The global advertising landscape is on the cusp of a large-scale transformation. According to eMarketer, total worldwide ad spending is projected to exceed USD 1 trillion for the first time in 2025, with a striking 75% allocated to digital channels. Mobile advertising, in particular, is showcasing its dominance, accounting for sixty-four per cent of digital advertising spend, and is projected to grow to seventy per cent by 2025. As digital ad momentum accelerates, it’s becoming increasingly clear that telecom operators have a unique and powerful role in this new ecosystem.

The 2025 Global Ad Spend Forecast by Dentsu projects a 5.9 per cent ad spend growth worldwide, significantly outpacing the forecasted 3.2 per cent global economic growth. Notably, North and South America are poised to lead with 6.3% growth, reflecting robust confidence in digital ad returns. Asia, especially countries like India, is set to benefit from AI-driven ad placement growth, while EMEA will maintain solid momentum at 5%. These trends spotlight a golden opportunity for telecom operators worldwide to tap into booming digital revenues by integrating cutting-edge ad tech solutions into their business models.

Telecoms are no longer just providers of connectivity—they are evolving into “technos”, or digital service powerhouses. The adoption of mobile advertising technology is central to this evolution. Platforms like moLotus, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, WhatsApp, Google Ads, InMobi, TikTok Ads, and AdColony are empowering telcos to unlock new monetization streams by utilizing customer insights for precise targeting, real-time engagement, and high-margin advertising campaigns.

For instance, moLotus, a mobile video advertising and interaction platform, enables telcos to launch personalized, automated, and scalable campaigns—ranging from customer onboarding to upselling—without the need for apps, data plans, or spamming. Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchinson(IOH), Vodafone, DigiCelcom, and Airtel are among the telecom giants capitalizing on such partnerships to rapidly grow ad revenues and customer loyalty.

The telecom sector’s pivot toward ad tech is also evident in strategic acquisitions and collaborations. The AT&T-AppNexus (later Xandr) deal and the joint ad tech venture by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone signal a deeper industry commitment to owning the advertising value chain. Experts suggest that in 2025 and beyond, more telcos will increasingly shift their marketing budgets away from social media platforms and toward high-ROI channels like moLotus.

As the lines between telecom, media, and digital marketing continue to blur, the question is no longer whether telcos should embrace ad tech, but how quickly they can do so to future-proof their business. 

Let’s now explore the top five benefits that ad tech brings to telecom operators ready to lead the digital disruption.

1. New Revenue Streams Beyond Connectivity

In the face of declining voice and SMS revenues, telecom operators are seeking innovative ways to monetize their vast subscriber base, and ad tech has emerged as a powerful solution. Using anonymized subscriber data and behavioral insights, telcos can now offer targeted advertising solutions far beyond their traditional role as connectivity providers.

With ad tech platforms like moLotus, WhatsApp Business, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads, telecom operators are tapping into high-margin digital advertising revenues. These platforms allow telcos to deliver hyper-personalized, permission-based campaigns directly to their customers. They offer brands and agencies access to segmented audiences based on demographics, location, interests, and purchasing behavior.

moLotus helps mobile operators to run fully automated campaigns, including lead generation, onboarding, customer acquisition, upselling, and loyalty. The platform supports rich media formats with interactivity, enabling telcos to generate incremental revenue while also enhancing the customer experience.

Other platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Ads allow telcos to act as ad publishers or resellers, placing targeted content on behalf of brand partners. By integrating with WhatsApp Business, telcos are offering click-to-chat ad formats and customer engagement solutions that drive measurable business outcomes for advertisers.

Telecom operators in Southeast Asia and Africa are running localized ad campaigns in partnership with FMCG, retail, and banking brands. These campaigns are designed around festive seasons, product launches, or regional offers, delivering measurable ROI and boosting telcos' non-core revenues. For instance, telcos have executed campaigns for local banks promoting new digital wallets, reaching millions of subscribers via moLotus with personalized video messages, achieving high engagement and conversion rates.

