As telecommunication services become more competitive, Deutsche Telekom’s most imminent challenge as a brand is to stay relevant and top-of-mind among in-market audience. Among all age groups, Gen Z (A16-26) has been identified as a strategic stronghold for maintaining Telekom’s relevancy and edge. Not only do the digital natives represent a large consumer base, but they have also ushered in the generational shifts that are transforming consumer behaviors, creating strong impacts across all demographics.

Given Gen Z’s ever-increasing market influence, it is vital for Telekom to build a strong and lasting relationship with them. While it is comparably easy to find Gen Z in media due to their universal usage of all things digital, they are also increasingly difficult to convince. To inspire Gen Z’s loyalty for the brand, we must find ways to deliver tangible values in a most pragmatic way possible.

Research conducted by Telekom shows that 82 percent of Gen Z globally are actively involved in advocacy and activism. Meanwhile, they represent a group of avid initiators of social dialogues intended to resolve conflicts and propel changes.

In awe of this socially conscious and action orientated generation, Telekom is determined to support youth volunteerism. Having celebrated Gen Z talents in our 2020 campaign #WhatWeDoNext and assisted them in developing career aspirations via the 2021 project #WeAreFutureproof, our latest effort would again live up to the promise “We are here for this generation, and what they do next.” Insomuch as their volunteer efforts influence and contribute to our society, we will also go beyond the focus on this cohort and strive to make the world a better place.

What We Value is Telekom’s latest initiative to engage Gen Z, the first digital natives whose identity strongly anchors in the connected technology we proudly offer. Through embracing Gen Z Volunteerism, Telekom seeks to foster a stronger bond with this target group and secure its position as the main provider of choice.

Deutsche Telekom sets out to support Gen Z volunteerism.

Telekom recognizes Gen Z’s efforts in actively addressing environmental and social issues. As a leading provider of the connected technology which gave birth to many of today’s social movements, we seek to infuse youth volunteerism with the same digital optimism that lies at the core of our brand.

Designed with Gen Z to accelerate the causes that are their main concerns, the free-to-access What We Value platform empowers those who already volunteer by helping them advance their projects.
Socially committed Gen Z communities can connect, learn from experienced action leaders, amplify their own volunteering projects, and discover new opportunities. Meanwhile, those projects would serve as prompts to encourage Gen Z at large to improve the world by engaging in inspiring projects. Those projects are categorized into the following 6 causes: Migration, Mental Wellbeing, Education, Environment, Animal Welfare and Equality.

We would introduce Value NFT, positioned as the socially most valuable NFT to be issued to young volunteers who upload a project to the platform. Owning the Value NFT unlocks ‘money-can’t-buy’ opportunities such as live events that would further one’s project. At the end of each month, the top 2 projects with the highest number of likes would unlock further Telekom support (up to a one-off value of €35,000) to boost the project’s real-world impact.

By joining Gen Z on a journey to identify and tackle issues that are most relevant for our society, we would demonstrate how Telekom is committed to acting responsibly and using its resources to combat today’s environmental and social challenges.

Our goal is to encourage traffic to Telekom’s owned What We Value platform via paid media, and to convince others through earned media to participate in the various volunteering projects being promoted on the platform.