Large brands have a large role in society – let’s open up to understanding, empathy and digital optimism

Large brands have a large role in society - let's open up to understanding, empathy and digital optimism

25.3.2024

Interview Radmila Dimova

Tocka.mk

We are living in a digital era, connected more than ever before. The businesses and the societies are connected, we are living in smart homes and cities, we are communicating, having fun, sharing and working digitally. We have technological tools that give us new perspectives and possibilities. But are we really connected? Numerous researches have shown that we are becoming increasingly closed off and isolated and more inclined to conflicts and intolerance. This is the topic to which Makedonski Telekom dedicated its recent initiative "Let's open up" which calls upon openness, empathy and digital optimism. The campaign, which has stirred a great interest in the public, starts with a powerful video that reflects the reality in which we are living and inspires changes. About the reasons due to which Makedonski Telekom has touched upon such a broad social issue and the role that the large brands could play in driving changes in society, we talked to Radmila Dimova, responsible for brand and marketing.

Your initiative puts connections between people in the limelight. What is the broader context?

People are social beings; it is in our nature to be connected to each other, to establish mutual contacts and build connections. This is our feature that helped us persevere in the past and then build our civilization. Connections enrich and shape our lives, they help us overcome the challenges as a community. The world that we are currently living in is still filled with challenges. However, despite our inherent need to connect and all the possibilities provided by the technical evolution, we are becoming more and more distant and closed off, more inclined to conflicts and intolerance.

Have these challenges motivated you to launch such an initiative?

The first question that we asked ourselves when we started developing the platform was: what are our greatest challenges, here in Macedonia, in order to get really connected? The uncertain times and the crisis in which we are living give rise to "interruptions" in the connections between people. We have less and less understanding for each other and there is an increasingly present perception that we are completely different from each other if we come from a different background, if we have a different culture of living, different beliefs and convictions. Unfortunately, this most deeply affects young people with an intensity that is constantly on the rise. Despite the fact that we are living technologically more connected that ever before, the question arises whether we are really connected. We are all aware that if we wish to have a better life, to be happier, we need to do something about it. Our conclusion was that in order to make it happen first we need to open up. Thence the name of the initiative "Let's open up" which urges us to open up, to have understanding and empathy because there are more things that connect us than those that divide us.

What is the connection of such a large technology brand as Telekom with these social matters?

Large brands also have a large role in society. Therefore, we feel a responsibility and we are ready to address some of the tensions that already exist, to raise the issue and help reduce them. Our main role is to enable everyone to actively participate in the digital world via our products and services, to connect people, to provide them with access to all the benefits of technology of today. But we are also taking one step ahead. As an operator that has the largest fibre optic network and connects more than 90% of the customers with fibre optic in Macedonia, we have a responsibility to be much more than a service provider that enables technological connections. We think that digital technology is not only a connecting tool, but also a tool for uniting and spreading digital optimism. We want to encourage people to be open and to understand each other and we urge them to open up in order to actively participate in the creation of a better world. In other words, we are the invisible link that can help achieve a real connection between people because only a world in which we are connected is a world in which we understand each other, we respect each other and we live a better life.

What do you expect to achieve with this initiative?

The initiative is a call for change, but it is primarily a call for introspection. We are all aware that we need a change, but where should we start? We believe that the right and the easiest thing to do is to start changing ourselves, our views and our behaviour both in the physical and in the digital world. We need to re-examine our mindset, we need to see whether we are making any mistakes and where these mistakes are, what we are doing well, what we could do better. Let's open up in order to notice what is good around us. For example, when other people are kind to us, we should respond with kindness - this is certainly something that each of us can do. In that manner, slowly, but surely, and together we will be able to build our own neighbourhood, our city, our society, a world in which we can all live a better and happier life. Digital technology is a powerful tool that we have on our side today and it is up to us to what extent, how and for which purpose we will be using it. We wish and encourage everyone to use it for good, real, honest connectivity that will bring us progress.

The campaign is aligned with the work of the great Goran Stefanovski. What questions did he raise that the Telekom brand resonates with?

We found the perfect narrative in the words of our great author Goran Stefanovski. In his works he depicts what we want to say, with perfectly selected words. He always puts the focus on what makes society a community - unity, daily conversations and gatherings, overcoming differences and being aware that there are more things that unite us than those that divide us. Even many years after being written, his works convey an absolute truth about the society in which we are living - people being close and yet so distant, wanting to connect, but sometimes not knowing how. In our brand film, which we promoted this month, the community is depicted symbolically as a building in which people are faced with the usual everyday problems until they decide to open up and overcome them and thereby make the life in the building better for everyone.

The building is a symbol of society. It constitutes a type of community in which people need to function as a group. Sometimes things are going bad, while other times perfectly - however, the community perseveres through thick and thin. These are the challenges that show us how persistent and resilient we are, how much we can stand and how important it is to open up in order to be helped and to help.

You said that "Let's open up" is an initiative with a wider scope. What will be happening next?

We started the #Let'sOpenUp initiative in March and it will continue in the course of the whole year in order to address some important issues and try to find answers to them in the stories told by the people around us. Makedonski Telekom will provide the community with a platform to tell its story in an authentic manner and with its own voice, so as to give an example of what our reality could and should be - full of understanding and optimism. Over the next few months, this initiative will be joined by numerous athletes, local musicians, designers, writers, actors and influential public figures, who will give their contribution in overcoming the social challenges that we are faced with. And certainly, since the initiative is focused on the entire public, we will also open up for the stories of everyday people that bring a positive atmosphere in our lives and stand for the values to which Telekom is committed.