Find out how London Business School helped Telenor develop a whole generation of marketing executives with the Strategic Marketing Programme

1. Customer-centric Innovative Thinking
The Strategic Marketing Programme
Telenor
& London Business School

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Executive Summary
In 2013, Oslo-headquartered global mobile operator Telenor had made
big gains in Europe and Asia.
But maturing markets and intensifying competition meant that the company
faced a challenge: to retain and develop existing customers, while attracting new ones.
To sustain long-term competitive advantage, Telenor needed a global marketing function that was:
Customer-centric Attuned to the different
needs of different markets
Capable of leading
the company’s culture
and community
Telenor’s in-house Brand Academy partnered with London Business
School to design and deliver a large-scale, learning solution.
The result was the Strategic Marketing Programme.

3. The Strategic Marketing Programme took
Telenor’s rating in retention studies to the top
5% worldwide, according to Gallop.
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Executive Summary: Impact
The Strategic Marketing Programme graduated more
than 250 senior marketing executives at Telenor.
At a personal level, participants and line
managers reported significant gains in:
¢¢ Customer-centricity
¢¢ Strategic thinking: a move from the
day-to-day to the big picture
¢¢ Decision-making capabilities
At a business level, Telenor reported that the
programme delivered exceptional impact:
¢¢ 90% participants integrate new concepts
tools day-to-day
¢¢ 66% make organisational change to
implement new frameworks
¢¢ Telenor is fastest-rising brand of 2013
¢¢ Brand growth up by 55%

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The challenge:
A new, customer-centric
approach to marketing
To maintain its leadership position, mobile
operator Telenor needed to consolidate existing
markets and win new ones.
Telenor is historically a technical, engineer-driven company.
Experts in network building, they now needed to create
a new core competence: that of truly understanding
the customer.
Marketing at Telenor is supported by an in-house Brand
Academy. But the hunt was now on for a world-class
learning partner.

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We wanted our marketing
people to learn tools, but more
than that, we wanted them
to have an understanding of
how the customer voice really
runs everything.
Our vision was to make sure
that the needs of our customer
became an integral part of our
strategy process. And to create
a marketing-led culture.
Anne Gro Gulla
Vice President, Telenor Brand Academy

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Partnering with
London Business School
Telenor was looking for strong synergies
to develop a truly collaborative partnership.
After meeting with faculty, they chose London Business
School to develop their programme.
London Business School offered
Telenor a unique combination:
Excellent brand reputation
Global approach
Marketing faculty experts in telecom sector
Leading authority on pricing
Experience with leaders in the mobile sector
including T-Mobile, British Telecom and
numerous African telecom providers.

7. “It isn’t just their
reputation and global
scope and approach.
London Business
School has a marketing
faculty that brings depth
and real strength in
our sector.”
Nader Tavassoli
Professor of Marketing,
recipient of the Excellence
in Teaching Award.
Nirmalya Kumar
Professor of Marketing,
creator of 3V marketing model,
50 Most Influential Business
School Professors.
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The Strategic Marketing Programme
Telenor Brand Academy and London Business School together
design a world-class development programme for senior marketing
executives from around the world.
The programme is a multi-location, tri-modular learning journey built on five pillars.
MULTINATIONAL
CASE BASED
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL EXPERTS
COMMON LANGUAGE
3V MARKETING
STRATEGY
Exposure to international markets: modules in London,
Oslo and Bangkok, capital of Telenor’s fastest-growing
Asian market.
Exploration of diverse perspectives: case studies on
industry and non-industry players’ approaches to
common problems.
Interaction with expertise from Telenor and others
including COO of Manchester United and Deputy
Chairman of Saatchi Saatchi.
Professor Nirmalya Kumar tours the organisation with
the Brand Academy.
A framework for putting the customer at the heart of
all activities.

