More than two-thirds of brands say telecom operators are a better original source of data insights than Google, Apple, or Samsung, according to a new study by Synchronoss Technologies.
The study, conducted by analyst firm Ovum and published during Mobile World Congress (MWC) last week, also revealed an important caveat: nearly half (48%) of the 300 brands surveyed across the US, UK and France were unaware that operators could provide these insights.
“We’ve known for years that operators are sitting on a gold mine of contextual customer data,” said Ted Woodbery, VP of communications and media marketing at Synchronoss. “Market estimates put this opportunity at potentially billions of dollars. Until now, however, few studies examined the issue from the brand perspective — and the results are encouraging for telcos.”
According to the research, Google (59%) and Facebook (52%) remain the primary brand partners for data insights and digital advertising. Yet among brands that do use telco data to support their digital advertising, nearly two-thirds (64%) rate that data as “high quality” and “compelling.” The report indicates that brands generally view telco data favorably, appreciating its collective value more than isolated elements like real-time location, billing, or network intelligence.
Brands indicated willingness to pay a premium for data and capabilities that enable more effective targeting, Synchronoss notes. “These findings offer significant encouragement to telecom operators, especially as global digital advertising revenues from brands are expected to grow substantially,” Woodbery added. “Operators must enhance their data with analytics and tagging to enable better digital experiences, sharper engagement, and stronger monetization.”
This conclusion aligns with another study released during MWC from Upstream, which highlighted a different untapped opportunity for operators: digital services in emerging markets.
That Ovum-commissioned study surveyed 4,000 consumers across Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Africa and found just 12% considered operators their main provider of digital services. The report emphasized trust as a competitive advantage: 62% of respondents said they trusted operators more than any other provider to deliver digital content services. It also underscored the need for a balanced approach to promotion — one-third (32%) said they would consume more digital services if operators offered the right combination of incentives, such as loyalty programs, free services, and discounts.
Taken together, these studies suggest a clear path for telecom operators: raise awareness of their data capabilities among brands, invest in analytics and tagging to maximize the value of that data, and develop compelling, trust-based digital service offers targeted at emerging markets. With the right investments and go-to-market strategies, operators could turn existing customer relationships and proprietary data into meaningful new revenue streams while helping brands reach consumers more effectively.