Indonesia’s real estate market has experienced substantial growth and digital transformation over the past decade. From online listings and virtual property tours to digital transactions, real estate brands are increasingly adopting innovative technologies to improve operational efficiency and deliver improved customer experience.

We sat down with Aji Rachman, Senior VP Customer Relation & Service Quality at  Sinar Mas Land to learn what’s driving customer experience in the real estate market of Indonesia and how their brand manages to stay on top.

According to Rachman, customer experience directly impacts trust, loyalty, and referrals in the real estate business. Customers expect fast, seamless, 24/7 support across multiple channels, and delayed follow-up can result in lost leads or damaged reputation, so providing seamless experiences is critical for them.  

Conversational messaging: An important CX attribute

Nowadays, customer expectations have changed. They expect fast and clear responses from brands, whether they are enquiring about a property listing or billing information.

Given the high-value nature of real estate transactions, customers often prefer to interact with company representatives regarding down payments, interest rates, EMIs, and more, even before visiting any property site.

Traditional channels like email or SMS often prove insufficient to build engagement as customers seek real-time interaction, making conversational messaging important for brands. 

In Indonesia, conversational messaging is gaining huge traction. According to our Messaging Trends Report 2025, we have seen a 59% increase in messaging interactions on our platform, with WhatsApp usage alone increasing by 110%. 

WhatsApp: The communication channel of choice 

Indonesia has the 3rd largest WhatsApp user base in the world, with a penetration rate of 91%.  Around 112 million people use WhatsApp in the country, which makes it an ideal channel for businesses to remain connected with their customers. 

Sinar Mas Land made WhatsApp its primary communication tool for engaging with clients and supporting its real estate operations. The company has also started using WhatsApp Business Calling to provide seamless voice support to its customers. 

How to build an omnichannel customer journey 

Single-channel communication is no longer effective as modern customers hop between platforms and channels. This makes it important for brands to adopt an omnichannel approach that facilitates consistent customer communication across all devices, platforms, and channels. 

Sinar Mas Land has adopted an omnichannel strategy unifying WhatsApp, social media, and email. For example, WhatsApp is used for FAQs, lead generation, and booking appointments, while email is leveraged for more formal or complex issues.

The synergy across platforms ensures customers don’t need to repeat information and can access support on their preferred channel. By creating an omnichannel environment, the real estate giant was able to reduce agent workload, speed up lead conversion time, and ensure better SLA compliance.  

Creating a unified communication experience 

Brands often fragment their channel-specific communication, resulting in customers receiving duplicated or irrelevant messages. For example, when customers change their communication channel in the middle of a conversation or reconnect with the brand later, the context gets lost, and customers have to repeat their queries, resulting in increased dissatisfaction.  

Disjointed communication leads to confusion and misinterpretations of facts, affecting the team’s productivity. As per our conversational CX Maturity Report, 51% of brands struggle with fragmented tools that aren’t aligned or synced.

We enabled Sinar Mas Land to overcome fragmented communication and inefficiencies through our customer experience suite: 

• Chatbot building platform
• Cloud contact center solution
• Customer data platform

The result was a unified communication experience for the customers and a higher satisfaction score. For Sinar Mas Land, moving to a more organized system enabled them to have full visibility of customer interactions and intelligent routing of conversations.  

Innovation for CX transformation

To sustain this competitive business environment, brands must stay agile and proactive in adopting emerging technologies. Communication trends keep changing, and what is considered important today may not be relevant tomorrow, so businesses must be innovative. Sinar Mas Land has been a forerunner in experimenting with innovative technologies to make their processes better.

According to Rachman, the company has been exploring the use of customer data for personalized promotions to make after-sales service a key growth lever.  And to support these futuristic goals, the company thinks GenAI would play a key role.  

Automation & AI: The future of real estate communication 

As the digital shift accelerates, real estate players will not hesitate to adopt innovative solutions and new technologies. 

Rachman states, “Trends like AI-powered chatbots, conversational messaging, and hyper-personalization will become increasingly important. Automation, such as recommendation tagging, priority tags, and seamless transfer to agents, will allow real estate companies to scale efficiently while still offering tailored interactions.” 

