Orange Brand | Wireless, Telecommunications Brands

Orange
Ripe
January 12, 2004

Orange is one of the most remarkable and powerful brands in the wireless telecommunication industry. Launched in 1994, it went on to become the youngest company to enter the British FTSE-100 stock index two years later. It then went through a rapid succession of deals that were not unlike a game of Monopoly, except for the use of real money.

During the winter of 1999 to 2000, Mannesmann AG of Germany acquired Orange plc, which was delisted from the London and Nasdaq stock exchanges as a result. At the same time, Mannesmann itself was bought by Vodafone, a deal approved by the European Commission on the condition that Vodafone divest Orange. In August 2000, France Télécom thus acquired Orange from Vodafone for an eye-popping £25 billion (€ 36B).

Although the value of its tangible assets might not add up to that figure, there is no doubt that Orange is a valuable brand that captures the imagination. Surprisingly, a visit to www.orange.co.uk reveals a site that does not reinforce this message.

Entering the UK site, the visitor finds a front page divided in four equal columns. The overall appearance is square and heavy, and in spite of a couple of pictures, does not connote the life that the Orange brand embodies.

The four columns cover the sections of the site: Your Orange, Business Solutions, Orange Shop, and Explore Orange. In terms of perception, this last heading could overlap any of the three previous ones. As soon as the visitor enters the site through one of these four choices, navigation menus occupy the top and left-hand-side of the page.

*Due to the constantly changing environment of websites, some reviews may no longer reflect the current website for this brand.


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