In short, ad tech is opening the door for telcos to become full-fledged advertising powerhouses, monetizing customer data in ethical, compliant ways while establishing new, scalable revenue streams that are both future-proof and profitable.

2. Enhanced Customer Engagement and Loyalty

Ad tech is transforming how telecom operators engage with customers by delivering personalized, value-driven experiences. Platforms like moLotus, Google Ads, and TikTok Ads empower telcos to craft campaigns that resonate on a personal level, driving both engagement and brand affinity.

moLotus, in particular, has revolutionized customer loyalty initiatives through its loyalty and rewards campaign modules. These mobile video campaigns allow telcos to segment customers based on ARPU, tenure, behavior, or product usage, and deliver tailored reward offers without requiring apps or data consumption. Telcos are using moLotus to send rich-media messages highlighting exclusive deals, loyalty points, surprise gifts, birthday greetings with offers, and more, right to the phone’s inbox. Telcos can make campaigns more interactive with moLotus, offering options such as Call, mgram, Web Click, USSD, SMS. Because these campaigns are interactive and automated, customers can instantly redeem offers, check their loyalty status, or upgrade plans, increasing response rates and satisfaction.

For example, a telco can identify high-value customers and offer them early upgrades on new handsets or double data plans, using a moLotus loyalty campaign that includes personalized messaging, clickable interactions, and call-to-action buttons—all delivered without spamming or depending on third-party platforms.

In addition to mobile-first platforms like moLotus, telecom operators are increasingly utilizing TikTok Ads, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads to run sophisticated loyalty and rewards campaigns that reach users across multiple digital touchpoints. TikTok's short-form, highly engaging video format allows telcos to creatively showcase rewards and loyalty benefits in a way that resonates with younger audiences. Telcos are using TikTok’s Branded Hashtag Challenges, In-Feed Video Ads, and Spark Ads to promote referral rewards programs, encourage participation in loyalty challenges and showcase customer testimonials tied to exclusive telco perks (e.g., “Share your best moment with our 5G to win 3 months free!”).

Facebook’s powerful audience targeting capabilities make it ideal for retargeting existing customers with loyalty perks and exclusive rewards. Telcos are using custom audiences, lookalike audiences, and lead gen ads to retarget long-time subscribers with anniversary rewards or thank-you bonuses, offer location-based loyalty promotions, and drive app installs or portal visits for loyalty point redemption.

Google’s ad ecosystem helps telcos engage users across Search, Display, Gmail, and YouTube with loyalty campaigns. Search Ads capture high-intent users looking for offers, while Display and Gmail Ads showcase rewards like bonus points or recharge perks. YouTube videos highlight loyalty benefits in short, engaging clips. AI-driven performance max campaigns optimize delivery across all channels to reach the right audience with the right message.

3. Improved Campaign Automation and Efficiency

Ad tech is revolutionizing how telecom operators manage large-scale campaigns by embracing automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Platforms like moLotus are leading this transformation with their AI Agents, which automate complex customer interaction workflows such as onboarding, loyalty campaigns, upselling, and cross-selling. These agents enable telcos to scale high-volume campaigns effortlessly, delivering personalized video messages to millions of subscribers without requiring mobile apps, data plans, or human intervention. The result is faster execution, reduced operational costs, and significantly improved customer response rates.

Google Ads uses AI to power full-funnel campaign automation for telecom operators. With tools like Performance Max, telcos can run ads across Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail, and Maps from a single campaign, optimized in real time. Smart Bidding adjusts bids automatically based on user intent and likelihood of conversion, while Responsive Ads test multiple creative variations to identify top performers. Google’s AI also enhances audience targeting, helping telcos reach high-intent users and expand via lookalikes.

Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) bring intelligent automation to every stage of campaign execution. Advantage+ Campaigns handle budget allocation, audience targeting, and creative delivery automatically. Telcos can benefit from Dynamic Creative, which assembles the best ad variations for each user. Meta also uses lookalike audiences to find new prospects similar to a telco’s most valuable customers, while automated rules manage performance thresholds without manual intervention.

WhatsApp Business enables telecom players to automate customer engagement via conversational AI. AI-based chatbots manage customer interactions such as customer onboarding, dealing with enquiries, and loyalty program updates. Telcos can send trigger-based messages for events like recharge reminders or SIM expiry. Additionally, bulk personalized templates allow high-volume communication that still feels one-on-one, and CRM integrations ensure interactions are timely, relevant, and data-driven.

By adopting these AI-driven ad tech solutions, telcos streamline campaign management, improve marketing agility, and free up resources for strategic growth initiatives.

4. Strategic Partnerships

Ad tech is enabling telecom operators to become indispensable allies for brands and advertisers seeking scale, precision, and mobile-first outreach. With vast subscriber bases, rich customer data, and advanced mobile infrastructure, telcos are uniquely positioned to offer high-impact advertising opportunities that go beyond traditional media. Platforms like moLotus empower telcos to build long-term, revenue-generating partnerships through programmatic buying, self-service campaign tools, and advanced analytics.

moLotus helps agencies to directly access telecom subscriber networks, interactive video campaigns. They can easily manage their campaigns via online, self-service dashboards, set customized parameters, and adjust marketing budgets in real time. These tools help brands fine-tune messaging and maximize ROI, while telcos benefit by monetizing their mobile channels and offering premium ad inventory.

By offering scalable campaign delivery and deep customer insights, telcos become valuable strategic partners in the digital advertising ecosystem. Collaborations forged through platforms like moLotus lead to joint innovation, brand amplification, and sustainable growth, positioning telcos as not just infrastructure providers but as key enablers of digital marketing success.

Telecom operators are forging powerful partnerships with brands through Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), where deep audience insights and visual storytelling converge. By utilizing their first-party subscriber data and Meta’s robust targeting tools, such as custom audiences and lookalike audiences, telcos help advertisers reach hyper-specific segments with high engagement potential.

These partnerships often center around co-branded campaigns, product bundles, and community-driven loyalty programs. For example, telcos collaborate with device manufacturers or OTT platforms to push bundled offers via Instagram Stories or Facebook Lead Ads, capturing high-intent users. By combining Meta’s immersive formats with telco subscriber intelligence, both parties benefit: advertisers achieve better campaign precision, while telcos unlock incremental ad revenue.

Through Google Ads, telcos are enabling high-performance partnerships that span the entire digital journey—from Search and Display to YouTube and Performance Max. By integrating telco audience data with Google’s AI-powered ad delivery, brands can execute precision-targeted campaigns that scale seamlessly across devices and platforms.

For instance, telcos can partner with handset brands or streaming services to run co-branded YouTube video ads, promoting upgrades or bundled data plans. Google's Smart Bidding and automated ad placements ensure maximum ROI, while telcos benefit from increased customer engagement and monetization of their digital channels.

These partnerships go beyond simple ad buys—they evolve into performance-driven collaborations powered by telco data, Google’s automation, and shared KPIs, driving mutual business growth.

Conclusion

As telecom operators evolve beyond traditional connectivity, the rise of ad tech offers an unprecedented opportunity to redefine their business models. Platforms like moLotus, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and others are empowering telcos to monetize data, engage customers with precision, automate at scale, and unlock new revenue streams. For CXOs, the message is clear: embracing mobile advertising and intelligent ad tech solutions is not just an option—it’s a strategic imperative.

By monetizing their massive subscriber base, deep customer insights, and advanced digital infrastructure, telcos are uniquely positioned to become major players in the advertising value chain. Investing in the right platforms today ensures long-term competitiveness, sustained margins, and stronger advertiser partnerships tomorrow. The future of telecom lies in transformation, and ad tech is the catalyst.