By Laura Withers, Director of Communications, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association
May 3, 2018
As the 2018 PR & Marketing Conference wrapped up recently in Nashville, I found myself reflecting not only on the terrific networking with industry peers but also on some of the impressive numbers they shared that I believe portray an industry on an upswing. Here are a few of my favorite digital depictions of telco marketing success:
- A targeted Facebook campaign touting the benefits of faster Internet speeds ahead of a snowstorm paid for itself in less than 12 hours as customers hunkered down and binged on Netflix and other video streaming services.
- A telco in Kansas took advantage of seven Christmas parades to give out 16,000 pieces of candy and left a sweet taste in the mouths of their customers and community members.
- A coop in Tennessee sold 1,200 HDTVs during a holiday campaign to increase its broadband take rates and average revenue per user (ARPU), gaining over 400 new customers in the process.
- Augmented reality (AR) and gamification have created marketing opportunities for telcos in search of a younger customer base, with 60 million monthly players translating to $1.2 billion in revenue for the popular AR game Pokemon GO.
- NTCA awarded 28 member companies for exhibiting excellence in public relations and marketing in six categories—complete branding campaign, complete marketing campaign, customer newsletter, local video content, single-target print publication and website.
- More than 150 NTCA member companies have now been certified as “Gig-Capable Providers” for providing access to the Internet’s fastest speeds. Blue Valley Telecommunications of Home, Kan., was honored as the 150th company to receive certification and awarded a celebratory certificate and cake.
For more innovations in rural telecom marketing and public relations, attend the 2019 PR & Marketing Conference, April 28-30, in New Orleans. You can see photos from this year's event on Facebook.