Use of advanced AI technologies like Generative AI and Agentic AI will help brands respond to customer inquiries faster and deliver human-like responses.  

Infobip x Sinar Mas Land: A partnership that brings results 

We are not just a technology solution provider but a strategic communication partner of Sinar Mas Land. We have helped the company enhance its communication process and create a holistic customer experience environment.  

As Rachman puts it, “Infobip offered not just a technical solution, but a strategic partnership. Their ability to unify multiple communication channels into a single platform was a decisive factor. It helps us streamline customer interactions, ensure faster response times, and deliver consistent, personalized experiences. They help us stay ahead in delivering a modern, customer-first experience.” 

Sinar Mas Land’s journey demonstrates how a forward-thinking business can transform its communication process by embracing omnichannel communication. As a global technology provider, we have been helping many businesses like Sinar Mas Land adopt conversational messaging, AI, and innovative technologies to improve their customer experience.    

While most tech companies are eager to show off new features, Galdon Data’s first step is to listen to what businesses truly need. Based in Johannesburg and backed by more than two decades of experience in unified communications, Galdon Data puts understanding customers first and the sales pitch last. 

Timothy van den Berg, who has been with the company for 15 years, puts this philosophy into practice daily. Before suggesting any technology or solutions, he sits down with customers to understand the complexities of their business operations.  

This patient way of working allows them to go beyond the typical industry approach of demos and feature checklists. This deep commitment to understanding client needs first is precisely why Galdon Data partnered with Infobip to deliver conversational solutions that align with what their customers require, rather than pushing generic technology. 

When technical capability meets customer understanding

Building direct integrations with major platforms requires significant time and technical resources. As Galdon Data’s technology partner, we’ve taken care of the heavy lifting by establishing connections with industry leaders and developing ready-to-use solutions. This enables Galdon Data to quickly customize, deploy, and accelerate results. 

This foundation was crucial at Infobip’s Partner Day in Johannesburg, where Galdon Data won Technology Partner of the Year. The award-winning project involved a large-scale public sector transformation, integrating over 15 backend systems with A2P messaging capabilities. Using our SMS APIs, Galdon Data deployed an Email-to-SMS solution for over 2,500 staff members and a no-code SMS builder in just four months. 

Rather than spending months on integration logistics, Galdon Data could focus on their core strength: understanding client needs and crafting solutions that work. This approach positions them as a single partner for their clients’ entire unified communications journey. Instead of juggling multiple vendors, customers work with one team that understands their entire ecosystem, from Microsoft Teams and Zoom platforms to WhatsApp for Business and SMS. 

The importance of reliable data in customer engagement 

A critical but often overlooked barrier to effective customer engagement is a common issue: outdated information. Businesses collect overwhelming amounts of data, but without a regular cleanup or a clear strategy, that data becomes obsolete, scattered, or completely disconnected from what customers want. 

The result is frustration. Customers get calls about products they stopped using years ago, to phone numbers they stopped using, sometimes even helping companies correct their own data. It’s not just inefficient; it damages relationships and erodes trust. 

That’s where Infobip’s solutions come in – thanks to our technical know-how and ready-to-use solutions, partners like Galdon Data can maintain their focus on building relationships, which, as they know, are built on reliable data.  

AI’s real promise: Respecting people’s time and preferences 

For Galdon Data, the rapid advancement of AI opens new possibilities for customer engagement. The real transformation isn’t about the technology itself but about fundamentally respecting how and when customers want to be contacted. 

By using Infobip’s SMS APIs, Email-to-SMS solutions, and no-code campaign builders, Galdon Data can create customer journeys that work on individual terms and preferred timing. These tools enable the kind of personalized, preference-driven engagement that customers increasingly expect. 

Picture a customer setting a preference and saying, “If you need to discuss my account, text me after 6 PM on WhatsApp, and only if it’s important.” That level of control becomes possible when the right technology foundation supports customer-first thinking.  

Timothy notes that the industry is moving toward a revolution prioritizing convenience and relevance over volume and frequency. 

Local insight meets global connectivity 

Combining Galdon Data’s deep customer experience knowledge and our global technical infrastructure creates something powerful: The ability to move from scattered, generic outreach to cohesive, customer-focused communication. 

