AT&T and TransUnion are now offering businesses a branded solution for outgoing calls, to pop up a brand name and business logo for the recipient and confirm the legitimacy of a call in order to encourage them to answer.
A recent TransUnion survey confirmed that 73% of respondents don’t answer calls from unknown callers, because they assume it’s a sales robocall, and that 73% also have decided not to answer a call because of safety or fraud concerns and found out afterwards that the call was a legitimate one. Nearly 60% of respondents reported that they had received important phone calls to their mobile numbers in the last three months, but didn’t answer them because they didn’t recognize the number. “It’s increasingly difficult to reach customers, and robocalls, call spoofing [and] fraud are wreaking havoc on contact rates,” TransUnion concluded.
Branded calling is designed to combat that non-answering habit by giving mobile phone users a visual confirmation that the call is coming from a legitimate source, so they can opt to answer.
According to AT&T, on Android devices, the branded logo appears when the phone rings and also in the call details page after the call is missed. On other operating systems, the carrier added, the branded logo appears if the phone is unlocked or facial recognition is engaged.
AT&T said that its new solution is an industry-first in two ways: Recipients don’t need to have a specific app on their phone in order to see the brand logo, and the branded calls are verified with the anti-spoofing/anti-robocall framework known as STIR/SHAKEN. The solution is provided by Neustar.
“The delivery of Branded Call Display logos represents the culmination of years of collaboration between AT&T and Neustar, now part of TransUnion,” said James Garvert, TransUnion SVP and GM for its TruContact Communications Solutions. “We have delivered Caller ID for landlines, evolved to the first generation of branded calling, and now we’ve set the stage for Branded Calls Display logos. This is helping restore trust in the phone to protect enterprises and consumers alike.”
Erin Scarborough, AT&T’s SVP of Mass Markets Product Management, said that the work with TransUnion would provide a “richer, more helpful visual experience” for AT&T customers. “And since we use STIR/SHAKEN verification, our customers will be able to connect with greater confidence to the brands they may want or need to connect with,” Scarborough added.
Missed connections are bad for consumers and businesses alike, and consumers want more protection against unwanted calls and fraud, according to a recent TransUnion survey. Respondents said:
T-Mobile US also offers a branded calling service.
