T-Mobile lifts customer acquisitions 400% with personalized videos

Dive Brief:

T-Mobile increased customer acquisitions by 400% using personalized videos in email communications, per information that Adastra Group shared with Mobile Marketer. T-Mobile used Adastra's artificial intelligence (AI) video platform called AmetIO.
A demonstration of the personalized videos shows how they included the name of the customer, different content by target group and the services they use. AmetIO uses AI to learn and cloud computing to deploy personalized content at scale, resulting in conversion rates that are higher than those for traditional digital marketing, according to press materials.
AmetIO is the first marketing service from Adastra and its digital marketing business, Proboston North America. Adastra bought European-based Proboston last year for its work on user experience (UX) design.

Dive Insight:

T-Mobile's results from the AI-powered videos indicate that personalization can be effective in boosting conversions by tailoring content for each customer. It also reflects how AI tech can be used to boost the relevancy of digital video, a trend that is emerging as the early days of AI experimentation give way to wider use throughout marketing organizations. The demonstration of the T-Mobile videos showed how they can be customized to heighten their relevance for individuals based on their existing wireless plans. That level of personalization can help to build stronger connections between brands and customers while also working at a greater scale.

It's important that personalization not feel too invasive to customers while helping them to make informed purchase decisions. U.S. consumer don't react well to personalization that feels creepy, a study by the American Marketing Association New York suggested. Americans expressed unfavorable attitudes toward personalized ads based on big data (55% unfavorable to 35% favorable). Consumers tended to favor virtual reality (VR), AI and omnichannel innovations, indicating they preferred technologies they could use voluntarily, per AMA New York.

T-Mobile has been active with various campaigns this year to boost its customer base, including a significant marketing push during the Super Bowl. The company said its Super Bowl ads for T-Mobile Tuesdays discounts and giveaways led to a surge in app downloads. Its T-Mobile Tuesdays app jumped to the No. 1 spot in Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store's lifestyle categories after the carrier offered free "Taco Tuesdays" at Taco Bell. T-Mobile in June updated its connected-car service, Syncup Drive, with features including a gas station locator, real-time tracking for roadside assistance and a dashboard with diagnostic information about car maintenance.

T-Mobile added 754,000 net postpaid customers — more than the 444,000 added by Verizon and 101,000 tallied by AT&T — in Q3 as the carrier awaits a final approval on its planned merger with Sprint. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission approved the merger, which would create the second-biggest cellular carrier after AT&T. A coalition of state attorneys general led by California and New York, challenged the deal in a lawsuit that is set to go to trial on Dec. 9, The Wall Street Journal reported.