When asked to summarize Infobip in three words, Tim chose innovative, exceptional, and caring. In a field usually defined by technical specs and uptime statistics, that last word caring, truly sets our partnership apart. 

As customer expectations evolve, combining local insight and global connectivity isn’t just a competitive advantage, it’s becoming essential for building lasting relationships rather than driving customers away. 

Is there a more loyal group of consumers than sports fans? Doubtful. Brands can only dream of the devotion fans show their teams no matter the losses, trades, or heartbreak. Just ask the Toronto Maple Leafs, who haven’t lifted the Stanley Cup since ‘67 but still pack their arena with diehard fans all season long. 

But even the most loyal fans are looking for a deeper connection with their team: 

Source: Infobip sports fan engagement report 2025

That’s where the opportunity lies for the average brand that wants to tap into the energy behind the world of sports. From airlines to retailers, you don’t have to be a sports brand to step in and create digital experiences that resonate with your customers who are also sports fans.

In this blog, we’ll break down what sports marketing is, traditional sports marketing strategies, and innovative and creative strategies that add a new level of fan experience to the game.  

1. Explore endorsements
2. Sponsorships 
3. eSport marketing 
4. Run parallel campaigns 
5. Hold a contest 
6. Social sharing 
7. Predictions and polls 
8. Cause-driven campaigns

8 sports marketing examples and strategies any brand can try 

1. Explore endorsements 

Your mind might go straight to “massive budget” when you hear anything about a sport endorsement, and that is the case if you are after sponsoring big-time athletes. Some of the greatest collaborations have come from athlete endorsements, like Nike and Michael Jordan, or Beckham and Armani (if you know, you know).  

But that’s not always necessary. 

Today, thanks to social media platforms and digital sport-spaces, brands can get more creative and niche with their endorsements and still get amazing reach and visibility for their brand. 

If endorsing the Ronaldo’s and Brady’s of the world is out of your marketing budget, consider collaborating with a social media influencer or a sports podcast. There are tons of creators who focus on sports content, reaction videos, discussing highlights, and more and have a massive following at that. In a recent Infobip survey, sports fans shared how they consume sports content on a weekly basis: 

This is a great way to strategically align your brand with a sport or league. We say strategically because it’s important to ensure your endorsement makes sense. If you’re a fast-food restaurant, endorsing an athlete might lead to some backlash. There are other marketing efforts that will work better for you – more on that later. 

2. Sponsorships 

Sponsorships are one of the most effective sports marketing strategies, and the good news is they can fit almost any budget. While sponsoring mega teams delivers global exposure, smaller wins like backing local clubs, community sports leagues, or grassroots events often resonate more intimately with fans, creating authentic connections that big-name partnerships can’t always match. 

Here are some opportunities brands can explore: 

• Kit sponsorship: Get great brand exposure with your logo on a kit. Every team and player has to wear one, so there is always an opportunity. 
• Product placement: From clothing to footwear, sports equipment to the energy bars that players consume during breaks, there are a myriad of opportunities to get your products in the limelight. 
• Pitch-side advertising: An obvious one but not to be overlooked as the target audience for these billboards can be extended exponentially when events are televised, or clips are shared on YouTube by fans. 
• Transport sponsorship: Teams need to travel to games. Getting your brand on the team bus will get it seen by tens of thousands on the way. 
• Sponsor the little leagues: Parents and communities get just as hyped up about the kids’ leagues as they do about the pros; being a ref in little league hockey is no easy job. By sponsoring the little teams, you can get your brand name out in the community and build a reputation as a family friendly, and reliable brand that parents will love. 

3. Don’t sleep on eSports marketing

eSports may be more niche than traditional sports, but that’s exactly where its power lies. Millions of fans tune in live on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, building tight-knit communities that watch, comment, and celebrate together in real time. Unlike traditional broadcasts, this shared experience feels interactive and personal, making it the perfect space for brands that want to connect more authentically with fans. 

The market is massive and growing fast (projected to hit $2B+ by 2032), but success in eSports isn’t about plastering logos on streams, it’s about showing up where the community is and speaking their language. Brands that respect the culture can build closer, more genuine ties with fans. 

