attract Clients in a New Environment", which was held in March;
including useful services to subscriptions (online movie theaters, scooter rentals);
being proactive in responding to questions on social media;
explaining popular terms in a special column;
having bloggers post announcements of their content in the official MTS group.

1. Brand awareness

MegaFon focuses on informing strategy:

publishes in-depth articles on trend topics on social media ("Are Cell Phones Bad For Your Health?", "A Beginner's Guide to Dota 2") and talking about their own products ("What Can I Watch on Megafon TV?");
uses trending tools, such as clips, podcasts, and a video blog, to deliver their messages.

The podcasts and articles are so packed with information that they urge the users to grow and become better versions of themselves. Initially the brand only focused on the younger audience, but now it has started to address families as well. For example, there was a special project in collaboration with Fontanka media. It was focused on families with children, and the operator talked about how to keep children safe on the Internet.

2. New followers

The brand attracts new audience through contests and collaborations:

screenshot contest: a cross-promo with a reindeer, the mascot of Overheard, the popular VK channel. The author of the funniest conversation screenshots could win a smartphone, a portable speaker, or a shopping certificate;
online tournament "With the Speed of the First!": on a special platform, a charge of pre-5G was being handed to all the residents of the virtual city;
a creative contest where you had to use mobile photo processing tips from a famous photographer. The winners received a set of the author's presets for photo processing.

1. Brand awareness

MegaFon focuses on informing strategy:

publishes in-depth articles on trend topics on social media ("Are Cell Phones Bad For Your Health?", "A Beginner’s Guide to Dota 2") and talking about their own products ("What Can I Watch on Megafon TV?");
uses trending tools, such as clips, podcasts, and a video blog, to deliver their messages.

The podcasts and articles are so packed with information that they urge the users to grow and become better versions of themselves. Initially the brand only focused on the younger audience, but now it has started to address families as well. For example, there was a special project in collaboration with Fontanka media. It was focused on families with children, and the operator talked about how to keep children safe on the Internet.

2. New followers

The brand attracts new audience through contests and collaborations:

screenshot contest: a cross-promo with a reindeer, the mascot of Overheard, the popular VK channel. The author of the funniest conversation screenshots could win a smartphone, a portable speaker, or a shopping certificate;
online tournament "With the Speed of the First!": on a special platform, a charge of pre-5G was being handed to all the residents of the virtual city;
a creative contest where you had to use mobile photo processing tips from a famous photographer. The winners received a set of the author's presets for photo processing.

<span style="font-weight: 500;">2. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 500;">New followers</span>

1. Brand awareness

Beeline has a wide target audience with a strong focus on families. The brand is using a peacefull tone of voice and appropriate creative style, without any evocative images. To showcase their products, Beeline:

posts rate updates on social media;
publishes product posts to convey their USP;
integrates product details into branded entertainment content

3. Engagement

The brand engages its audience through creative tools and games:

digital "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game to earn bonus points and win prizes;
the "#familyinbeeline" quiz: surveys with subtle promotion of tariffs and services;
a comic strip by the artist bilash_art_mama;
special project "Russian Business and Technology" on the transformation of technology and its impact on the market and society;
thematic selections: cards with various products, movies, and useful tips.

<span style="font-weight: 500;">3. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 500;">Engagement</span>

1. Brand awareness

Beeline has a wide target audience with a strong focus on families. The brand is using a peacefull tone of voice and appropriate creative style, without any evocative images. To showcase their products, Beeline:

posts rate updates on social media;
publishes product posts to convey their USP;
integrates product details into branded entertainment content

3. Engagement

The brand engages its audience through creative tools and games:

digital "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game to earn bonus points and win prizes;
the "#familyinbeeline" quiz: surveys with subtle promotion of tariffs and services;
a comic strip by the artist bilash_art_mama;
special project "Russian Business and Technology" on the transformation of technology and its impact on the market and society;
thematic selections: cards with various products, movies, and useful tips.

<span style="font-weight: 500;">3. </span><span style="font-weight: 500; background-color: transparent;">Engagement</span>

1. Brand awareness

Tele2 has a wide target audience. Its communications actively support all kinds of interests and lifestyles. To stay equally attractive to all, it uses a cheerful tone of voice and trending formats of video and creatives. To showcase their products, the brand:

publishes videos that contain concise instructions on how to use Brand products;
creates useful cards on various topics (for example, how to deal with phone scammers);
posts on social media to highlight the specific traits of plans and packages.

1. Brand awareness

Tele2 has a wide target audience. Its communications actively support all kinds of interests and lifestyles. To stay equally attractive to all, it uses a cheerful tone of voice and trending formats of video and creatives. To showcase their products, the brand:

publishes videos that contain concise instructions on how to use Brand products;
creates useful cards on various topics (for example, how to deal with phone scammers);
posts on social media to highlight the specific traits of plans and packages.

Study results:

Interactive content has become a king of consumer communication. Brands are interested in knowing what their audience thinks in response to the content

Telecom providers stopped focusing on prize stimulations and shifted their attention to quality target audience response, launching sophisticated creative contests for this purpose

Bloggers with millions of followers are out of current trend. Brands are turning to microinfluencers to attract segmented loyal audience

Telecom providers are more focused on developing VK and Telegram communities

Communication points of growth

Here are our recommendations for the telecom brands:

Restructure communication in time, conveying warmth and support as the priority.
Stimulate UGC, hold engaging contests rather than giveaways.
Create lifestyle content: launch podcasts, shoot clips and stories, create games.

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info@convergent.digital
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Moscow, 115 114

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