TIM signs partnership with Ambev within 'Zé Delivery' to build loyalty in the prepaid base

TIM entered into a partnership with Ambev to link the recharge of credits on prepaid devices to cashback on the beverage manufacturer's Zé Delivery delivery service. The idea is to expand the range of benefits for this clientele and increase their loyalty.

The novelty, which will feature massive advertising to the general public, allows for a discount of R$15 per month on delivery for each top-up of equal or greater value with the telephone operator. The discount coupon can be used on purchases from R$70 at Zé Delivery, not counting the shipping cost.

To the Broadcast (Grupo Estado's real-time news system), TIM's revenue vice-president, Fabio Avellar, states that more than just promotion, the movement inaugurates a diversification in the strategy of attracting and retaining prepaid customers, part of relevant to the business. According to the most recent data from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), referring to November, TIM has 33.6 million prepaid customers, which represents more than half of its base (55%) and 31.4% of market, fiercely contested with Vivo and Claro.

“We are moving towards a new generation of offering for the customer, with a benefit that goes beyond our own segment (telephone and internet) and entertainment with streaming services, which marked the last years of the mobile phone market”, says Avellar .

Over the last five years, the associated offer of music and video streaming services, such as Deezer, Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max and Youtube Premium, has increasingly marked the telephone packages offered on the market. According to Avellar, these services are more common for postpaid plans, but TIM offers one of them, Amazon Prime, for prepaid customers, which is already part of the differentiation strategy.

Now a strategy of discounts associated with other services in the user's daily life has been born. At TIM, says Avellar, this had already started through a partnership with the health service Cartão de Todos, which offers online consultations and discounts on the purchase of medicines to users. In the pilot phase, the project is already running in Rio, Bahia and the entire South region. The rationale behind it is the fact that more than 75% of the population does not have access to supplementary healthcare, generally users of prepaid telephone services.

“The idea is to differentiate yourself, to go beyond the obvious, which is to offer more gigs. The customer doesn't just want more data, they want to watch football games on streaming, order a cold beer, and have a healthcare alternative for their family. These are organic needs of society, which we will meet”, says Avelar.

TIM's balance sheet in the third quarter of 2023 showed growth in prepaid revenue of 2.9% compared to the same period in 2022. In the nine months until September 2023, this growth was 12.9% in compared to a year earlier. The average revenue per user in the period was R$30.20, an increase of 21.1% in the annual comparison. In prepaid, specifically, this value per user was R$15, an increase of 17.1% on the same comparison basis.

Cross benefit

The executive points out the complementarity of discounts on Zé Delivery for Ambev and TIM. This is because TIM's almost 34 million customers can become Zé Delivery users, expanding the platform's reach. On the operator side, Avellar sees potential to attract new customers, but even more so to keep them.

“They are two strong and recognized brands, leaders in their segments. So it's a cross-benefit, in which we can offer customers who are not yet 'drinkers' at the same time as we offer a benefit to our base”, he says.

In the executive's view, just like the streaming offering, the facilities in other services tend to be replicated by the market and TIM will have to remain at the forefront. “From 2018 to now (streaming boom), we have always been pushing the train, ensuring innovations. We were the first operator to include video and add new content to prepaid. And so we will continue”, says the vice-president of TIM.

Discount

To obtain the discount on Zé Delivery, the customer will have to register on the application using the same data already registered with the operator and the coupon will be applied automatically. Anyone who is already a Zé Delivery user will have to access the partnership website to redeem the discount and apply it to the delivery app using a code.

Campaign

Starting this Friday afternoon, the 12th, TIM will launch a broad advertising campaign adapting the song “Ombrim”, by Marina Sena and Chicão do Piseiro, marked by the verse “oh how delicious the summer is”. The parody will mark the term “recharge at TIM”.

The campaign features three advertising films, showing situations in which people like to drink cold beer (barbecue, pre-party warm-up and football) and use a TIM top-up to get a discount on Zé Delivery.

In addition to open TV and digital media, there will be investment in street media and, on social media, influencers will receive personalized cans with a TIM chip instead of the seal, in order to reinforce the launch of the offer.