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#MobExAwards 2021 highlight: StarHub taps into the gaming experience for customer engagement

#MobExAwards 2021 highlight: StarHub taps into the gaming experience for customer engagement

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With every telco in Singapore trying to woo and retain its customers via a points-based loyalty programme, StarHub sought to stand out from its competitors with the StarHub Rewards Programme.

Telecommunications is no longer labelled as a “want” or a “privilege”, but rather as a necessity. In fact, the telecommunications scene is extremely competitive, with a variety of creative services being offered by telcos to engage with today’s consumers.

Telco companies are also aware of the digital shift that has been accelerated because of the pandemic. With this, StarHub knew it had to come up with creative and innovative strategies in order to slice through its competitors. 

StarHub’s campaign – “StarHub Rewards – all in one app” – proved to be a smart play, impressing the judges to win the bronze award for Best User Experience at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s MobEx Awards. 

Challenge

When the pandemic hit, it disrupted life across the globe for many people and businesses. With social distancing measures and lockdowns in place, consumers are now spending more time working and shopping from home.

Consequently, for many businesses, the digital journey, coupled with an increase in demand, has pressured companies to accelerate their digital knowledge to stay afloat. This has also included shortages in products and services, as well as fulfilling high-demand orders. 

While this might be the new normal for many businesses and people, StarHub has been forced to rethink its marketing strategies with its customers when we emerge from the pandemic. Furthermore, the pandemic has affected how customers today are willing to spend their money as compared with before. 

Now, consumers are more inclined to spend on necessities. With the rapid change in customer loyalty, businesses are looking for ways to retain their customers while adhering to continually changing restrictions. 

With every telco in Singapore trying to woo and retain its customers via a points-based loyalty programme, StarHub sought to stand out from its competitors with the StarHub Rewards Programme. 

Its objective was to build meaningful relationships with Singaporean households, express its gratitude towards its customers and show support to the local communities. 

Strategy 

Since October 2019, StarHub has embarked on a digital rewards journey with its My StarHub app. Customers are able to enjoy rewards from favourite brands at any time digitally. Combined with the digital journey and smart technology, StarHub decided to focus on three key areas. 

1. The importance of gratitude 

Playing on an “emotional connection”, StarHub sought to leverage this tool during the pandemic to express its gratitude for its customers and the community. The telco company wanted to acknowledge the challenges the pandemic has brought to its customers and partners by sharing a message of hope for the future. 

2. Supporting local heroes 

When the pandemic hit, there were many concerns on how communities could recover. This meant an increased focus on supporting local businesses and economies. StarHub seized the opportunity to leverage this to its advantage by partnering and supporting local brands. At the same time, this allowed the company to connect with its customers, establishing a stronger bond. 

3. Riding on the eCommerce boom 

According to StarHub, digital shopping has been trending since the pandemic hit. Consumers are now shifting their focus onto digital and eCommerce platforms which has resulted in tremendous growth in 2020. Since the pandemic started, consumers are shopping in all categories. Riding on this trend, StarHub decided to approach eCommerce partners for collaboration opportunities to offer value deals to its customers. 

Execution 

With more than 100% smartphone adoption in Singapore, StarHub leveraged the power of multi-touch smartphone capabilities with interactive gamified campaigns. This enabled StarHub to gamify engagements that allow customers with the My StarHub app by playing the game to tap, shake, spin and swipe on the screen.

These game play-based campaigns were not only used to instantly reward specific sets of customer actions, but also time-bound or date-bound campaigns revolving around key dates such as birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates such as the Chinese New Year and Christmas, among others. 

StarHub also leveraged these reward-based engagement mechanics to excite and connect with its customers consistently, with instant rewards redeemable digitally through game plays. 

1. Snapping Saturday 

A weekly campaign that offered treats from Polar Puffs & Cakes, Toast Box, Gong Cha, Famous Amos, BreadTalk, and KFC, among others. 

2. Lifestyle treats 

Customers were able to gain access to a plethora of treats that matched their individual lifestyles. Partnering with a variety of brands and eCommerce partners, StarHub sought to bring exciting and attractive offers to keep customers engaged. The partners included Toast Box, Gong Cha, Go City, The Fullerton, PARKROYAL Hotels, Justgood, Breadtalk, Little Bearnie, Lilo, 13 Honey, Shopee, and Grab. 

3. Play and win 

Customers were able to engage with StarHub via simple and fun games. These games were simple as a tap, and allowed customers to win prizes such as an Apple iPad Air, Daikin air purifier, and SG$10,000 worth of Shopee vouchers, among others. 

4. Member tier-based rewards 

StarHub offered personalised rewards based on members’ tiers such as green, gold, platinum, and Hub Club. 

As this initiative revolved mainly around existing customers, StarHub utilised 360 in-house comms channel touch-points to the fullest for the go-to-market. These included SMS, electronic direct mailers, in-app push notifications, digital publications, in-house bill messages, in-store ePosters, in-app promotions, Instagram, Facebook, and the StarHub Rewards website.

Partners also extended their support by promoting the campaigns on their customers’ communication touch-points such as eDMs, SMS, and social media platforms Instagram and Facebook.

Results 

Overall, the campaign has garnered positive results. There was an increase in the monthly active users and the customer churn rate has improved. 

Additionally, StarHub has also attracted new customers to its rewards programme. StarHub has also emerged first in mobile and broadband in the latest National Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore study among all other operators in Singapore.

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