The core of the new Media Operating Model at Deutsche Telekom is a unified, integrated approach to manage data and technology in the paid media ecosystem.

1. Media
Transformation
Case Study 1: Deutsche Telekom

2. 2
The media industry has been through a period of
intense evolution over the past 10 years. Clients haven’t
always been at the forefront of this innovation but not
any longer.
The adoption of programmatic and ‘precision at scale’
principles, the changing nature of technology and
data ownership, the shifting partner relationships, the
emergence of ecommerce and direct-to-consumer
channels. All of this and more means that clients in the
media space find themselves in radically different roles
to the recent past.
This can’t always be said for the rest of their multinational
organisations, of course, so over the past few years we’ve
seen a growing focus on education and company-wide
transformation of the client-side media function.
Introduction from WFA
This document was written by Deutsche Telekom and is
intended to follow on from presentations delivered by
the organisation to WFA’s global community of client-
side media leaders - the Media Forum.
This is the first part of a serial of Media Transformation
case studies that WFA plans on publishing, to provide
inspiration and education to clients in media and
marketing roles.
About this document
Contents
WFA is the only global network of marketers. We bring
together the biggest markets and marketers worldwide,
representing roughly 90% of all global marketing
communications spend, almost $900 billion annually.
Background to the Company
Reasons for Transformation
Blueprint for Transformation
Implementing the Transformation
Where are we now?
Introduction
Case Study 1: Deutsche Telekom
Major Obstacles & Key Learning
2
3
3
4
6
7
8
No two transformation journeys are the same, of
course, but all are certain to include a focus on both the
internal (capabilities, systems and processes) and the
external (relationships, roles and functions).
The over-riding objective is about control, or “taking
charge” and “driving change” as Deutsche Telekom
refer to it in this inspirational case study.
Naturally there are obstacles encountered along the way
and we hope that this case can help global advertisers
to avoid some of the worse ones as they seek to drive
their own change in 2019 and beyond.

3. 3
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading
integrated telecommunications companies, with some
168 million mobile customers, 28 million fixed-network
lines, and 19 million broadband lines. We provide
fixed-network/broadband, mobile communications,
Internet, and IPTV products and services for consumers,
and information and communication technology (ICT)
solutions for business and corporate customers.
The corporate headquarters of Deutsche Telekom is in
Bonn, Germany and the company is present in more than
50 countries. With a staff of some 216,000 employees
throughout the world, we generated revenue of 75.7
billion Euros in the 2018 financial year, about 68 percent
of it outside Germany.
For most large advertisers, the rate of change within the
paid media ecosystem is staggering. External changes
can be summarised as:
• Consumers: consumer attention and time spent
consuming content are shifting dramatically, so is
their attitude towards advertising, especially in online
channels.
• Media suppliers: more players in line with a
fragmentation of the supply ecosystem, including an
explosion of technology and data-related players.
• Data & technology: ever-increasing new opportunities
to target users, measure, and optimize brand
messages and media spend. In the simplest terms,
mass-media targeting is being enhanced with single-
user targeting, executed and optimized in real-time.
Internally, the need for better collaboration amongst
the two main departments involved with paid
media, mainly the brand/media department and
the e-commerce department, were strongly felt - at
the global headquarter (Bonn) but certainly also on
the local country/market level (with focus on the 13
telecommunication countries/markets in Europe).
The basic insight that motivated changes in Deutsche
Background to the Company
Reasons for Transformation
Telekom’s paid media strategy and approach is that
continuing with the “old” media model, used by the
clear majority of advertisers today, which bundles
all paid media services and investments into one
agency partner, will lead to stagnation. The legacy
approach, (also called the consolidated model, the
one-stop-agency-services model or even the complete
outsourcing model), leaves the agency partner in
control and the advertiser largely on the outside, thereby
limiting media neutrality, commercial transparency and
flexibility across the paid media ecosystem.
Our mandate for change was provided by Deutsche
Telekom’s CEO Timotheus Höttges who set out a
single-minded ambition and vision: he identified data
and in particular the intelligent use of data, as critical if
the group was to defend and strengthen its leadership
position.