9. The programme is delivered
in three locations around
the world. To become
multinational in your mind-
set, you have to make sure
that you always think from
something other than your
home country perspective.
Professor Nirmalya Kumar
Programme Director,
Strategic Marketing Programme,
London Business School.
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The VALUED
customer
– who is being targeted?
The VALUE
proposition
– what is being offered?
The VALUE
network
– how do you orchestrate
activities to ensure your value
proposition is delivered to
your valued customer?
The model addresses:
3V: A new way of thinking about marketing
Developed by Professor Nirmalya Kumar, the 3V marketing
strategy model is a framework for driving customer-centricity. It
is the cornerstone of the Strategic Marketing Programme.

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Impact: empowered managers
Senior marketing executives graduating the Strategic Marketing
Programme report three key wins in personal development.
1. Interactivity
open
dialogue
An opportunity to
explore, question
and debate the
key issues with
peers, faculty and
facilitators.
2. Participative
format
Learning by
experiencing and
doing drives deep
engagement and a
sense of ownership
of the learning
journey.
3. Relevance
Case studies,
lectures and
topics address the
real issues and
challenges facing
executives in their
day-to-day work.

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“Faculty held everything
together in very
participative and involving
manner. That’s what I loved
about the programme.”
Arindam Sengupta
Head of Brand and
Communications,
Telenor New Delhi“The cases were targeted at
the exact issues we were
confronting so they were of
great value. It was one of the
best courses I’ve been on.”
Arild Kaale
Chief Marketing Officer,
Telenor Sweden
“I fell in love with this
programme and I’ve been
talking about it ever since.
It’s one of the best things I’ve
ever attended in my career.”
Dina Janeviski
Brand and Marketing
Communications Director,
Telenor Serbia

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Business Impact
The Strategic Marketing Programme has delivered
a major impact on the way Telenor does business.
In the last few years, Telenor has seen:
¢¢ Company-wide implementation of 3V model driving customer-centricity.
¢¢ Big-picture thinking driving strategic decision-making and implementation.
¢¢ Commitment to ensuring that strategic goals translate into real-life impact for the customer.
90%
graduates are
integrating new
tools and ideas into
daily activities
66%
graduates are changing
organisational
alignment to implement
tools and frameworks

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We have really adapted to the
3V model and use it extensively
in the operation where I work
and throughout the group. It’s
simple but has proved to be
extremely effective.
Arild Kaarle
Chief Marketing Officer,
Telenor Sweden

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1.
A world leader in retention
and engagement
Gallup retention and engagement studies commissioned
by Telenor show three key results:
The Strategic Marketing Programme
sits within the top 5% worldwide for
this type of development programme.
Programme satisfaction scores
improve year over year.
2.
3.
All participants demonstrate high
commitment to the programme
and its objectives.

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The feedback has been
amazing. On three occasions
we have carried out external
research with Gallup. This
shows that we lead the world
index in this area. We’re among
the top 5% worldwide for these
types of programmes.
Anne Gro Gulla
Vice President,
Telenor Brand Academy

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Enormous growth in brand valuation
The Strategic Management Programme has also delivered astonishing
impact in Telenor’s brand valuation.
The changes in practice that the Telenor marketing team implemented as a result
of this programme made Telenor the fastest rising brand of 2013.
Brand growth leapt from $4.5 bn to $7bn in 2013.
That’s a growth of 55% year over year.
Source: Brand Finance (Brand valuation consultancy)
55%%

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A true partnership
London Business School and Telenor have forged
a strong and cohesive relationship.
Beyond the programme, London Business School services a range
of Telenor’s business needs:
For Anne Gro Gulla, the relationship is a “true partnership”
that transcends the client-supplier dynamic.
Repositioning of
Telenor’s television
channels
Research projects
into actual customer
satisfaction
Coaching and
consultancy on
strategic projects

19. The relationship we have
with London Business
School is very close indeed.
When I work with the teams
there, I think of them as
my colleagues.
Anne Gro Gulla
Vice President,
Telenor Brand Academy