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First Orion: Branded Calling Will Re-Establish Trust in the Phone CallFirst Orion: Branded Calling Will Re-Establish Trust in the Phone Call

In this Q&A, First Orion and Neustar explain why branded mobile device communication and STIR/SHAKEN must be top of mind for organizations in 2022.

Dana Casielles

March 11, 2022

5 Min Read
First Orion: Branded Calling Will Re-Establish Trust in the Phone Call
Image: Eleftherios Papoulias - Alamy Stock Photo

First Orion, a provider of phone call and data analysis solutions, and Neustar, an identity resolution provider, expanded their partnership last month to accelerate enterprise adoption of branded calling and STIR/SHAKEN call authentication via a single consolidated platform.

 

Branded calling adds a company's name, logo, and reason for calling to the call screen. Its purpose is to protect consumers from robocalls and call spoofing by leveraging STIR/SHAKEN call authentication. STIR/SHAKEN is a collection of protocols and procedures designed to combat caller ID spoofing on public phone networks. When combined, both elevate and ensure the trustworthiness of the content displayed to the call recipients.

 

Mike Coleman, SVP, channel chief, First Orion, Scott Hambuchen, CIO, First Orion, and Jason Torrey, VP of Business Development & Partnerships, Neustar, recently spoke with No Jitter. They discussed the value of this extended partnership, how these integrated solutions can benefit the customer experience, and security priorities that should be top of mind for organizations this year.

 

“By branding calls at scale, we're re-establishing the trust in the phone call and giving the consumer assurance the call they are receiving is authorized and can be answered without the fear of being scammed or phished,” Mike Coleman, SVP Channel Chief, First Orion, said.

 

Responses have been edited for conciseness and clarity.

 

First Orion and Neustar have expanded their partnership to accelerate the adoption of branded calling and STIR/SHAKEN call authentication for enterprises through one consolidated platform. How does this partnership advance branded calling for the benefit of both customers and end-users who receive the calls?

MC: This partnership helps further the adoption of branded calling and STIR/SHAKEN call authentication by providing enterprises access to a compelling solution that allows them to solve the real business problem of engaging with customers via the phone channel. Together, First Orion and Neustar deliver nearly 100 million branded calls each month—a number expected to increase drastically in 2022 as more businesses adopt the technology.

 

In what ways does branded calling work with STIR/SHAKEN call authentication?

JT: Increasingly, mobile devices provide a verification mark on incoming call screens to inform consumers about the authenticity of the telephone number making that call. STIR/SHAKEN powers this authentication mark—the international standard and deployment framework deployed to combat robocalls and spoofed calls.

 

When combined with branded calling—which adds rich content like the caller’s name, a brand logo, or images that show who is calling and the reason for the call—it further elevates and ensures the trustworthiness of the content displayed to the call recipients.

 

In support of our mission to restore trust in calling, Neustar, a TransUnion company, and First Orion have joined forces to accelerate the adoption of STIR/SHAKEN call authentication in combination with branded calling.

 

First Orion and Neustar customers include financial institutions, healthcare and insurance organizations, retailers, and government agencies. Can you provide concrete examples of how this partnership can improve a government agency’s call answer rates? How can the partnership help enhance the customer experience a retailer offers? Or reverse revenue loss?

MC: About 90% of consumers don’t feel comfortable answering unidentified calls, primarily due to the number of scam calls they receive. In 2021 alone, there were an estimated 110 billion scam calls, 88 million scam victims, and $44.2B in scam losses in the U.S.

 

Branded Communication allows businesses to customize mobile displays for outbound dialing that deliver call context to consumers’ devices—including full name, business logo, and the reason for calling. In the retail space, providing customers with this kind of context when calling has led to a 39% increase in contact rate. A more specific benefit of Branded Communication for retailers is an increased engagement rate when contacting customers to ensure someone is home to receive a delivery.

 

For example, a retailer currently utilizing our INFORM branded caller ID solution is experiencing a cost savings of $100 per avoided missed delivery.

 

What steps is First Orion taking to mitigate illegal robocalls?

MC: When businesses use Branded Communication, their calls are verified through the carrier network and displayed as verified on the consumers' device—a complex method of authentication that helps prevent numbers from being spoofed.

 

Businesses utilizing Branded Communication are vetted upon registration with a "trust-but-verify" model using multitudes of complex sources and processes. Fraud prevention against illegal robocalls leverages complex anomaly detection models and processes integrated with carrier networks and platform providers that are constantly updating to defend against the latest tactics used by bad actors.

 

First Orion's technology is designed with integrated STIR/SHAKEN and Rich Call Data (RCD) capabilities. In addition, First Orion has carrier-grade solutions embedded in large Tier 1 carrier networks with proven results in communications protection solutions.

 

The STIR/SHAKEN framework and Branded Communication technologies, when combined, inform the call recipient of the reason for the call and its legitimacy. Upcoming solutions will enhance the Branded Communication offering by requiring an even more stringent authentication process for calls before they hit the network.

 

Name some security priorities that should be top of mind for organizations in 2022. What makes these priorities so important?

SH: Reputation monitoring, call authentication, and branded communication are critical security components protecting [companies’] brand. Scammers continue to negatively impact consumers and the companies they illegally spoof. Businesses that care about brand reputation should care how they show up on the phone when calling customers. Consumers do not answer calls from unknown numbers. However, consumers confidently answer calls from companies embracing trust and transparency and utilizing branded communication solutions. Make branding mobile device communication top of mind for organizations in 2022.

 

Don’t miss First Orion at Enterprise Connect in Orlando, Fla., March 21-24. You can find our complete list of exhibitors here.

About the Author

Dana Casielles

Dana Casielles is an associate editor and blogger for No Jitter, Informa Tech's online community for news and analysis of the enterprise convergence/unified communications industry.

Before transitioning into this role, Dana worked as a digital content specialist to help a small business rebrand and build a better reputation. Prior to this, she briefly held a position as a copywriter for Career Education Corporation, where she served as a point of contact for marketing and strategic communications for three separate brands. 

Prior to testing the waters of the higher education and genetic testing industries, she was a copywriter for Internet Brands, a company that operates online media, community, and e-commerce sites in vertical markets. Here, she led the development of content and social media initiatives to drive new business, social engagement, website traffic, lead nurturing, and lead generation. 

Dana earned her Bachelor's degree from Columbia College Chicago. In her spare time, you'll find her freelancing, journaling, keeping her Hemingway cat entertained, or whipping up something in the kitchen.