Ways to get started:

• Partner with grassroots leagues and university eSports teams: affordable sponsorships that reach highly engaged players and fans. 
• Collaborate with streamers: creators who already have loyal communities can bring your brand into the conversation naturally. 
• Support community tournaments: local and niche competitions can deliver intimate, authentic fan engagement. 

eSports marketing efforts offer something just as valuable as traditional sports marketing, a deep connection with fans who live and breathe the culture. 

4. Run parallel campaigns 

Run a marketing campaign ‘inspired’ by major sporting events. If you’re brave enough to try ambush marketing, it could work, but it’s pretty risky. If you’re unfamiliar, ambush marketing is when a brand hijacks the attention around a major event without actually sponsoring it.  

For instance, Adidas was the official sponsor of the London Olympics, but Nike ran a clever ambush campaign without spending a dime on sponsorships. The campaign was called “Find Your Greatness” and instead of featuring the Olympics in the London, England, it spotlighted athletes in “London’s” around the world; London, Ohio; London, South Africa; London, Jamaica. 

Now, you don’t have to be so direct to piggyback on sporting events. 

Campaigns can include imagery and copy that suggest the event, without actually mentioning it. After all, you can’t copyright a picture of a football. The connection is even easier to make when the sporting event is front and center in people’s minds. So, for our fast-food or food delivery friends who might not want to sponsor or endorse teams and athletes, these campaigns can be perfect:  

In the UK during a major sports tournament in 2018, a well-known used-car website launched a campaign offering to give away a free car ‘every time England scored a goal’. No mention of the event or even the sport, but people knew exactly what they were referring to, and it was a huge success. With England enjoying their best tournament success since ’66, they did have to give away 12 cars though.  

(Did you notice that we didn’t mention the event either, but you knew exactly what we were talking about?)  

5. Launch a game or contest (quizzes, scavenger hunts, and voice games) 

Sports fans thrive on competition, and fan engagement is the perfect strategy to get them involved with your brand. From simple incentivization techniques to online tournaments that get customers competing, introducing game mechanics can really boost the ROI of your campaigns and provide a rich source of data to extend and enrich your customer data platform. 

Don’t think that you need to create a full-scale fantasy sports league to be successful with gamification, there are lots of techniques that collectively can have a major impact on customer loyalty and retention. If you want some quick wins, launch a trivia quiz to unlock discounts or prizes, like in our delivery example above. You can get even more immersive with voice-powered games or AR experiences that fans can launch right on their phones. 

How does gamification work?

• Enable customers to create accounts where they can earn points and win rewards for their loyalty 
• Incentivize customers to recommend friends and family members 
• Make it easy for customers to share the good news about rewards they have earned on social media platforms 
• Create unique brand hashtags that customers can use on social media to spread your brand message and reward them when they do 
• You can host games on your brands mobile app, but launching games on messaging channels can prove to be more personal  

6. Run a social campaign

Not everything has to be a competition. You can use voice-powered interactions and AR for social media campaigns, creating viral moments with fans. Fans turn to social media platforms to discover news about their teams, chat with the community about the games, and share with friends and family when they are at a live event. It’s the perfect space to leverage the energy of the community built around a team.

AR filters can also give customers something to share on social media platforms. Customers can send your brand a selfie on WhatsApp or RCS, and in a few seconds, they get an AR filter on that selfie that puts them in the front seat of a race car, wearing a team jersey, or a shot with the team mascot. They can share these branded pictures on their own social media. 

Whether you are a sponsor, or just piggybacking on events, you can find really engaging social media marketing opportunities that bring the sports community together. 

7. Predictions and polls  

Let’s be honest, sports fans love to show off how much they know about the game. And there’s nothing more satisfying than getting a game prediction right. 

So, get the fan excitement going by running polls and predictions around major sporting events. Who’s going to score first? How many yards will the quarterback throw? Will the game go into overtime? Fans love testing their knowledge and instincts, and brands can harness that energy to spark engagement. 

Launching branded polls and prediction games around big matches gives fans an easy way to get involved in real time. It also creates natural moments for your brand to step in and reward participation with discounts, loyalty points, or exclusive content. 

The beauty of polls and predictions is their simplicity. They can live on social media, inside messaging channels, or even alongside broadcasts as a second-screen experience. And because results are instant, they tap into the excitement of the game and keep your brand part of the action as it unfolds. 