4. 4
See WFA’s report on Data Driven Marketing 2018 to understand
how other brands are developing their approach to data and
technology.
Phase 1/The Telekom ad tech stack -
Digital ‘Blueprint’
The Telekom Digital Blueprint defined the landscape
(tools, software and technology) we wanted to
implement to take control of data-driven marketing
and sales. The Blueprint was first introduced in 2014,
remains iterative and continues to evolve in line with
market developments.
The implementation of the Blueprint highlighted
issues and led to many discussions around data and
technology internally and significantly increased the
in-house collaboration. It allows us to strengthen our
competitive advantage in the telecommunications
category by enabling smarter, data-driven and fact-
based decision making through ownership and better
utilization of technology and our first-party customer
data. It also provided the foundation for the second
phase of the journey, the conceptualization of a new
model for managing the services related to paid media
across the Deutsche Telekom Group: the Telekom
Media Operating Model (MOM).
Blueprint for Transformation
Cloud-solutions and Software as a Service (SaaS) have
made this possible: the suppliers were selected through
formal pitch processes, the contractual relationship
is owned and managed by headquarters with the
actual implementation happening on a local level by
the markets/countries. Full data ownership and full
data access (including strict safety and security rules)
are guaranteed, meaning we are in charge and can
audit the partners in terms of data usage, privacy and
security. Naturally, a lot of the actual work (“hands on
keyboards”) remains the responsibility of the service
partners and agencies.
Led by the HQ Media Team, a cross-functional, international team, consisting of senior experts from various departments
within the headquarter and the most important European market, Germany, started working together, developing a
Technology & Data vision and strategy. Launched in 2014, the Telekom Digital Blueprint was the first phase of the Media
Transformation journey and focused on aligning behind a unified, integrated approach to managing data and technology
in the paid media ecosystem.
Media Mix
Modeling
2.0
Conversion
Attribution
Modeling
Targeting +
Retargeting
Platform/
Tools
One Adserver
One Website tracking & Analytics Programmatic media buying
platform (DSP)
Data Management Platform (DMP)
Private DMP: personal data Public DMP: anonymised dataBLUEPRINT
PRINCIPLES:
• Choosing &
contacting the
partner/supplier
• Data ownership
& access to data
Personalised campaign management: synergy between content, campaigns & channels
CDJ: Move user along to the next phase
Etc.
UseThe
Data

5. 5
See WFA’s report on Media Agency Models & Remuneration to
understand how other brands are engaging and agencies and
paying for their services.
Taking Charge is about taking greater
guardianship over our paid media ecosystem
in 3 areas:
1. Delivering greater transparency through
de-bundling services within the media value
supply chain.
2. Taking more control of the media eco-system
by bringing more knowledge and expertise
in-house and taking responsibility for steering
all activities in the model.
3. Redefining the supplier set-up and moving from
a consolidated operating model to one in which
the services within the paid media management
process are fragmented, allowing for flexibility
in the selection of agency partners that are
considered best-in-class and in line with our
needs.
Phase 2/The Media Operating Model
(MOM) – ‘Build’ or ‘Buy’?
With a clear vision and way of working for paid media
data and technology in place, we moved on to an even
bigger challenge. The overarching ambition of MOM
is to assume active guardianship and control over the
Group’s media spend, data, placements, and outcomes
and thereby deliver increased effectiveness across
all paid media activities. ‘Taking Charge’ and ‘Driving
Change’ became the mantra for this program and
resulting model:
The model fragments elements of a typical media scope
of work or paid media process into logical, modular
parts, called “Lots.” These lots form the basis of the
model and cover Media Strategy and Steering (Lot
A1), Media Analytics (lot A2), Campaign Planning and
Media Buying (Lot B), Programmatic Operations (Lot
C) as well as Search and Affiliates (Lot D). This hybrid
model, consisting of a combination of increased in-
house capabilities (Lot A1) and outsourcing to external
partners (Lot A2, B, C & D), is unprecedented in our
industry in the degree that we have split out the various
paid media services and responsibilities.
Driving Change is about future-proofing
the organization and addressing three key
challenges:
1. Overcoming internal silos, specifically bridging
the divide and enhancing internal collaboration,
especially between brand/media and
e-commerce departments.
2. Advancing the implementation and control of
technology & data to enable better, smarter,
fact-based decisions.
3. Improving in-house capabilities & resources to
ensure all activities in the new model are driving
business outcomes.
A1
Media
strategy &
steering
A2
Media
analytics
B
Campaign planning
and media buying
C
Programmatic operations
D
Search and affiliates
Media
strategy
Media
analytics
Media
buying
These ambitions resulted in a new Media Operating
Model (MOM) for Deutsche Telekom, depicted below:

6. 6
For both parts of the journey, an international core
project team consisting of 13 cross-functional senior
experts was set up, representing the brand/media,
e-commerce and procurement departments.
The role of the core team was to provide leadership,
operational excellence and accountability for the
process. Further aspects of the setup included a
Steering Board (consisting of 7 senior management
stakeholders) and over 100 extended Project team
members representing all 13 markets/countries in
Europe.
With support from a leading management consultant,
we conducted an internal diagnostic of the current
situation for each of our European subsidiaries. This
allowed the core team to understand where each
of the local businesses were in terms of paid media
governance capabilities, enabling us to identify clear
opportunities for improvement.
To support our blueprint for transformation and to
highlight the benefits and improvement gains that
could be generated, a business case was constructed
for each country.
The next stage consisted of the core team, supported
by a specialist media consulting partner, executing six
tendering processes, mostly in parallel.
Implementing the Transformation
A critical component of the tendering processes was the
design and execution of an innovative ‘Collaboration
Workshop’ (see images left), which challenged all our
potential partners in the RFP phase to collaborate and
define a new way of working within the new operating
model.
One of the key learnings from the Workshop was
realising that implementing the model successfully will
require strong internal competencies and resources,
hence an increased focus on Lot A1, Media Strategy &
Steering.
Following the extensive RFI, RFP & RFQ processes, the
tendering processes were concluded with the signing
of International Group Framework Agreements (IGFA)
by the headquarter with each successful partner. Each
IGFA also includes a Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
as well as annexes covering all commercial conditions.
The agreements are activated locally by short and
simple Local Agreements (between the partner and the
local legal unit).
See WFA’s report on Independent Media Advisors to understand
how other brands are working with consultants to support
them with pitching and other services.
13
>200
>150
>25
>1,500
>50
Markets
involved
Internal Project
Meetings held
Suppliers
evaluated
Briefs to suppliers
issued
Documents
reviewed
Hours spent in
supplier presentations

7. 7
Where are we now?
The Media Operating Model (MOM)
In April 2018, we achieved a major milestone,
completing all pitch and contracting processes with the
chosen suppliers (now called Partners), across of all the
Lots (excluding Lot A1, as mentioned, which is about in-
house resources).
A first post-contract implementation step, was to
schedule monthly physical “Set-Up Team” Meetings
with all contracted partners in Bonn. The intention
was to create a forum to discuss critical strategic &
operationalization topics and issues, address any areas
of concern and ensure that nothing slips through the
cracks.
A critical milestone during the operationalization
phase was a 2-day MOM Kick-Off Conference in
Berlin attended by all Lot Partners and representatives
from all markets/countries. The goal of this was to
officially launch the model and begin defining a new
collaboration process and each partners’ roles and
responsibilities within the process. The workshop was
also critical to further define and fine-tune the internal
roles and responsibilities.
We clearly communicated our expectations, both
internally and to our Partners, and defined what success
looks like for us after 1 year and 3 years of operations,
e.g. full adoption and ingrained collaborative ways of
working across all our markets.
Following on from the workshop, we designed a
comprehensive manual for collaboration, specifying
the processes to ensure effectiveness of the model.
The manual has been adapted locally by each of our
subsidiaries.
Other key areas of focus include:
• Hiring full-time resources for the new internal
roles (Lot A1), firstly in our German and HQ
teams, then also in the other subsidiaries;
• Implementation of a central performance
management solution, covering collaboration,
service and business performance;
• Development of digital collaboration and best-
practice sharing tools.
The Telekom Digital Blueprint 2.0
The implementation of the Telekom ad tech stack
or Digital ‘Blueprint’ is progressing well, being fully
implemented in 6 markets, with the rollout to the rest
of the markets in various stages of progress.
The MOM pitch and contracting phases, however,
identified that the Blueprint needs to be reviewed
regularly and adjusted based on technology
developments (e.g. changes in the way the Walled
Gardens operate) as well as legal changes (e.g. GDPR,
e-Privacy).
We are now in the process of developing our Telekom
Digital Blueprint 2.0, with renewed focus on integrated
data management guidelines and best practices.
See WFA’s report on Global Internal Media Structure to
understand how other brands are setting up and evolving their
internal media function and team.

