“Oh Great, Another Telco!”

Making up 40 - 60% of the telco industry’s population, Digital natives are a lucrative and growing segment, but most of our telco brands tend to default to value-for-money plans and a race to the bottom. This results in generic branding that leads to them saying:

With these harsh words, the challenge is clear: how can we as telcos stay relevant to a generation that expects seamless, hyper-personalized, and digitally immersive experiences?

Welcome to part 4 of our Digital Pioneers series, where we’ve been covering a subset of digital natives known as Digital Pioneers. Digital Pioneers distinguish themselves as the power users of digital natives: high data usage and strongly engaged with digital activities in their daily lives. 

Digital Pioneers are proactive, hyper-connected, and demanding more than just connectivity. They expect telco brands to enable their digital lifestyles, not just provide SIM cards and data plans. We gathered information from 6000 digital pioneers across four countries, and have been sharing our findings throughout this series:

In this final part of the series, we explore some ways that we can turn our research into actionable strategies for telcos to engage this lucrative and diverse subset of Digital Natives.

Understanding Generation D: The Digital Pioneers Driving Change

Our survey results uncovered these four distinct mindsets among Digital Pioneers, showing just how diverse this consumer group is. While this finding provides plenty of room for personalization, what stood out to us was how unique every Digital Pioneer is as an individual.

Our telco industry has also been plagued by homogenous branding that focuses on race-to-the-bottom price wars. To escape from that, we wanted to take a different approach: using a new, intuitive language that can describe them differently. If we want Digital Pioneers to see our brand differently, we need to meet them halfway and define them differently too.

Generation D, Not Generation Z

Generation Z is renowned for their individualism and digital prowess but these qualities often clash with societal pressure to conform. As a result, many in Generation Z seek validation and experience a fear of missing out (FOMO).

Seeking Validation:

Fueled by their hyper-connectivity on social media, where engagement quantifies acceptance, Gen Z’s online lifestyles shape their self-esteem and sense of belonging. In this digital landscape, affirmation sought through online interactions becomes pivotal to their identity.

This is especially seen among Sages who wish to be seen as experts in their chosen field and Creative Expressionists who want to connect with people who resonate with their creativity.

Fear of Missing Out:

Gen Z grew up surrounded by friends and influencers who curate their experiences. They have a thirst for immersive, real-world experiences, underscoring the importance of fostering and facilitating their pursuits. Some of them are anxious to keep up with what others are doing due to incessant exposure to diverse experiences on social media platforms.

Despite the societal pressure to conform, Generation Z possesses a profound inclination towards self-expression and authenticity. 

In their clash between societal norms and personal aspirations, why not break from the norm and take the opportunity to empower them? Why not encourage them to embrace their uniqueness and authenticity and “Do Their Own Thing?”

Welcome to Generation D.

They are the Doers, Dreamers, the Daring, Disruptors, Digital Savvies.

The ones with the deep-seated desire to live authentically, to pursue passions with unwavering dedication, and to make a meaningful impact on the world. The ones looking for a platform, a sanctuary, a place where diversity is celebrated, and dialogue sparks change.

The Freedom to Do Your Own Thing

The brand that wins over Generation D needs to go from outdated to outstanding. 

Instead of locking people into complicated contracts with no safety net, charging hidden fees and merely focusing on connectivity plans, it needed to go towards:

Such a brand needs to understand that connectivity is more than mere internet access; it is the catalyst for realizing one's aspirations. 

It needs to provide a platform where dreams are not just nurtured but set ablaze, empowering individuals to live authentically and boldly pursue their passions. 

Through open dialogue and mutual respect, we drive positive change and shape a future where every individual's contribution is Valued. Heard. Seen. Listened.

We have adopted this stance for our digital mobile operator brand Circles.Life. We stand for Generation D - the Doers, Dreamers, Disruptors, Digital-savvies, and the Daring.

We extend our hand to all who resonate with our vision, inviting you to join us on this journey of discovery and transformation. Together, let us redefine what it means to be Generation D - bold, fearless, and unapologetically ourselves.