8. Cause-driven marketing campaigns  

Sports bring people together, and nothing amplifies that more than a campaign tied to a meaningful cause. Fans respect brands that use their platform to support the communities and values behind the game, whether it’s funding youth sports, promoting women in sports, or highlighting sustainability initiatives. 

Cause-driven activations give your brand a chance to stand for something bigger than just selling products. Sponsoring a grassroots league, donating equipment to underfunded schools, or creating awareness campaigns around inclusivity can resonate far more deeply with fans than a pitch-side ad ever could. 

One campaign that comes to mind was Always, “Like a Girl” campaign that went mega-viral because it hit an emotional cord for many viewers. The video campaign highlighted how confidence of girls in sports drops around puberty thanks to phrases like “you run like a girl”, and heavily encouraged girls to remain in sports, challenging the stereotype of what it means to do something “like a girl”. 

When done authentically, these campaigns build long-term loyalty. Fans remember when a brand stepped in not just as a sponsor of the game, but as a partner to the community. 

Sports marketing strategies for the win

From local to global, successful sports marketing campaigns give you the chance to connect with a community of people who have a strong emotional connection to their teams or leagues. So, whether you decide to sponsor a little league team to start, or build a gamified experience for customers, sports marketing can help you grow loyalty and revenue if done right. 

For mission-driven and non-profit organizations, connections are everything. The work they do hinges on building genuine, human relationships, whether it’s reaching out to a donor, rallying volunteers, or responding to people seeking help in times of need. While our world grows more digital by the day, the challenge for these organizations is clear: keep pace with how people connect, while never losing the personal touch that makes their work meaningful.

Texting is the bridge that makes this possible. Platforms like Powered by Text help non-profits meet people where they are – on their phones. These tools blend digital touchpoints with the heart and empathy their missions demand.

Powered by Text provides texting software to a range of organizations like non-profits, foundations, churches, and more. But they do more than just provide software to send an SMS. They are experienced in helping these organizations create a blueprint for how to use digital interactions to better their cause:

We sat down with Mike Cantrell to find out how channels like SMS and MMS are helping non-profits build more human connections in a digital age, and why it’s making all the difference. 

The evolution of messaging for non-profits

The non-profit sector is catching up with a trend commercial brands have long relied on; instant, direct communication. According to Cantrell, “there’s been an awakening.” Organizations accustomed to slower cycles and broad announcements are seeing firsthand that messaging creates real efficiencies and real results.

But this evolution is still in progress. “In the next two to three years, it’s going to be about adoption,” Cantrell notes. Although they have been slower to adopt messaging channels, non-profits are starting to understand that their digital communication with their audience can span beyond a broadcast message or update.

Messaging is moving from awareness and notifications to truly personal experiences. The future of messaging for non-profits will be connecting individuals in their moments of need with someone who’s ready to help, right there, by text.

For many churches, ministries, and non-profits, SMS and MMS are essential tools for connecting, organizing, and serving people with new agility.

The greatest challenges in customer expectations for non-profits

There are two main challenges according to Cantrell:

Awareness of a mission

Like any organization, raising awareness about a brand is not easy. Educating audiences on what an organization’s mission is, and how to create a community around it has always been a challenge.

Immediacy of information

Once a person is aware of a mission or non-profit, the challenge then becomes offering them the right information they need – and fast.

“People want information right away, on their terms,” Cantrell explains. Whether they’re discovering an organization or looking to get involved, users want content accessible on their schedule. That’s pushed many organizations to rethink how they communicate, putting convenience and speed at the center.

Non-profits that adapt to these expectations, offering instant, personalized updates and two-way communication, see stronger engagement and loyalty as a result.

Why are SMS and MMS such important channels for non-profits and mission-based organizations

SMS and MMS offer direct, immediate connection with proven engagement:

• 98% open rate for SMS
• 90% of MMS marketing messages are read within 3 minutes

For mission-driven organizations, that’s a game changer. Powered by Text encourages non-profits to measure how effective communication channels are for engagement. It has led them to see that SMS and MMS are making a difference in how their audience participates with their organization.

