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UK Telco sector sees strong reputational gains exiting 2020

UK Telco sector sees strong reputational gains exiting 2020

Telecommunications firms have faced a tough 2020, as networks see record-breaking traffic and retail-facing operations adapt to customers’ changing purchasing preferences during the pandemic. In December, companies that are able to bridge exciting offers that meet the moment – for instance, Tesco and Vodafone’s offers and community-focused holiday initiatives and charity drives – are seen to be most successful.

 

Tesco Mobile ranks first, boosted by popular customer-focussed initiatives

 

Customer offers lift top performers during the festive season

Across the sector, efforts to help users enjoy their holiday – no matter how different it was to past festive seasons – pay off, as customers take to Twitter to offer thanks and praise to O2, Three and Vodafone for freebies, free unlimited data giveaways and for bringing joy to their screens through festive virtual holiday events. In a net positive sector, some companies are more positive than others.

Charitable initiatives resonate with the public

Vodafone’s ‘Light Up’ Christmas initiative, “Keep Connecting” messaging and related winter offers prove particularly impactful this holiday season, contributing +38% impact to the company’s score in December. Vodafone is able to tie together offers with holiday initiatives that meet the moment.

Likewise, Tesco Mobile performs well due to charity initiatives to support vulnerable people during Christmas (with coverage emphasizing past ways the company offered support during the Covid-19 crisis). The company also drives positivity by offering a “festive bonus” for its users, which included free unlimited UK data, minutes, and text messages all-day on Christmas day.

Service quality criticisms continue to weigh on reputations

TalkTalk and Lycamobile, the bottom two performers, are negatively impacted by social media discussion which calls into question the overall quality of their services. Elsewhere, companies like BT and Sky face higher levels of negative sentiment on social media platforms.

While not weighted as high as other forms of content, the cumulative effect of negatively charged content coming from social media brings down BT and Sky’s December scores – though they remain in moderately positive territory. In addition, these companies did not perform as well on holiday-related offers and events, letting top performers gain a runaway lead.