This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2025 report
TELUS has reached a significant milestone, ranking among the top 15 most valuable telecoms brands worldwide while maintaining its position as Canada’s strongest and most valuable telecoms brand. This achievement is the result of a steadfast commitment to social purpose, cutting-edge technology, and an unwavering focus on customer experience.
Over the past 25 years, TELUS has evolved from a regional telecoms provider into a global leader in communications and digital solutions. By investing in world-class networks, fostering community impact, and embracing digital transformation, TELUS continues to set itself apart in a competitive landscape—proving that doing good is not just beneficial for society but also a powerful driver of business success.
Jill Schnarr, Chief Communications and Brand Officer at TELUS, shares insights about the brand's growth in a new spotlight.
Interview with Jill Schnarr
Chief Communications
and Brand Officer,
TELUS
This year, TELUS has entered the top 15 most valuable telecom brands globally while maintaining its position as Canada’s most valuable and strongest in the telecom sector. What factors have set you apart from the competition and enabled your continued success?
For 25 years, our TELUS brand has been making the future friendly for our customers in Canada and around the world. From our roots as a regional phone company in Western Canada, to the launch of our national TELUS brand in 2000, to becoming the global communications and information technology powerhouse that we are today, our brand sets us apart from our competition through a strong, human connection with our customers.
Our incredible growth and success are a reflection of our deep commitment to leading with social purpose, our delivery of exceptional customer service and our unwavering investment into our world leading networks – all underpinned by TELUS’ passionate team. In fact, since 2000, we have given USD1.8 billion to our local communities, including 2.4 million days of volunteering by our team members globally – more than any other company in the world.
Our model has proven that doing good is good for business, too. Beyond making a positive impact in our community, our commitment to social purpose has increased our corporate reputation, enhanced customer retention, attracted top talent, influenced billions of dollars in new revenue for our business and continued to drive incredible lifts in customer consideration, value for money, trust and brand appeal.
In September 2024, you launched a global rebrand of TELUS International, transitioning to TELUS Digital. The new name reflects the company’s commitment to providing a digital-first experience across all the services it delivers to clients. How critical has the brand been—and will continue to be—in bringing this promise to life beyond the telecom core business?
TELUS has undergone a significant evolution over the past 25 years. Powered by our social purpose to leverage our global-leading technology for good, we have expanded into new areas like virtual and in-person healthcare through our TELUS Health business, and we now support the delivery of efficient and sustainable supply chains through our TELUS Agriculture and Consumer Goods business.
Established in 2005, TELUS Digital has been and will continue to be a critical part of that evolution. Our global rebrand builds upon the company’s rich history, while also becoming more reflective of the breadth of the business and its commitment to providing exceptional digital-first and AI-fuelled customer experiences that drive remarkable outcomes, driven by talented team members.
We are at the forefront of the digital revolution, and our TELUS Digital brand is a reflection of our full spectrum of innovative solutions, both existing and prospective, as well as our commitment to making a meaningful difference in the communities we operate in.
These innovative capabilities are elevating our end-to end customer journey, solving business challenges, mitigating risks, and driving tremendous growth and economic value for TELUS Digital’s global clients, many of which are well-known brand names.
Employee engagement can significantly impact brand perception. How does TELUS involve employees contributing to and aligning with the brand's values and goals?
At TELUS, we know that our team members are our most powerful brand ambassadors. Our people are the cornerstone of our high-performance culture, reflecting our customers-first mindset, commitment to diversity, inclusion and community efforts. These values are deeply embedded into who we are, what we do and how we work.
One of the reasons our social purpose has been successful is that our team members are actively encouraged to live our values daily through meaningful initiatives like TELUS Days of Giving, which empowers employees to directly impact their communities, and through the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation and our 19 Community Boards, which allow us to take an active role in the communities that we serve. In fact, over the last two decades, we have consistently delivered on our commitment to leverage technology for good, supporting our local communities through grants, donations and our Connecting for Good programs that provide free and low-cost high-speed internet, mobility and accessibility services to Canadians who need it.
The success of this approach is reflected in our consistently high employee engagement scores and industry recognition.
When team members feel personally connected to our mission of leveraging technology for social good, it naturally translates into stronger customer relationships and enhanced brand perception.
What key trends do you envisage as being the most important in the industry over the next three years, and how can brands navigate or capitalise on those?
At the industry level, we expect the next few years to bring continued 5G network expansion and Internet of Things (IoT) advancements, deeper AI integration and a strong focus on enhanced customer experiences. To stay competitive in this evolving landscape, we are looking to differentiate ourselves as a global technology company and solutions provider, not just a Canadian telecom, and our brand positioning reflects this.
At a societal level, we also need to understand the trends that are likely to influence consumer behaviour and their expectations of brands. We already know that attention spans are declining, which means brands must rethink how they engage with consumers to capture their attention and drive engagement. For us, this means focusing on delivering seamless, intuitive and personalised solutions. We know that our customers expect omnichannel experiences, where they can switch between self-serve apps, AI chatbots, live agents and in-store support without friction.
To capture attention and drive engagement, brands must leverage hyper-personalised marketing, immersive digital experiences and real-time interactions across social and digital platforms. By aligning with customer values and simplified messaging, TELUS can build deeper emotional connections, fostering trust and long-term brand affinity.