“Texting is the freshest ingredient in their communications recipe,” Cantrell says, and nothing beats it for speed and cut-through. SMS reminders, calls to action, and informational updates land straight on supporters’ devices. Adding trackable URLs brings real insight into audience participation. Layering in MMS with its rich media like images, audio, or short videos further boosts click through rates and adds a more human connection to the message.

Mike shared an example of how Christian radio stations are using MMS to let DJs send encouragement messages and calls to action right to listeners’ phones, delivering a human touch and increasing engagement.

Text messaging can do more than just inform. It has the power to inspire, mobilize, and strengthen community ties.

The blueprint for customer journeys for non-profits

What does a “smart” messaging journey look like? Cantrell describes a blueprint all mission-driven organizations can use.

Connect to the larger community
Use SMS to introduce newcomers to your organization, let them learn about your mission and help them find their place.

Foster small groups and relationships
Enable people to join smaller communities within the larger community (small groups, study circles, volunteer teams) where real relationships take root.

Keep engagement on track
Automated reminders nudge participants to keep up with content and help them stay involved with the organization. For example, a study group might use a video series sent over MMS to ensure participants don’t lose momentum.

Invite to support and “pay it forward”
Once someone receives value, use SMS to invite financial participation or volunteering, helping others experience the same impact.

These touchpoints can all be personalized and timed around each individual’s journey, instead of a “one-size-fits-all” newsletter or broadcast email.

Example of how a ministry uses SMS and MMS to help rebuild communities

The power of text messaging comes alive in crisis situations. Cantrell shares the story of a ministry founded by a leader with a background in construction and disaster recovery. After hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods, this organization springs into action. It coordinates thousands of volunteers using SMS to clean up these communities, offer supplies and support, and in some instances even rebuild homes that have been lost:

Mobilize quickly: As soon as disaster strikes (or is forecasted), texting gets the word out for volunteers to get ready.

Coordinate relief efforts: Updates and logistics, everything from meal distribution to clean-up schedules, are managed by group texts.

Capture and share impact: During and after the relief work, volunteers shoot short videos, easily sent by MMS that document real results.

Donors and supporters who receive these MMS video updates see the impact of what they have dedicated some of their resources and funds to. It’s a powerful feedback loop that increases future participation and giving.

Keeping the human touch in automated messaging

Automation brings efficiency but heart is everything in the non-profit world.

How? By using smart automation paired with real, human conversations:

Trigger right message, right time: Confirmations, reminders, or thank you notes can be automatically sent based on user actions.

Personalize with MMS: Sending images, voice messages, or heartfelt videos that show audiences the difference they are making in communities is more meaningful.

Enable two-way texting and support: In a crisis, people might be hesitant to call but they will text. Two-way messaging provides support without removing the “human” side.

The sweet spot? Using automation to start and nurture the conversation, with opportunities for real people to step in when needed. Human-to-human connections are still critical for non-profits, but digital communication can serve as a well needed tool that helps elevate those relationships and bring audiences closer to the causes they support.

How Infobip and Powered by Text work together to help non-profits reach their audiences

For non-profits, reaching the right people quickly and reliably can make all the difference, especially in times of crisis or urgent need. That’s why Powered by Text partnered with Infobip to ensure every message, alert, and call to action lands where it matters most.

Whether it’s rapid volunteer mobilization after a hurricane in America or sending timely updates to audiences who have donated to global causes, Infobip’s robust platform means non-profits never have to worry if vital messages will get through.

Powered by Text and Infobip’s strategic partnership is invested in staying ahead of industry change and ensuring non-profits have the tools to build authentic, timely connections with every audience, anywhere in the world.

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Digital transformation isn’t just about adopting the latest technology; it’s about nurturing the right mindset to implement top-notch strategies. In South Africa, where diversity, infrastructure gaps, and customer skepticism all play a role in customer experience, that mindset needs to be bold, practical, and grounded in real-world insight.

Few companies understand this better than Codified, a boutique software development house based in Cape Town. Codified specializes in full-stack customer engagement solutions, particularly for the financial services and retail sectors.

Codified’s approach to improving customer journeys is rooted in adapting to how people prefer to interact today. After being in the call center space for over 20 years, Codified has noted a push to adopt technologies like chat commerce and other digital experiences that make the end-to-end journey smoother for the customer.

