Ahmet: Welcome to Community Talks, the podcast from and for the Sunrise community. We’re back with a new episode. With me today is Tina Rodriguez, Senior Director Customer Engagement. I’m looking forward to a promising conversation where we’ll try to gain some insight into the area of customer engagement. In addition, Tina has brought with her an exciting initiative that we believe will be an absolute value-add for the entire community. Dear Tina, welcome to Community Talks. How are you doing?

Tina: I’m doing very well. Thank you also for having me here, it’s a great pleasure and honour.

Ahmet: Yes, I am also very happy. We haven’t produced a podcast for a long time and this is the first one we are producing in-house at Sunrise headquarters. That’s why it’s also a special event for us. Also from my side, really thank you for being here. Tina Rodriguez, Senior Director Customer Engagement, what does that mean? What does your daily business look like at Sunrise?

Tina: Very different actually from day to day. Costumer Engagement sounds very fancy, if you were to translate that into German, it’s basically customer engagement and direct customer communication. I get to work with the team to make sure that our customer communication is of the best quality. It actually delivers added value to the customer and we take measures that then, in addition to the products we offer to the customer, naturally also deliver added value and make them think positively of Sunrise. A core part of our work is also the Sunrise Moments programme. Which is open to all customers and about which I would like to tell you more later.

Ahmet: That’s exactly where we’ll get to later. Behind that, what has your career been like? Have you always been in this field or what? How did you get into Sunrise in the first place?

Tina: Yes, that’s a good question. No, I haven’t always been in the field, I’ve always been in the entertainment field, especially entertainment in the telco field, I’ve been in Germany and in the Netherlands, I’ve only been here in Switzerland for two years, two and a half now. I’ve managed a lot of TV products, I’ve led many compartments in different countries with content providers, I’ve also done product development in the area, that’s actually where I come from, so of course you also have a lot to do with entertainment and with entertainment that in turn brings added value for the customer. So you always have to look at what is interesting and important for the customers and what is perhaps rather nice to have or even uninteresting and make decisions and, yes, since the beginning of this year I have been responsible for customer engagement and I still take care of all the content that we make available to our customers via our television platform, for example. The marketing, of course the content marketing is very important, but the customer engagement and customer experience is new for me in that respect. I also learned a lot, I particularly enjoyed that. I’m still learning, if I’m completely honest. Our Moment programme, which I’ll come back to briefly, is of course also a link between entertainment and customer loyalty, because it includes a lot of entertainment.

Ahmet: That’s a very interesting aspect, so the companies, they can’t even rely on the traditional positioning, but are always trying to find new ways to give the customers, the best experience. The Sunrise community is also strongly based in the support area, in the care area, but we also offer entertainment, for example with the podcast, or if there are any interesting things coming up, we of course inform the community about them. How do you see this development in the business? How do you see this development, that we are increasingly moving towards entertainment and away from the classic way of positioning ourselves in the market?

Tina: Basically, I see it very positively, because. Services like internet, telephony, also TV or video entertainment to some extent. So what we offer is very important for customers, but at the same time it is no longer very distinguishable between the different market participants and providers. Especially here in Switzerland. To be honest, the network technologies are so far developed, is a pioneer here, not only in Europe would even say western world 5G is big here, which means you really have to look at how you can offer the customer added value in addition to that, convince the customer that this is the right provider and everyone would like to be entertained and everyone would like to get entertaining information and easy to digest or would not like to be bothered somehow with complicated multi-page letters or information mediation, so to speak, and in this respect I think this is right. You have to put the customer in the centre and the needs of the customer.

Ahmet: What about the content? Well, we see that we are currently in a time where you can get content from everywhere, be it via stream or pay-per-view, whatever, how far away does Sunrise position itself in the market in order to get the corresponding content and to present it in an interesting way? Do we have a certain role that we take on or what hurdles do you have there, for example?

Tina: Well, of course we try to present all the content that is relevant to classic entertainment in the TV sector to the customers with a product, in our case. That is, for example, to provide a very small, chic streaming box, so that he has everything integrated and can access everything, and of course to extend that, for example, with real experiences, with concerts, with comedy events, which we are offering at the moment and entertainingly in our media, when social media posts. Various platforms that we support. I would say that esports.ch is also a form of entertainment. Which we support and sponsor so that, for example, a nice gamer community develops. And ideally, we can associate that with Sunrise.

Ahmet: The keyword community, if it has already come up here. How are you yourself integrated in the communities, are you on social media or are you also in other sports communities or online communities?

Tina: maybe as a questioner from time to time. As a client of this service, I sometimes need the help of good, well-versed communities. If I’m honest, I’m more of a customer than a contributor.

