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Kinetic Internet wins Provider Marketing Award; Tbaytel wins Retail Award; DIRECTV, ResearchFirst & Tremendous win Alternate Channels Award; Calix wins both Vendor Marketing and Call Center Awards.

PORTLAND, Ore., May 2, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- At the recent annual meeting for the BMMA () in Portland, Oregon, the winners of the BMMA 2025 Best in Class Marketing & Sales Awards were announced.

"Each year, the Board of Directors recognizes successful teams and companies that demonstrate innovation and excellence in marketing and sales of broadband services," said Charlie Conway, Executive Director, BMMA. The service provider winners are Tbaytel, Kinetic, and DIRECTV. In addition, the vendor recipients are Tremendous and Calix. "Each award-winning team demonstrates best-in-class marketing and sales execution to deliver superior broadband products and services to their customers," Conway added. The winners of this year's awards are:

1. Provider Marketing Award: Kinetic for "The Kinetic Fiber Fast Segment Growth Program"

Kinetic's Fiber Growth Program was honored with the BMMA Best in Class Provider Marketing Award. Launched in June 2023, their Fiber Growth program was designed to accelerate customer acquisition and transition current customers from older DSL technologies to state-of-the-art fiber optic internet.

Initially targeting new fiber markets, the Fiber Growth Program aimed to raise awareness of Kinetic's recent infrastructure investments, highlighting the superior benefits and value of fiber technology over other technologies. This strategic initiative resulted in significant customer growth during its initial test phase, which led to an expanded rollout in 2024. By then, Kinetic had successfully extended its reach to 1.6 million households across 18 states, reinforcing its presence and reintroducing services in tenured fiber markets.

Driven by a fiber-first communication and campaign strategy, Kinetic discovered substantial opportunities to educate consumers about fiber technology, its availability and its long-term economic benefits for local markets. The success of this program throughout 2024 prompted its evolution into a primary business strategy by 2025, marking a pivotal expansion in Kinetic's market approach.

The Fiber Growth Program's success has positioned Kinetic as a leader in fiber optic internet services, offering reliable network solutions that cater to the growing broadband speed and capacity needs of its customers.

2. Vendor Marketing Award: Calix for "Calix Engagement Cloud"

In 2024, Calix continued redefining how their customers go to market with new services. No longer an industry where markets are won competing on speed and price, Calix empowered broadband service providers (BSPs) to deliver personalized value for every subscriber. Calix crafted a new go-to-market model for BSPs that innovates and transforms their business to compete on superior subscriber experiences versus speed and price alone. By leveraging Calix Engagement Cloud prospect data, BSPs segmented markets into real people—families, work-from-home professionals, seniors, and gamers—and tailored services to their unique needs. With tools like the Electronic Content Builder, Market Activation Video Editor, and the Calix Web Builder, BSPs of all sizes, budgets, and brand levels can launch targeted, value-based offers to lead in their markets and grow their businesses. This isn't just marketing—it's a shift toward deeper connection. Calix is proud to support the industry's evolution as BSPs transform into broadband experience providers.

"To create messaging that truly resonates with subscribers, a broadband service provider's go-to-market approach should reflect the everyday lives of their subscribers," said Pam Ferguson, corporate vice president of global product and field marketing at Calix. "At Calix, we are reimagining how our customers go-to-market with new service offerings—not with louder messages, but with smarter, more human ones. By using personalized insights in Calix Engagement Cloud to craft relatable content, Calix helps BSPs engage with any subscriber: the work-from-home parent, a streaming family, or a rural senior discovering new ways to stay connected. True success is not measured by growth alone—it is about transforming connection into loyalty and loyalty into advocacy. That is the future Calix is building—one meaningful interaction at a time."

Calix partners with BSPs of every type—telcos, co-ops, cable/MSOs, WISPs, municipalities, and electric co-ops—to help them transform into broadband experience providers (BXPs) that deliver lasting community value through innovative tools and strategies. Adopting value-based offers (VBOs) enables BSPs to deliver personalized, insight-driven promotions that boost customer loyalty, conversions, and revenue. Complementing this strategy, the Electronic Content Builder allows providers to quickly create professional marketing materials without design skills, while the Market Activation Video Editor Platform provides over 300 ready-to-use videos, including a popular series with comedian Gerry Dee. These innovations help BSPs stand out, drive engagement, strengthen their brand, and drive growth.