We spoke with founder and CEO Craig McLeod about how Codified is helping businesses rethink customer engagement – and how their work with Infobip supports that shift.

Innovation starts outside the business

One of Codified’s core philosophies is that real transformation often needs to start outside the traditional corporate structure. Why? Because large enterprises are built for stability – not speed.

Thanks to chat automation, this model has delivered real results like faster conversions, more valuable leads, and account openings. Codified helps clients prototype and refine solutions quickly, gather learnings, test impact, sometimes fail, pivot, and readjust, test again and only then scale internally.

It’s an approach that’s already reshaped customer service for clients like Homechoice, a leading South African homeware retailer that also provides financial services.

From voice to chat: A new era of customer connection

Homechoice built its business on voice-based customer engagement by phoning customers in their native language to guide them through product purchases. But with growing volumes and shifting customer expectations, the team knew it needed to modernize.

Codified stepped in to help them build a chat-driven model that didn’t replace agents – but supercharged them. With routine tasks now automated, agents have more time – and better tools – to focus on what matters. Every conversation is now backed by full customer context, making interactions faster, more relevant, and more human.

Engaging customers wherever – and whenever – they prefer

For Codified, designing effective customer journeys starts with a deep understanding of context especially in a market as complex as South Africa.

“With multiple languages, low smartphone penetration, and data sensitivity, you can’t just throw tech at people,” McLeod explains. “They don’t want another app. They don’t trust forms. But they’ll chat – if you do it right.”

That’s why Codified leans into channels like WhatsApp. It’s already part of people’s daily lives – making it the ideal space to build trust, drive engagement, and deliver real value without adding friction. This is especially important in South Africa, where many consumers remain skeptical of digital interactions. Choosing a familiar, non-invasive channel helps ease those concerns and encourages people to engage more confidently with a brand online.

A partner-first approach to scale

As a long-time partner of Infobip, Codified has built a strong feedback cycle into its work, sharing frontline user insights directly with the Infobip product team.

“Infobip doesn’t just provide the tech. They listen,” McLeod says. “We feed real-world feedback from multiple clients into the backlog, and when something shows up across accounts, Infobip is just as excited as we are to improve it.”

This responsiveness allows Codified to move quickly and continuously improve its strategies, from anti-fraud onboarding flows to scalable customer engagement journeys.

Looking ahead: AI, context, and mission control

With a sharp focus on customer outcomes, Codified is embracing AI with intention not hype. The team is currently exploring MCP (Model Context Protocol), a mission control layer that helps manage large language models and apply them intelligently to customer problems.

With Homechoice and others already trusting Codified to test and deploy AI-driven tools, the next frontier is smart orchestration: making automation more responsive, secure, and contextual at scale. Their partnership with Infobip plays a key role here providing the infrastructure, channels, and technical flexibility needed to embed these solutions seamlessly into real customer journeys.

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Customer journeys are broken. Siloed. Frustrating. And it’s costing businesses more than they realize. Customers are forced to repeat themselves across disconnected channels—while internal teams are left blind and reactive. This isn’t just frustrating, it’s expensive.

Marketing and customer support rarely speak the same language, missing out on opportunities for seamless, continuous engagement. When brands can’t connect the dots, everyone loses.

We’re at a turning point where users don’t just want hyper-personalized experiences; they deserve them.

Legacy bots can’t adapt. Rigid flows can’t scale. Our Conversational Experience Orchestration Platform (CXOP) solves both. It brings structure to chaos, turning disconnected conversations into orchestrated journeys.

CXOP is our answer to fragmented journeys, designed to move brands and their customers into the next era of engagement, where every interaction feels seamless, relevant, and truly connected across the entire user journey.

What is CXOP ?

These AI agents know when to provide the right information and when to seamlessly involve a live agent, ensuring each interaction is relevant, timely, and tailored to the individual customer.

