Telecoms operators provide better data than Google, Apple, Samsung

67 per cent of brands consider telecoms operators to be a better original source of data insights than Google, Apple and Samsung.

According to an Ovum study, commissioned by Synchronoss, despite the number of brands that consider telecoms operators to be better, 48 per cent of brands are not aware of operators’ ability to even offer these insights.

“We’ve known for years that operators are sitting on a gold mine of contextual customer data. Studies have estimated the market to be worth potentially billions of dollars. But no one’s looked at this from the brand’s perspective – and it’s good news for telcos,” said Ted Woodbery, VP of comms & media marketing at Synchronoss. “More than two thirds of brands surveyed value it above everything but social network data. Of those brands that weren’t previously aware that telco data existed, 92 per cent are willing to explore commercial partnerships with operators once elucidated.”

The study, of more than 300 brands from the US, UK and France, also found that Google (59 per cent) and Facebook (52 per cent) remain the dominant brand partners for data insights and digital advertising – with only 26 per cent of brands currently partnering with telcos that specialise in digital advertising. Overall, however, only 22 per cent of brands said they were completely satisfied by the depth and quality of insights currently provided.

In addition, most brand executives expect their firm’s total annual digital advertising budgets to increase over the next two years. 21 per cent of respondents said they expected this spend to increase by more than 25 per cent, while four per cent predicted increases of more than 50 per cent. Furthermore, 60 per cent of respondents said they would pay more for data insights and analytics that support enhanced targeting.