A Closer Look at the Telecom Market: No Chance of Winning the Golden Loekies

Winners of advertising awards often have one thing in common: emotion and storytelling. Award-winning campaigns—from public awards like the Gouden Loeki to industry awards—tell a story, evoke an emotion, and build recognizable brand associations. That’s no coincidence. Emotion helps people remember brands. It ensures that a brand is not only seen but also stored in the memory and later recalled in a purchasing situation. That is precisely why it’s unlikely that a telecom ad will win a public choice award anytime soon. The category communicates very differently.

The study

Telecom brands advertise a lot. That was already known. But what is now becoming clearer is exactly what they are communicating, what strategy lies behind it, and whether this is also reflected in brand perception. That is why this study combines two approaches. Using Share of Content (SoC), more than 6,000 telecom ads were analyzed using AI to assess their content and style. What are the ads communicating? Is the emphasis primarily on sales or on branding? And is the tone functional or emotional?

In addition, the mental market position of brands is measured through respondent surveys. This is done using Category Entry Points (CEPs): recognizable purchasing situations such as “I want a good deal” or “I want coverage everywhere.” For each CEP, the mental market share is determined: which brand comes to mind more often at that specific moment of purchase?

In short: SoC shows what brands are communicating. Mental market share shows what sticks.

Black Friday, but all year round

The telecom sector feels like a constant clearance sale. As you can see from the SoC chart above, this category relies extremely heavily on sales communication. For 11 of the 14 brands, 80% or more of their media spending is focused on sales. The red bar charts speak volumes: Simpel is 100% sales in its advertising, Ben is 99%, Lebara is 98%, Hollands Nieuwe is 97%, and even Odido is 92%. Only Vodafone (58% sales) and KPN (61% sales) are significantly lower, with Delta (75%) falling somewhere in between. This is noteworthy because you’d expect new brands, such as Hollandse Nieuwe and Odido, to prioritize brand building. Meanwhile, the industry giants like KPN and Vodafone have already established some brand legacy but still devote advertising time to that all-important brand marketing.

Functionality makes sense, but it’s also interchangeable

Much of communication revolves around bundles, euros, gigabytes, and terms and conditions. In other words, functional communication. Several brands “score”—if you can call it that—around 90% or higher on functional communication. Some are almost entirely functional: Lebara 98%, 50+ Mobiel 96%, Ben 90%, Delta 87%. Functional communication seems logical. But when everyone lists the same benefits, brands quickly become interchangeable. Which brand does a Gen Z’er feel most connected to? And which brand does a boomer? Of course, each target audience selects based on different functional reasons for purchase. But what about focusing on “feeling”?

Emotion is rare, and therefore stands out

That’s precisely why the exceptions stand out. In a category where sales are primarily driven by functionality, only a few brands make room for emotion. KPN (49% emotional) and Odido (47%) strike the best balance. Vodafone follows with 41% emotional appeal. Emotion isn’t just a “nice-to-have”; it’s what helps a brand stick in people’s minds over the long term—“The brand that’s there for me”—rather than just the cheapest option at the moment.

Delta builds its brand with its head, not with its heart

Delta invests a relatively large amount in branding (25%), but scores low on emotional appeal (13%). The brand does prioritize brand-building, but it primarily translates that into rational arguments rather than recognizable emotions or brand associations.

These two giants are really investing in their brands

There are only a few brands that are visibly investing in brand-building: Vodafone (42% branding) and KPN (38% branding) stand out. Many other brands have low percentages (0–20%) and remain primarily in short-term sales mode. In a market where everyone is touting benefits, brand-building is often the only thing that can’t be copied immediately—and that lasts in the long term.

Segmentation is not a content strategy

The SoC chart above shows that telecom ads usually target a specific audience. That feels like a well-defined strategy: focus on young people, and you’ll win over young people. Ben and Simyo clearly target Millennials. At Ben, the majority of their media spending is directed at Millennials (around 79%). Simyo takes this even further: about 86% of their media spending is directed at Millennials. So this isn’t just a slight preference, but a deliberate choice in their media strategy. Not to mention the fact that mobile service for the 50+ demographic is a given.

Focusing on a target audience does not automatically mean growing within that audience.

This is reflected in their perceived market position among young people. Ben’s perceived market share drops from 6% overall to 5% among young people. Simyo’s drops from 5% to 4%.

It’s the contrast that makes it interesting. Vodafone and Odido are actually gaining ground among young people, even though their targeting is less one-sided. Vodafone’s share among young people rose from 16% to 18%. Odido’s rose from 14% to 16%. This suggests that they convey a more relevant, stronger message in the youth market—one that resonates better in purchasing situations relevant to young people, such as a flexible plan.

Conclusion: Vulnerable in the long term

This study reveals a clear tension within the telecommunications industry. The sector’s communication is primarily sales-driven and functional. While this approach works in the short term, it makes many brands interchangeable and vulnerable in the long run. The brands that stand out would do well not to simply broadcast messages, but to communicate differently—leaving room for branding and emotion to linger longer in the memory.

Segmentation also makes it clear: a strong focus on the target audience is no guarantee of success in terms of brand awareness. Reaching your target audience is one thing; making a relevant message stick is another. In short: there’s work to be done!

(This article was previously published on Telecompaper: https://www.telecompaper.com/partner-content/de-telecommarkt-onder-de-loep-geen-kans-op-gouden-loekies--1568092 )