3. Alternate Channels Award: DIRECTV, ResearchFirst & Tremendous for "Enhanced Sales Incentive Program to Drive Incremental Activations of Internet and Video Services"

In Q4 2023, DIRECTV and ResearchFirst launched a pilot program aimed at streamlining and modernizing their sales incentive system, which had previously relied on a patchwork of inconsistent and manually intensive reward methods—including various forms of gift cards, partner-funded rewards, and non-monetary prizes. The existing approach lacked uniformity, introduced operational inefficiencies, and offered limited visibility into performance analytics. To address these challenges, ResearchFirst proposed a three-month pilot to test a more consistent incentive model. After evaluating vendors, DIRECTV selected Tremendous for digital reward fulfillment, enabling a program that prioritized timely delivery, recipient choice, process clarity, and improved oversight. Key goals included driving greater sales engagement, streamlining budget control, and increasing activations of Internet and Video services.

The pilot, launched in December 2023, included over 1,500 electronic gift card options for eligible sales reps and an additional 500 localized options for offshore participants in countries such as Jamaica and South Africa. A specific subset of DIRECTV's ISP partners was chosen for participation, with no extra funding required beyond the existing incentive budget. As part of the pilot, a detailed process flow was created and approved by both organizations. Once active, qualifying sales triggered immediate notifications to sales representatives via email and text, allowing them to select their rewards through the Tremendous portal. Fulfillment was nearly instantaneous, with rewards delivered electronically within minutes, marking a significant improvement in both user experience and operational efficiency.

"Tremendous makes it easy for DIRECTV and ResearchFirst to deliver a convenient, personalized incentive experience that keeps sales reps engaged, no matter where they're located. And by streamlining tracking and reporting, the team was able to focus its time on optimizing and scaling the program for maximum impact," said Scott Shepard, Head of Sales at Tremendous.

Initial feedback from agents was positive. Further, results confirmed incremental sales and increased participation and frequency among eligible agents. Results were compared to control groups of agents not participating in the pilot. It was immediately evident that the performance among participants in the pilot was significantly improved versus non-participating sales groups. The results continued to trend positive through December. By mid-December, DIRECTV and ResearchFirst agreed to launch the full-scale deployment across all partners on January 1, 2024.

"We've tested many different incentive platforms in the market. The partnership with Tremendous and ResearchFirst has been by far the most effective. The program has provided our agents and sellers with an immediate and streamlined incentive that allows them the flexibility to use their awards on their terms," said Frank Rebel, Senior Director of ISP Sales at DIRECTV.

In Q4 2024, ResearchFirst undertook a research project to assess the perception of the Reward Program. Initial results indicate high satisfaction and higher likelihood to offer synthetic bundles of internet plus DIRECTV.

"The Impact Study results reinforce what we've been hearing from our partners: the Reward Program is delivering real value and driving greater momentum behind internet and DIRECTV bundles," said Justin Roland, Senior Director at ResearchFirst. "The Tremendous platform has been a key enabler, offering enhanced visibility, streamlined fulfillment, and robust reporting that allow us to manage performance with precision and scale."

4. Retail Award: Tbaytel for "AI-Driven Success within Tbaytel Sales"

Tbaytel began integrating AI into its Sales Department in April 2024, following the development of a strategic coaching framework across its four sales channels. The goal was to enhance sales coaching without increasing headcount. By using tools like Transkriptor and ChatGPT, Tbaytel significantly reduced the time managers spent reviewing calls and providing tailored feedback, while maintaining the accuracy and integrity of evaluations. Custom-trained models ensured channel-specific insights and realistic assessments, forming the foundation for the branded "Sales Coaching Assistant," which improved scalability, consistency, and coaching quality.

AI was also used to generate personalized coaching plans for each sales representative, analyzing evaluations to suggest improvements and actionable steps. Additionally, AI-powered productivity tools helped summarize complex business conversations, highlighting key takeaways and action items. This fostered greater accountability and streamlined communication with both internal teams and external stakeholders.

"At Tbaytel Sales, innovation isn't just important — it's a driving force behind our success. This award celebrates the remarkable progress we've made by seamlessly embedding AI into our sales operations," said Justin Nucci, Director of Sales at Tbaytel. "By combining cutting-edge technology with a people-first mindset, we've transformed coaching, elevated performance, and enriched the customer experience. This milestone is a testament to our pursuit of smarter, more personalized, and scalable solutions — powering success for our customers and our team, today and into the future."