Here’s what sets CXOP apart:

CXOP is built using agentic memory, grounded in our interactional data, to provide context-aware responses. The AI doesn’t just respond to isolated prompts, it continuously considers the user’s emotional state, history, and current journey stage. Other features include: 

• Autonomous agents: These aren’t just reactive chatbots; they’re AI-driven digital workers capable of making decisions, completing tasks, and keeping conversations moving without human intervention.
• Human-in-the-loop (HITL): When only a human can provide the right touch, CXOP brings in a live agent, equipped with AI-powered tools and the full context so they resolve issues faster, with less customer effort.
• Conversational CDP: The heartbeat of CXOP, this Customer Data Platform ingests interaction data around the clock, giving every agent the insights they need to personalize the next message.
• Insights & actions: By tracking user behavior and leveraging the CDP, CXOP ensures each next step is timely, informed, and effective.

How does CXOP work?

Hyper-personalization is no longer a luxury, it’s the baseline. Think about how platforms like Spotify or YouTube anticipate your preferences and serve exactly what you want, when you want it. Now imagine bringing that same level of intelligence to every customer’s conversation.

The canvas for agentic experiences

With CXOP, brands go beyond transactional and reactive chat experiences. Our agentic framework enables hyper-personalized, AI-assisted engagement at scale across channels and use cases.

It’s not about flashy campaigns with little follow-through, it’s about delivering ongoing, human-like conversations that customers actually value.

Why are we betting on agentic AI?

We’re at an inflection point. Consumers now expect faster, smarter, and more relevant interactions, and outdated hardcoded flows just can’t keep up.

In our latest Messaging Trends Report, we found that people want to connect through rich messaging channels like WhatsApp and RCS, and expectations for instant, personalized conversations have never been higher.

To meet these high expectations, CXOP is built on a sophisticated, multi-agent architecture: each agent specializes in a specific task, all coordinated seamlessly by our intelligent AI orchestrator.

This modular, goal-driven setup automates entire workflows from understanding natural language to delivering real-world outcomes, all powered by real-time customer interactions and CPaaS data.

Agentic AI is the technology that enables this orchestration, ensuring these data-driven insights are transformed into meaningful actions for users and businesses alike.

And with Infobip’s global infrastructure, trusted partner ecosystem, and ongoing AI innovation, we’re uniquely positioned to help brands lead this new era of intelligent customer engagement.

In other words, CXOP isn’t just technologically advanced, it’s purpose-built to deliver seamless, context-rich, autonomous conversational intelligence at scale. Most importantly, orchestration with CXOP doesn’t eliminate humans, it enables them to carry out tasks faster and more precisely.

CXOP use cases

CXOP is designed to help any business across industries unify, automate, and optimize customer journeys. Here are a few standout use cases:

CXOP’s flexible framework means you can orchestrate journeys for sales, marketing, service, and operations without sacrificing control or context.

Key CXOP capabilities in action

Our orchestration enables, not eliminates, human connection. It powers the next generation of conversational experiences and unifies Infobip’s core capabilities into a cohesive, AI-driven platform.

Here are some examples of how CX orchestration is helping produce agentic experiences.

Agentic RAG: Delivers smarter answers by dynamically identifying the most relevant content based on real-time context and conversation history.

WhatsApp Flows AI agent: Build interactive, production-ready flows from a simple prompt, no coding needed.

Conversational intelligence: Delivers messages at the optimal time and place, driving higher engagement.

Conversational gamification: Turns engagement into an interactive, adaptive experience, increasing campaign impact and personalization.

Together, these tools form a connected brain for managing conversations end-to-end.

How is CXOP different?

While others retrofit AI into old systems, we’ve built CXOP from the ground up into a new foundation for agentic, real-time, omnichannel engagement.

We’ve built an agentic conversational framework, a system of intelligent agents that handle tasks, make decisions, and adapt based on live context. We deliver a full orchestration layer built on years of infrastructure investment, proprietary data, and AI innovation.

• Solving fragmentation: Customers can move across channels without losing context or continuity.
• Reducing operational load: Goal-driven AI agents automate routine work, freeing teams to focus on what matters.
• Empowering business users: With prompt-based design, anyone—not just developers—can build, iterate, and launch intelligent workflows.

Building the future: A platform that grows with you

CXOP is built to adapt. As your business evolves, so does your orchestration capability. We’re setting a new standard, one where brands and users engage in intelligent, meaningful, and outcome-driven conversations.

Our commitment is to continually expand and refine CXOP, always putting unified, agentic conversations at the core of customer engagement.