PERFORMANCE MARKETING · USER ACQUISITION
Telenor Pakistan needed its 50M+ subscribers to go digital. Happy Ads used network-targeted app acquisition to drive meaningful MyTelenor App adoption — reaching the right subscribers, in the right apps, at the right moment.
The Challenge
Telenor Pakistan — the country's second-largest mobile network operator with 50M+ subscribers — was investing in digital self-service through the MyTelenor App: a platform enabling subscribers to manage their accounts, buy data bundles, pay bills, and access Telenor services without visiting a retail store or calling customer service. The challenge: most of Telenor's subscriber base was still managing their accounts through traditional channels, and app adoption rates among non-tech-savvy subscribers were significantly below the platform's potential.
The acquisition goal was not just installs — it was activated users: subscribers who would install the MyTelenor App and complete at least one meaningful in-app action (bundle purchase, bill payment, or account management task). Installs that didn't lead to activation were a cost without commercial value. Telenor's definition of success was a user who had meaningfully shifted their account management behaviour from offline to the app.
The targeting precision required was significant: Happy Ads needed to reach Telenor subscribers (not Zong or Jazz subscribers) across Pakistan's digital media landscape — a network-level targeting challenge that required direct subscriber data integration or proxy targeting strategies sophisticated enough to approximate the same result.
The Solution
Telenor Pakistan — the country's second-largest mobile network operator with 50M+ subscribers — was investing in digital self-service through the MyTelenor App: a platform enabling subscribers to manage their accounts, buy data bundles, pay bills, and access Telenor services without visiting a retail store or calling customer service. The challenge: most of Telenor's subscriber base was still managing their accounts through traditional channels, and app adoption rates among non-tech-savvy subscribers were significantly below the platform's potential.
The acquisition goal was not just installs — it was activated users: subscribers who would install the MyTelenor App and complete at least one meaningful in-app action (bundle purchase, bill payment, or account management task). Installs that didn't lead to activation were a cost without commercial value. Telenor's definition of success was a user who had meaningfully shifted their account management behaviour from offline to the app.
The targeting precision required was significant: Happy Ads needed to reach Telenor subscribers (not Zong or Jazz subscribers) across Pakistan's digital media landscape — a network-level targeting challenge that required direct subscriber data integration or proxy targeting strategies sophisticated enough to approximate the same result.
Key Results
Thousands
New MyTelenor App Users — Nationwide
50M+
Telenor Subscribers Accessible via Network Targeting
Activated
Users — Not Just Installs
Digital
Shift — Offline → App Self-Service
Key Insights
01
Telco App Acquisition That Optimises for Activation — Not Just Installs — Builds Real Digital Infrastructure
A telco's digital app is only commercially valuable when subscribers use it to replace the offline channels (call centres, retail stores) that cost the business money to operate. An install that never activates provides no operational savings and no digital revenue. Telenor's MyTelenor campaign was designed from the start to measure and optimise for in-app activation — making every acquired user a genuine step toward Telenor's digital channel shift objective, not just a number in an install report.
02
Feature-Matched Creative Drives 2–3X Higher Post-Install Activation Than Generic App Creative
Generic telco app creative ('manage your account easily') performs poorly against activated-user benchmarks because it describes the app's general utility without connecting to the subscriber's specific daily use case. Happy Ads' feature-segmented creative — showing each subscriber type the specific feature most relevant to their behaviour — consistently drives 2–3× higher in-app activation rates than generic creative because the subscriber arrives in the app already knowing what they came to do.
03
Pakistan's Telco Apps Are the Underestimated Entry Point for Mass Digital Finance
Pakistan's 200M+ population is underbanked but almost universally mobile-connected. Telco apps like MyTelenor, JazzCash, and Easypaisa are the primary digital finance entry points for Pakistani consumers who don't yet have bank accounts. Driving activation of these apps isn't just a telco commercial objective — it's an entry point into Pakistan's digital financial inclusion story. Performance marketing that drives MyTelenor activation is building the digital infrastructure for Pakistan's next wave of financial services adoption.