To summarize and expand, Tbaytel Sales has effectively integrated AI across several key areas to enhance productivity, coaching, and sales performance. AI has been leveraged for transcription and evaluation as part of the Sales Coaching process, allowing for more efficient and consistent feedback. At the individual level, tailored coaching plans are created for staff based on AI-reviewed evaluations, offering personalized recommendations and action steps. AI also generates detailed call summaries, including action items and next steps, helping streamline follow-up and communication. Additionally, AI tools assist in reviewing and summarizing RFx documents, saving time and improving accuracy. Sales pipeline inspection has been enhanced through real-time monitoring and updates to deal statuses. Tbaytel has also adopted Einstein Conversation Insights (ECI), which records calls directly into Salesforce, provides summaries, identifies action items, and highlights trending keywords such as pricing or competitor mentions—further empowering the sales team with valuable insights.

Tbaytel Sales successfully implemented an AI-driven strategy to enhance coaching effectiveness, improve sales performance, and drive financial success. By integrating AI-powered tools, Tbaytel achieved significant outcomes, including a 15% increase in deal closure rates and a 35+ hour reduction in weekly managerial coaching time. AI also enabled more frequent and personalized coaching, leading to higher rep retention and skill development. Financially, Tbaytel realized both cost savings from reduced manual tasks and increased revenue from improved sales productivity. The use of AI tools also enhanced customer experience, with more tailored interactions and better follow-through, resulting in reduced churn and higher satisfaction. Overall, Tbaytel's AI-driven approach not only boosted sales performance but also set a new benchmark for scalable, repeatable success across sales channels, ensuring continued growth and improved customer relationships.

5. Call Center Award: Calix for "Calix Service Cloud"

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, broadband service providers (BSPs) must continuously adapt to maintain a competitive edge. For customer support, this evolution means creating a proactive, end-to-end service experience rather than merely resolving subscriber issues.

Challenges often arise when different departments manage separate touchpoints, such as onsite installations, inbound support calls, and operational tasks, making it difficult to deliver a seamless experience. As support teams play a bigger role in the subscriber experience, customer service representatives (CSRs) are shifting from issue resolution to proactive engagement—helping prevent problems and recommending services that add value. The stakes are high: 50% of consumers say they'll switch providers after just one bad support experience (per a customer service survey).

Calix Service Cloud is core to enabling support organizations to gain a 360-perspective of the subscriber experience, from the first touchpoint of installation and throughout the service journey. With end-to-end visibility across subscribers, services, and systems, Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams can improve call times, reduce escalations, avoid truck rolls, and proactively prevent issues before they impact subscribers. The Field Service App, a new Service Cloud tool, further enables BSPs to streamline support operations with greater intelligence and automation to help improve the subscriber experience and reduce subscriber churn. Together, these capabilities increase operational efficiency, allowing BSPs to improve OPEX during a time of investment while boosting subscriber satisfaction and loyalty.

"BSPs are shifting their focus from pure connectivity to delivering differentiated experiences," said John Durocher, chief customer officer at Calix. "In doing so, they are redefining what it means to provide exceptional service with every interaction. With Calix Service Cloud, teams get the visibility and tools they need to lead proactively, delivering personalized engagements that drive satisfaction and build long-term loyalty. As our customers evolve into broadband experience providers, subscriber experiences become a key advantage that fuels growth, helps achieve meaningful business outcomes, and creates lasting value for the communities they serve."

About the BMMA

The BMMA is an international organization dedicated to helping Telco internet service providers and their vendors advance the adoption, use, and sales of broadband services.

Our membership includes many of the key Telco and broadband vendor organizations in North America and is open to any broadband industry Telco service provider, vendor, CPE manufacturer, government agency, consultant, analyst, or other party with a demonstrated interest in promoting the mission of the BMMA.

Our goal is to advance the adoption, use, and sales of broadband services by identifying key industry success factors and sharing best practice marketing, sales, care, and customer experience initiatives, new product and customer trends and other relevant industry information.

Please see our website at for more information or to apply for membership in the BMMA.

BMMA is managed by ResearchFirst, Inc. (), a market research and consulting firm specializing in telecommunications needs and technologies. ResearchFirst has been helping clients better understand their markets through primary research and drive increases sales through optimization engagements. ResearchFirst has been bringing industry leaders together through telecom conferences and association management since 1987. Annual conferences address broadband services marketing, consumer services bundling and packaging, as well as sales channel and operations topics.

Media Contact

Charlie Conway, ResearchFirst, Inc., 1 571-439-5327, [email protected],

Stan Romero, BMMA, 1 205-960-5254, [email protected],

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SOURCE ResearchFirst, Inc.