What is the role of Tigo Ads, the opt-in marketing service offered by Ghana mobile operator Tigo, in the carrier’s ongoing strategy to differentiate its products and deliver consumers advertising they will likely appreciate? We catch up with Rosy Fynn, Consumer Manager Tigo Ghana, for the inside track on the requirement for permission marketing and people’s demand for relevant advertising.
The must-read industry report Mobile Africa 2011: Regional Hubs of Excellence and Innovation (researched and written by my esteemed colleague Madanmohan Rao) estimates the number of mobile phone subscribers in Africa has doubled in the last three years, reaching a whopping 500 million up from only 246 million in 2008. The four biggest mobile phone markets in Africa are Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana.
In Ghana the massive increase in mobile phone usage is matched by a growing appetite for mobile marketing messages that deliver people valuable information and offers aligned with their personal preferences.
This development has promoted mobile operator Tigo to take the lead in mobile advertising. To achieve this the carrier has implemented a solution to bring personalized mobile advertising to its over 3 million subscribers. During the limited initial launch more than 40,000 subscribers opted in and used the service. At the other end of the spectrum, advertisers — local businesses as well as global brands— reported response rates ranging between 18 and 45 percent. Encouraged by these impressive results Tigo has recently decided to open up its mobile advertising service to all its 3 million subscribers.
What message does this send brands and advertisers? How does enabling and facilitating permission-based marketing over its own network put Tigo (and its users) in control of mobile advertising? For one, the high response rates to campaigns has triggered increased interest from companies “seeking [to deliver] more effective and targeted forms of advertising,” Rosy says.
Predictably, brands are interested in addressing an opted-in customer base. But many more are excited about the potential of mobile. “[The questions] we have from these brands are about our consumer base and their preferences….We also get a lot of questions on the effectiveness of mobile advertising compared to other channels such as radio and print. While each of these have a unique proposition, the advantages of permission-based mobile advertising are clear.”
Specifically, opt-in allows the brand to deliver advertising (aimed at a specific demographic or location, for example) about products/offers the consumer has already expressed an interest in receiving. “This is powerful when you start to think about the response rates to ads — which any ad agency will confirm is one of the most important metrics for measuring advertising effectiveness in today’s competitive world.”
How does offering mobile advertising allow Tigo to be more competitive?
In Rosy’s view, mobile advertising is a capability that allows Tigo to know and serve its customers better. “Our goal is to reach a point where we do not give our subscribers cookie cutter solutions, but get to know them so well that they feel as if the products we market to them were made specifically with them in mind.”
What’s more, Tigo wants to be able to raise subscribers awareness about products they might not even had known existed (or known they needed) in the first place. “Permission-based marketing enables us gain a deeper understanding of who our subscribers are and what they want [based on the information they provide via opt-in]…. It will help us give them the ads that would resonate with them, and also helps us create products we know they need.” More importantly, this approach means Tigo is “able to go-to-market very quickly and be the first to market with these innovations.”
Key to differentiation
For Tigo the mobile advertising service – also known as Tigo Ads — is an important element in its strategy to identify (and generate) new revenue opportunities. “We like to be at the forefront of new technologies and launch products consumers want, which are not yet available to them. In an ultra-competitive telecoms environment like we have in Ghana, this approach allows us to stand out in the clutter.”
In fact, Tigo Ads is a perfect fit with other products (such as Tigo Insurance) sharply aimed at reinforcing Tigo’s image as “the most innovative operator in Ghana,” Rosy says. “Our customers get excited about products such as these, and they realize now that by joining the Tigo family, they will not only benefit from the best promotions, but also from new, exciting products that are useful for them.”
Market landscape and requirements
What are some key characteristics of the market in Ghana and how has Tigo harnessed these opportunities to deliver value in the mobile advertising?
For Rosy, it’s all about choice.
In the Ghanaian market today, there are currently five major mobile operators — with a sixth entrant on the way. A mindset that sees the mobile phone as an instrument for voice calls is not the way to achieve competitive advantage.
This is why Tigo has a broader view of what mobile can be, and is taking steps to achieve this vision. As Rosy puts it: The mobile phone has become an important part of the lives of many people because they can now use their phones as tools to do banking or monitor their health. “With this in mind, we are broadening the spectrum of products we deliver to include a wide range of services that will make us an indispensable aid and tool in the lives of our customers. They will now have the power to do more on their phone than ever before.”
What is the power of messaging and permission based marketing?
According to Rosy, permission advertising benefits all the stakeholders. Consumers receive the kinds of ads they want — a virtuous circle that delivers mobile operators and brand advertisers the ideal audience. This pays off for Tigo because it allows the operator to “pre-determine which consumer is most appropriate for a particular type of content, as well as control which ads to send to consumers and limit any ‘nuisance’ advertising effects [spam].”
Tigo also uses its service Tigo Ads to gather and evaluate customer feedback, insights support its focus group research and allow it to develop products and services sure to strike a chord with subscribers. “With Tigo Ads, we have been able to take this [focus group research] a step further and gain even more insights….They tell us what their interests are, what they prefer to do with their free time, etc. These are all jewels of information that make us more effective at providing our customers with more relevant products and services.”
In fact, Tigo reported that a whopping 90 percent of focus group participants said they approved permission-based mobile advertising.
Key learnings
What are the rules of engagement? For one, moderation is critical. “Customers do not want to feel bombarded with messages from their telecom provider.”
Asking the right number of questions is important, but having the right tone is imperative. “A network’s ability to get a lot of useful information from customers is all based on the types of questions it [we] ask.” Tigo has learned by doing. As a result of the initial launch [with 40,000 subscribers] we have gotten better at the types of questions we ask our customers and at ensuing that we get the most relevant information back from them.”
The solution, provided by Optism, also allows Tigo to play a more central role on the value chain because it is equipped to provide brands and advertisers “access to a group of consumers whose needs we fully understand and are able to anticipate.”
She adds: “Optism also allows us to leverage an advanced technology platform that has been tested and proven in several other African markets. The product development plan also allows us to look into the future with the hope of further differentiating ourselves with features such as reward systems, coupons, and personalized advertising.” Finally, the platform is easy to use and requires “minimal technology integration effort.”
What’s next for Tigo?
Rosy tells us to watch this space. In an ultra-competitive market such as Ghana mobile operators can only win with good ideas and excellent services. For its part Tigo is sharply focused on innovation and on building the capability to provide customers services that they might never have thought of on their own. Permission marketing is – and will remain — a center stage. “This is part of the reason why we have created whole consumer understanding and products innovation teams that are geared towards understanding what our customers want, and giving it to them.”