Engaging Generation D: Doing Your Own Thing

To encourage them, we needed our brand to break away from today’s stereotypes. Instead of placing societal pressure on people to conform and burdening them with social stigma, why not enable Generation D to live on their own terms?

The brand that caters to Generation D needs to forge a new era where their phone plan does more than connect calls— it rewards handsomely, it has your back, it supports their pursuit of freedom, it supports their well being and more.

Circles.Life’s Do Your Own Thing Campaign started off by addressing four key pillars:

Every Win Matters – Addressing the intense academic pressure faced by students and promoting a balanced approach to success. This ad garnered 6.4 million views:

Don’t be Embarrassed – Challenging the stigma around natural urges and encouraging open discussions without shame.

Break The Stigma – Promoting mental health awareness and reducing the stigma around seeking help, equating mental health to physical health.

Many Roads to Success – This celebrates the idea that success comes in many forms, highlighting individuals who pursue their passions, whether they follow a conventional path or choose something unique like becoming a hawker.

It emphasises that it’s not just about the career choices made; it’s about finding fulfilment and success in what one loves to do.

The Delivery Has to Match The Promise

People are tired of the same old story and want a brand who listens to them. Digital Pioneers also need mobile plans and services that enable their lifestyle, empower their creativity, and enhance their digital identity. To resonate with them, telcos must:

We’ve built our services to resonate with Generation D, creating an ecosystem that aligns with their values:

Generation D’s digital lifestyles offer telcos many opportunities for personalization. Circles.Life goes beyond traditional telco marketing by using real-time behavioral data and AI-driven segmentation to create hyper-personalized experiences. 

Here are some campaigns that have delivered real results:

Personalized Offers and AI-driven Timed Notifications for Spotify Users: 

We identified creatives, gamers, and music lovers who consume large amounts of mobile data and offered Spotify bundles and unlimited gaming add-ons. 

We noted that some Spotify listeners would listen to music after midnight to unwind. Sending AI-driven push notifications around the times they listen to music drove 102% increased push notification responses and 61% increased email click rates to those who visit Spotify frequently.

Roaming Promotions for Frequent Travelers: 

Using historical roaming data, we preemptively provided 1-for-1 roaming promotions to those who have families. This drove a 3 times higher purchase conversion rate among users who visited travel sites frequently in a month.

Powered By The Right Tech Stack

These promotions are powered by our telco SaaS platform that provides a 360 degree view of our customers together with a martech stack with the agility to launch personalized campaigns.

Our integrated data lakes consolidate data from our website, mobile app, and customer service, we get a 360° view of each user. These then get fed into our martech stack that can use these insights to deliver the right offer at the right moment, whether it’s a data upgrade, lifestyle perk, or exclusive discount.

These strategies increase telco customer retention, boost NPS scores, and drive higher engagement.

Having a campaign that listens to your customers and the right services to back it up summarizes our roadmap to branding, engaging and serving digital natives and we have been helping telcos worldwide modernize their brands. We have used this blueprint to build a Middle Eastern country’s first digital-native telco brand that won Best Mobile App and Digital Ambassador of the Year in 2024.

We firmly believe in upgrading the standard of telco customer experiences, and we want to help you build a winning brand that resonates with your target audience. That’s where our digital advisory support services (DASS) comes in.

Digital Advisory Support Services (DASS): Helping Telcos Win Generation D

Digital transformation is a risky business, especially if you are running a telco. Many telcos’ digital transformations fail due to barriers like legacy mindsets, weak customer engagement, and lackluster innovation.

Circles’ Digital Advisory Support Services (DASS) helps operators transform their businesses to better engage digital-first consumers through three key areas:

Proven Success Stories

This approach has driven real results for our clients around the world:

These success stories highlight how different legacy telcos can pivot, modernize, and grow by embracing a digital-first, customer-centric approach.

Are You Ready for Generation D?

The telcos that succeed in winning Generation D will shape the future of the industry. Those that don’t will face declining loyalty, higher churn, and an inability to compete with more agile digital-first brands.

At Circles, we’ve built the blueprint for telcos to modernize their brand, personalize their customer experiences, and thrive in a digital-first world. If your telco is still struggling with legacy engagement models, now is the time to evolve, innovate, and transform.

Let’s build the future together.