Ahmet: But it’s a very interesting twist. We have come to the current time via various development steps, where we have moved from forums in service to community management. Community is the booming topic everywhere, you have micro communities, macro communities everywhere and everyone talks about communities, so to speak, the term is on everyone’s lips and how do you see the importance for our company for Sunrise itself to build up its own community? Sunrise Community was launched last year in June and we are still in the process of building it up, so to speak, and how do you see the development or how important is it for you?

Tina: Honestly, I think it’s a very important building block for us, because we can get a lot of feedback from people who are really interested in the topic and who are also very experienced and have a real idea, and we can get support from other customers to help, but we can also learn from these community experts what we can do better or where particular problems are sometimes I also worked for product management, and when you develop a product, you think about a lot of things and sometimes you can’t see any more, as they say. You want to build the best customer experience, you try it with trials and testing and then you launch it and then it’s in a network of different quality, from which network to the house. How is it in connectivity etc. And you can’t test that, unfortunately you only see that in real life and that’s worth its weight in gold when you have people like the community who have a lot of good will, know-how, help the customers, but also help us as a company.

Ahmet: Definitely, so that is also an aspect that we have tackled this year. The community itself has a better community, where we work together with the product management, and we already have various products in the test. TV is also a very important part of it and we have received great feedback from the users and what we also sense is that the desire to be part of something big and to contribute to it is still very central and important for our customers and an enormous added value, but when you are allowed to help shape a product and then you see this feedback, I needed it and it is now being implemented, it was corrected and I discovered a mistake and so on, I think that creates a certain bond with the brand and also with the community itself. And I think we have really taken the right steps to move in this direction. It’s normal that this also grows accordingly and that we can all offer our customers added value together. You are actually here with an initiative that you would like to present, namely Sunrise Moments, we have already discussed in detail. As an uninformed customer rather in at tables. What is Sunrise Moments?

Tina: You’ve never heard of it. Sunrise Moments is really a great programme for our customers. You can call it a loyalty programme, but I prefer to call it a benefit programme, because it’s actually open to all customers equally. We have deliberately refrained from creating certain categories such as bronze, silver, gold or establishing a points system so that participation is really quite simple and, as I said, all customers are equally valuable to us. Sunrise Moments offers customers the opportunity to experience great moments at special conditions, for example, we just had the festival summer, which was fantastic, and at Sunrise Moments there are many festival tickets with a discount, i.e. 25% cheaper, and on top of that we usually have a very great lounge at many festivals with drinks and a welcome drink and often a fantastic view of the stage - whoever has been to a festival has also been seen, because it is usually placed relatively prominently, but we don’t stop there, now comes the winter season, there are on the one hand, we stick to the topic of music for very great concerts everywhere in Switzerland priority tickets, that is, when the advance sale starts on a certain day, but with us it starts 2 days before and especially for naturally popular concerts by big stars, the tickets are sold out quickly and so our customers have the opportunity to access them earlier and secure the best seats. Even there on the, combined with an almost line at the entrance and in selected stadiums and halls also with a lounge from Sunrise, where only Sunrise customers can access. On the other hand, the ski season starts very important and with our partner Swiss Ski we also offer many customers the possibility to have special experiences on the race days, also to come there, our lounge or to buy back special tickets.

Ahmet: That sounds very interesting from fast Line, sounds like a business flight for me because I don’t have to queue, especially at a concert, that’s enormously important. We built up the Sunrise Community in such a way that we actually integrated the existing UPC Community and that and the new company now also took along a platform, so to speak, and we wanted to accompany our customers during this migration phase and yet we still have UPC customers with us on the platform. How is that for the Sunrise Moment product? Is that also accessible to UPC customers?

Tina: It is indeed. So thank you for bringing that up. It’s open to all Sunrise customers who have a Sunrise or UPC product, so UPC customers can use it in the same way as Sunrise customers.

Ahmet: I think it’s great that they’re not excluded, so really anyone who’s part of the Sunrise brand, whether UPC or Sunrise, has access to it.

Tina: You just have to log in here with your myUPC or mySunrise account and then you can buy or book the tickets. The lounges are free, that costs nothing, is of course just limited by the contingent, so much space in the lounges, First comes First.

Ahmet: And how does the ticket booking process all this on our website or is it just a login so that it can be directed to a ticket partner?

Tina: Yes, so that’s part of the Sunrise website visually and creatively. In fact, the transaction is handled and supported by our partner Ticket Corner, which is the largest ticket marketer in Switzerland. Most will already have an account and if not, then I recommend it.

Ahmet: Exactly, so for support questions you can actually log in directly to Ticket.

Tina: That’s right.

Ahmet: Okay great and you mentioned it. It was a festival is coming the ski season, we also have something for sports enthusiasts is next ski?

Tina: Of course, besides skiing, we also have Mysports with hockey, the other big sport theme that we strongly support as a company and here too we work together with our colleagues to offer special moments. We often give away something so that you can be part of the game or Behind the Scenes, we build on that.