8. 8
Major Obstacles & Key Learning
Collaboration
Attitudes and behaviours regarding collaboration are
critical to the success to the model. The challenge
was how to make such a new way of working ingrained
into not only our internal organization, but our external
Partners as well. To address this, we focused on three
things:
1. Defining common language & behaviours –
so that all Partners were aligned behind what
‘collaboration’ means for us.
2. Implementing a common measurement
framework – ensuring that performance was
evaluated against levels of collaboration –
and making it a significant part of the overall
remuneration.
3. Designing the right processes & systems –
ensuring that all processes, ways of working
& systems in the model are best positioned to
enable effective collaboration.
1. Do not rush any stage of the process and
invest time in proper preparation. We
spent more than 4 months conducting market
landscape research and analysing our internal
situation, clearly defining our objectives and
ambitions and ultimately formulating the
new operating model. The extended time
was necessary to ensure that we left no stone
unturned.
2. Internal stakeholder management was a
massive challenge. We needed to secure senior
management and especially local market/
country involvement and endorsement at every
stage. We were able to keep the large group of
stakeholders engaged and invested throughout
the process through regular communication,
e.g. 1-on-1 alignment calls, update calls, video
conferences, physical meetings and workshops.
Our vision and approach have been described by leading industry publications as ‘pioneering’ and ‘radical’. On reflection,
there are 4 key learnings and recommendations we would like to share:
Building in-house competence
Building in-house competence and capabilities through
Lot A1, Media Strategy & Steering, was a significant
challenge as it represented significant changes to the
way we work and are set up currently. We realised Lot
A1 is more than just developing media strategy, it is
also the responsibility to orchestrate and steer the
media operating model.
It was therefore critical to ensure that all stakeholders
were aligned behind the ambition for taking more
control in-house and to begin the hiring process for
new resources. There were three key actions we took to
tackle the challenge:
1. Alignment on central vs. local roles and
responsibilities – through clearly defined job
descriptions.
2. Hiring new specialist resources, particularly with
a focus on hiring new expertise such as a media
analytics expert and a media digitization expert.
3. Placing Lot A1 as a bridge between E-commerce
and Brand/Media Departments – and thereby
integrating more of the internal processes.
3. Developing a business case to support our
recommendations and highlight financial
benefits was vital. We developed two: one at
the beginning to quantify the possible benefits
to the Group and to act as a tool to get buy in
from stakeholders. A second business case was
developed once financial commitments from
the tendering processes had been secured.
Both business cases were highly influential for
selling the implementation of the model within
the wider organization.
4. Accept that you do not have all the answers at
the beginning, remain agile and flexible. When
we began this project, we thought we had a fairly
robust idea of what the operating model would look
like and how it would work. However, the longer
the project progressed, the clearer it became that
there were questions needed to be tackled at an
appropriate time and place – agility and flexibility
are required, time and time again. The model thus
evolved along the various stages of the process.

9. 9
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Contact information
Gerhard Louw
Head of International Media Management & Transformation
Deutsche Telekom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerhard-louw-marketing/
Matt Green
Global Media & Digital Lead
WFA
m.green@wfanet.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/msgreen/

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