Making a big impact with Yallo on TikTok

Hi Carlotta, what inspired you to pursue a career in marketing communications, and how did you end up at Sunrise?

“My journey in marketing began with my apprenticeship at Sunrise. After completing my apprenticeship, I gained experience in various areas, such as events, sales communication and point-of-sale marketing. The diversity of these roles gave me comprehensive insights into different aspects of the marketing field. Three years ago, I moved to the Flanker Brands department, where I’m now responsible for the brand management of yallo and Lebara. This role allows me to embrace fully my passion for creative and strategic work across a wide range of projects and continually tackle new challenges.”

Can you explain what Flanker Brands are within the Sunrise context? What are some examples of the Flanker Brands that Sunrise manages, and what makes them distinct from the core brand?

“What we call Flanker Brands are brands that operate alongside the main brand in the market to address different market segments and expand our market presence. Sunrise operates in the saturated Swiss telecommunications market and employs a multi-brand strategy with sub-brands like yallo, Lebara, and Swype.

yallo offers a complete telecommunications package for people looking for a simple, cost-effective and digitally innovative provider. Lebara focuses on the mobile business and targets individuals who want to stay connected both nationally and globally at a low price.

These Flanker Brands differ from the core Sunrise brand through their specific target audiences and offerings.”

Various sub-brands at Sunrise

What do you enjoy most about your current role as Marketing Communications Manager, and what do you find most rewarding?

“I enjoy the variety and dynamism of my role the most. Every day is different, and I have the opportunity to work on exciting projects that move our brands forward. Since we’re a smaller organisation at Flanker Brands, my area of responsibility is very broad. I work on everything from offline campaigns to shop expansions to social-media strategies. This variety keeps the work consistently interesting and challenging.

It’s especially satisfying to see my work’s positive impact and to know that every contribution makes a real difference. I’m motivated by seeing how our collective efforts deliver tangible results and successfully advance our brands.”

When developing campaigns for Flanker Brands, how do you ensure the messaging resonates authentically with your audience? Could you share a memorable response or feedback that confirmed that your approach was right?

“To ensure that our messages are authentic and engaging for our target audience, we rely on thorough market research and precise audience analysis. Our goal is to understand our customers' needs and avoid misunderstandings by designing our campaigns to be clear and directly relevant to the audience.

“We pay particular attention to feedback on our social-media channels, as it gives us direct insights from the 'frontline'.”

While negative comments on social media are common, we especially value it when our campaigns or posts receive positive feedback and recognition.”

Carlotta Patané - Marketing Communications Manager for FLB Customer Growth & Brand at Sunrise

yallo has seen great success on TikTok, recently surpassing competitor Wingo in follower count. How do you approach content on this platform?

“I have long recognised the potential of TikTok and was keen to leverage the platform for yallo. The smaller organisational structure I mentioned earlier brings both advantages and challenges, especially when building a new channel. Despite these challenges, the idea of making a big impact with yallo on TikTok was exciting. The brand is a perfect fit for the platform – young, cheeky/bold and dynamic – and that’s an ideal foundation for great results on TikTok.

On social media, understanding the platform’s target audience is crucial.

“On TikTok, users are primarily looking for entertainment and value, not traditional advertising. Therefore, it was important to develop our TikTok strategy in a way that presents the brand authentically without constantly talking about our products.”

Our initial goal was to generate reach and establish a presence on the platform, build an engaged community and gain users' trust.

I also wanted to give the yallo brand a face to create a consistent communicative thread and build a foundation of trust. For this, we cast two individuals to guide the community through the world of yallo in a humorous and informative way.

Over the past year, we’ve also increasingly focused on influencer marketing and collaborated with appropriate influencers to support our goals.

“Our strategy has been successful: we’re now the second most-followed Swiss telecom brand on TikTok — in just one year!”

I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved so far and look forward to further developments in our social journey. We’re working on some very exciting projects that will go live later this year. One of these is to connect the social-media world with the real world and generate attention outside the social bubble. But I don't want to reveal too much yet. Stay up to date and follow @yallotelco on Instagram and TikTok!”