Ahmet: Interesting. What was the feedback that really surprised you, or made you extremely happy from last season now?

Tina: There was a lot of very positive feedback. So of course we also asked customers who were at a festival, for example, how they liked it, and above all, I think, I was pleased that almost everyone was very enthusiastic and liked it very much and they also thanked and were happy and would like to use it again. Anecdotally, I could perhaps report a feedback that wasn’t so positive about the DJ in the lounge at a certain event, because the music of the DJ’s fit the music color of the festival so well. Of course, we have certainly taken it seriously, and we will improve it, insofar as criticism is clearly perceived and implemented by us. So then you have also in the lounge, is actually its own line-up. So sometimes at festivals, where in between there is a break on the stage or the action takes place on another stage. Further away, then we also have a DJ, who sets the mood and plays music.

Ahmet: And how can I imagine that? How many people are in a lounge like this? How exclusive is this sunrise moment?

Tina: It depends on the festival and the size, of course it is always exclusive. We sometimes have bigger lounges and sometimes smaller lounges. I guess at least 50 times it is not partly yes also construction and fire protection technically given. With 50 it is then not cramped, but very comfortable and sometimes also in 100 to 200 people.

Ahmet: Very exciting. I think it would be good to create such a Behind the Scenes report, that you might send one or two users from the community times, follow the day, report the next.

Tina: We can definitely do that; it’s a great idea.

Ahmet: yes, please check in the comments general check of the Sunrise Moment Server on the website, if you have suggestions or wishes be sure to add, and I think, there you can maybe choose one or two users in a raffle and then you can send them to an event and then get their feedback afterwards, how the whole thing was. I think that was cool, we already had some behind the scenes reports with the community, I think it would be really exciting to hear from the community user themselves, how they experienced the whole thing.

Tina: Definitely, yes, good idea, thank you very much.

Ahmet: please. What does it look like when we look forward to 2024. Well, I think, last quarter, there’s a lot going on again, a lot going on again. What is your vision for Sunrise Moments?

Tina: An important aspect is that I have just outlined what the main themes and content are this year Music, Ski Sports, Hockey are being expanded for this winter season, but I would like to expand the program a bit more, for customers who like to go out and want to experience something, but maybe not as fond of music. This is certainly also a feedback we have received from customers who say: Yes, I know Sunrise Moment I actually think it’s a cool thing, but for me there’s nothing there. That is, of course, and I would like to extend the programme accordingly. Maybe they’ll come with a musical. Here, too, I would be happy if the community has suggestions. Of course, we can’t live up to everything and world travel will probably not be there.

Ahmet: Ah, too bad.

Tina: But I would be interested, actually also from the community, what you think will be good extensions.

Ahmet: So I immediately think of adventure events. So there are enough of them, so is also something like that, which would come on the road map? Where you have no idea that hiking is predestined for such events, where you get special tickets such as this one from the SBB to travel around Switzerland with the VIP train, so such events, right?

Tina: Yes, travel, tourism is definitely very popular, we know that from the customer survey and you can see it, I think, when you look at other benefit and loyalty programs in Switzerland. With insurance companies, banks or the like, then there is often something like that. We’ll definitely look at that. I don’t want to say too much, but we already have a few things in the quiver, which we’re going to give away.

Ahmet: Looks very interesting. What’s the matter. . . we’re coming to an end, what’s the difference to you that this Benefits Sunrise program makes for our clients?

Tina: So what’s really important for Sunrise Moments is that it’s a clear profile, and that’s actually great moments for the customer. Well, you know that from other benefit programs, there may also be a voucher for a cheaper coffee or things you can buy. And of course it’s also nice to save money, but that can be easily forgotten and we would like to offer our customers good access at the moment, to create memories that stay and are positive. This is our heart, this is where our heart beats, and we would like to convey all this to our customers.

Ahmet: That’s an announcement. For my part, I take with me some very nice memories from today and would be happy to give you the final word, if you would like to give our listeners and the community something more on the way.

Tina: Thank you. You have already said it, I would be very happy if the community tried out Sunrise Moments for themselves. Maybe everyone finds something or many at least what they like, and then like to give feedback, what we can do even better, without feedback you can’t get better.

Ahmet: Thank you very much. Then we take this cooperation with us for the Sunrise Community. We strongly ask everyone to use this feedback function in the comments and also here the product, which we call so here, I think I may also be able to help shape it. Tina Rodriguez, Senior Director Customer Engagement, was a guest. Tina, thank you so much for participating.

Tina: Thank you so much for letting me be there.
Ahmet: I’d love to. I think it’s the first, but not the last episode we’re going to record together.

Tina: Great, I’m happy!

Ahmet: Thank you, bye!

Tina: Bye!