Telecoms marketing: 4 innovative playable marketing strategies

In a constantly evolving telecoms sector, where innovation and customer engagement are paramount, operators must constantly explore new telecoms marketing strategies to improve their services and win new market share.

One of the marketing strategies that is gaining the most ground in this vertical is gamification. By incorporating elements traditionally associated with games into a non-game context, this approach offers organisations significant competitive advantages. In particular, they can stand out from the crowd, better capture and engage their audience, and also devise innovative loyalty levers that will effectively reduce their churn rate (i.e. the percentage of customers lost over a given period).

In this article, we’ll look at how gamification is helping to meet the marketing challenges currently facing the sector. We will also look at 4 examples of gamified campaigns that have enabled operators to achieve their objectives (prospecting, brand awareness, engagement, etc.).

SUMMARY

The challenges of telecom marketing
The benefits of gamification for telecom marketing
4 gamified campaigns for 4 marketing objectives in the telecoms sector

The challenges of telecom marketing

The telecommunications sector is facing a number of marketing challenges, linked in particular to ever-increasing competition, rapid technological and regulatory change, and new consumer expectations.

Stand out from the crowd in an intensely competitive environment and price war

With the arrival of new players known as MVNOs (or mobile virtual network operators), traditional operators are having to revamp their offerings to make them more attractive to consumers (particularly the younger generation): commitment-free, customisable, flexible and offering better value for money.

Building loyalty among customers who are increasingly volatile and whose expectations have changed

The churn rate is particularly high in the telecoms sector. Customers move easily from one operator to another, taking advantage of number portability to take advantage of the best offers and occasional promotions. Organisations also have to meet growing expectations in terms of speed of service, personalised experiences, connectivity and customer service.

Communicate its values and reassure consumers about the impact of its services

Although the roll-out of 5G is a major marketing argument, it also raises a number of concerns (linked to cost, coverage and environmental impact). Operators therefore need to communicate the sustainability of their offering and show that they are making the transition to equipment and services that are less harmful to the planet.

Migrating to a more digital offering

Operators must also embrace the digital transition by diversifying their offering and the way they interact with their customers. As well as integrating new services (cloud, streaming, digital security), they must also multiply the points of contact with their audiences by deploying an omnichannel communications strategy.

The benefits of gamification for telecom marketing

Gamification provides relevant and appropriate solutions to the various marketing challenges faced by telecoms operators. By introducing fun, interactive elements to their communications media, companies can achieve a number of objectives.

Better brand differentiation.
Gamification enables telecommunications companies to differentiate themselves in an increasingly saturated market. Competitions improve brand awareness and their viral potential attracts a wider audience. It’s also a good way to position yourself as an innovative, customer-focused brand.
Increased customer engagement.
Gamified mechanisms can make even the most mundane tasks (such as paying bills or optimising data management) more enjoyable. Operators can guide users through the customer journey in a fun way. By offering rewards for completing these tasks (such as loyalty points), they are also better able to motivate and engage them effectively.
Improved loyalty. Gamification fosters a sense of achievement among customers, encouraging them to stay with the same operator. Multi-level loyalty programmes keep consumers interested by giving them the chance to win gifts as a reward for their loyalty, via a competition reserved for customers, for example.
Better customer knowledge and simplified personalisation. Competitions are also excellent ways of collecting customer data, so you can better understand the expectations and preferences of your audience. On the basis of this data, the operator can then propose targeted offers to its customers and prospects, significantly increasing its conversion rate.

4 gamified campaigns for 4 marketing objectives in the telecoms sector

Many operators are now using marketing games to achieve their commercial objectives. Here are 4 concrete examples of games-based campaigns run by companies in the telecoms sector.

1. Boost brand awareness and generate leads

Games can be used to stand out from the competition, boost the visibility of your brand and generate new leads. This is the strategy used by Orange for its Club Privé game campaign, which aimed to promote the launch of a new smartphone model.

By taking part in a Memory game personalised for the occasion, players had the chance to win a free smartphone. To generate as much visibility as possible, the campaign was promoted using Adictiz Ads (supported by social ads and email marketing).

The result: over 15,000 registrations and almost 20,000 games played.

Orange - jeu club privé - marketing telecom

2. Redirect prospects to your digital catalogue

Once they have captured the attention of new prospects, operators need to redirect them to their website, and in particular their digital catalogue. To do this, they can once again use gamification, taking inspiration from the campaign run by SFR.

Via a Slicer (broadcast during the Christmas period in the form of a playable ad), the company invited users to cut up fruit while avoiding the catalogue if they didn’t want to get a malus. This Playable Ads then sent players to an end page with 3 personalised redirections to the e-catalogue.

Result: 2.1 million impressions for interactive advertising and a click-through rate of 1% (compared with 0.46% for the traditional display format).

3. Promote these new offers

SFR has used the mechanics of the One-Armed Bandit in an interactive display format to give visibility to its tariff offer. By relying on playable advertising, the operator has succeeded in capturing the attention of its audience and, above all, keeping it for longer in order to present the content of its package in a fun way.

The elements scrolled through the One-Armed Bandit, aligning themselves with each click.

Result: 2 million impressions and 18 seconds of interaction with participants (compared with 3s for traditional display).

SFR - bandit manchot - marketing télécom

4. Engaging your customer community at a special event

The main aim of SFR Caribbean’s Mother’s Day campaign was to raise brand awareness while engaging its audience during this key commercial period.

Result: The interactive campaign (a Match 3 supported by Adictiz Ads media coverage) was a success, with remarkable levels of engagement. Each participant spent an average of 11 minutes on the game.

SFR Caraïbes - jeu fête des mères marketing télécom

Conclusion

Gamification offers concrete, effective solutions for telecoms marketers. Sharing interactive campaigns will enable you to boost your brand awareness, generate new leads or better engage and retain your customers. Discover our playable advertising mechanics and adapt them to your brand universe and strategic objectives.

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