We Care – An Interactive App Magazine

How can new technologies support us in reducing C02 emissions? How can we protect our personal and business data? And why do we need more cyber security professionals? Deutsche Telekom answers these important societal questions with an application for tablets and smartphones. The “We Care” app offers an educating and entertaining insight into the corporate responsibility activities at Deutsche Telekom. Throughout 2015, several magazinestyle issues are being published, each focusing on a different topic.

“We Care” leads the way to a new form of CSR communication by combining information, animated stories, and elements of gamification. With the app, Deutsche Telekom aims at different stakeholders and professional audiences – such as CSR experts, journalists, and investors – but it mainly addresses a broad general public. It is also a suitable tool for reaching employees and raising awareness and knowledge about Deutsche Telekom’s corporate responsibility engagement. The app focuses on the activities of the company in Germany, but an English version is also available.

Mobile storytelling

The editorial staff at the Corporate Responsibility department and the app developer Yoocon – an interactive design and digital branding agency – utilize a broad spectrum of formats to generate intense stories about the CSR activities. “Information is better received when it is linked to an emotional experience. Therefore, we give weight to developing storylines for our content. A multifaceted application for tablets and smartphones is the perfect media for an ICT company,” states Gabriele Kotulla, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Telekom.

“We Care” has recurrent columns, such as “Preface without words” or the interactive quiz “How smart are you?”, that reflects the magazine-style features of the app. The focal topic is addressed in a multitude of formats. The informative, yet entertaining reading allows for a hands-on approach in communicating corporate responsibility issues at Deutsche Telekom. “‘We Care’ enables users to experience our efforts in a transparent, informative, and entertaining new way,” notes Kotulla.

Spotlight on cyber security

A good example is the recent app magazine titled “Confidential,” which is about
data privacy and security. Since every second internet user in Germany is a victim of a cyber assault, Deutsche Telekom, as an ICT company, is strongly engaged in securing its systems. The number of hacker attacks is growing fast. Deutsche Telekom registers more than one million attacks a day on its network infrastructure and web portals. Therefore, security is paramount for Deutsche Telekom, 99 percent of these attacks can be averted through properly maintained IT systems. The Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the company uses digital decoys called “honeypots”, to deliberately lure viruses and worms into a fake system. After being caught, the cyber security professionals at Deutsche Telekom then analyze the viruses to develop a cure.

On “We Care,” the issue is highlighted through different formats: An animated story illustrates some of the more common online traps faced by consumers. Logging into a WiFi network at a café? It is a common local used by hackers to launch cyber attacks using fake networks. Are you using a portable USB stick? This might be a bad idea, as USBs can be used as channels for malware transfers. The story also highlights the importance of frequently updating computers and mobile devices.

In another story a trainee for the Cyber Security Professional program undergoing training for two and a half years is interviewed and offers personal views on work perspectives at the company. A strong visualization for the online threat is a war room-like map: While reading the article about honeypots, illustrations on the origins of cyber attacks on Deutsche Telekom’s network infrastructure give the reader an idea of the scale of the attacks that the company faces.

Media education

The corporate responsibility activities and products of Deutsche Telekom comprise a broad range of solutions within the field of telecommunications. There are many aspects of Deutsche Telekom’s engagement on which the “We Care” application sheds light: from data security to media awareness campaigns for different stakeholder groups – such as students and private customers – to solutions for smart homes and the training of cyber security professionals. From November 2014 to May 2015, there have been more than 40,000 total downloads on Android and Apple devices.

“We Care” is the result of a workshop at Deutsche Telekom held in 2014 in which the needs and expectations of target groups concerning the user experience were put center stage. About 30 participants gathered ideas on how to communicate Deutsche Telekom’s commitment to society. The age of the participants varied significantly. “Our youngest participant was a working student of 19. We also had a participant 80 years of age who was not accustomed to mobile apps. In the end, the different points of view helped create an intuitive user experience,” explains Gabriele Kotulla.