Above all peaks is orange
Lowe revisits old brand worlds for the mobile phone provider's network campaign
For the mobile provider's network campaign, Lowe revisits old brand worldsBy Luca Aloisi Lowe wants to showcase Orange's high network coverage with famously photographed landscapes and capture further shares for the mobile operator in an almost saturated market. The network campaign can also be interpreted as a return to the captivating brand world.
Latecomer Orange was the third mobile provider to enter the Swiss market in 1999, long after the first movers. With an innovative range of services and an impressive, sun-drenched launch campaign, Orange immediately succeeded in gaining unexpectedly high market shares in its launch year. This success was soon reflected in the clear selection of the Orange image as campaign of the year 1999.
High image share also for tactical campaigns
With happy people who exemplified free communication without barriers in a salt desert, and with a spherical, hypnotic soundtrack, the mobile communications company embodied the spirit of the times in its otherness. As a result, Orange achieved a high level of recognition within a short space of time.
No other campaign in the age of individualization has succeeded in creating such a strong sense of global belonging. Even sociology professor Kurt Imhof (WW 17/00) was impressed because the campaign "attempts to visualize human communication". As impressive as the landscapes was the marketing budget for the launch, which at 30 million francs was far higher than today's budget. Marcel Benz, Head of Advertising at Orange, does not want to disclose this, but specifies: "We have not changed our advertising budget compared to 2001."
Three years ago, the Challenger was the only one in the Swiss advertising industry to make an emotional impact with great images, but imitators from other genres soon followed suit, diluting Orange's brand world somewhat.
However, instead of presenting itself with striking service and low-price appearances, Orange also remained true to the eye-catching brand world in its tactical campaigns and thus positioned the brand via the product benefits. In order to continuously increase awareness and counteract the wear-out effect of the messages, the locations were changed every year. However, the emotional added value with which the consumer should associate the brand was retained. However, the handicap of the strategy is that the perception of the brand values lags behind the high level of awareness.
Taking the esoteric route to the Swiss Alps
The leaner the communication budgets of the telecom industry became, the closer the locations of the Orange umbrella campaigns moved to Switzerland. After the salt desert, the ice desert of Greenland. The untouched landscapes and the happy Greenlanders who laughed in the TV commercials and on the billboards for a year were replaced a year ago by a diversified brand image: on the one hand by Hong Kong scenes for the business platform and by people with strong characters in an English barber's store for the residential platform.
To emphasize the relevance of the brand in the crowded Swiss market, the advertising concept was adapted to the local market. Images of Alpine passes such as Albula or San Bernardino are intended to give the brand a new dynamic and, above all, improve the perception of its good coverage. "As neutral measurements show, our network coverage is on a par with that of Swisscom, and in certain places we even have exclusive coverage," says advertising manager Benz.
The latter was also taken as the starting point for the new implementation. Benz admits that it is of course irrelevant to many people whether they have reception in the forest near Hueb in the Bernese Oberland or not. But because the image of a Swisscom that can be reached anywhere is so well cemented among the target groups, this is the only way to counter the previous brand essence.
The team around CD Keith Loell and AD Simon Staub have allowed themselves two stylistic breaks: for the first time, there are no people in the sparse landscapes, but this is compensated for by the concrete poetry of lyricist Martin Stulz. In addition to the initial four print subjects, an equally genuinely dreamy TV and cinema spot is also being used.
Latecomer Orange was the third mobile provider to enter the Swiss market in 1999, long after the first movers. With an innovative range of services and an impressive, sun-drenched launch campaign, Orange immediately succeeded in gaining unexpectedly high market shares in its launch year. This success was soon reflected in the clear selection of the Orange image as campaign of the year 1999.
High image share also for tactical campaigns
With happy people who exemplified free communication without barriers in a salt desert, and with a spherical, hypnotic soundtrack, the mobile communications company embodied the spirit of the times in its otherness. As a result, Orange achieved a high level of recognition within a short space of time.
No other campaign in the age of individualization has succeeded in creating such a strong sense of global belonging. Even sociology professor Kurt Imhof (WW 17/00) was impressed because the campaign "attempts to visualize human communication". As impressive as the landscapes was the marketing budget for the launch, which at 30 million francs was far higher than today's budget. Marcel Benz, Head of Advertising at Orange, does not want to disclose this, but specifies: "We have not changed our advertising budget compared to 2001."
Three years ago, the Challenger was the only one in the Swiss advertising industry to make an emotional impact with great images, but imitators from other genres soon followed suit, diluting Orange's brand world somewhat.
However, instead of presenting itself with striking service and low-price appearances, Orange also remained true to the eye-catching brand world in its tactical campaigns and thus positioned the brand via the product benefits. In order to continuously increase awareness and counteract the wear-out effect of the messages, the locations were changed every year. However, the emotional added value with which the consumer should associate the brand was retained. However, the handicap of the strategy is that the perception of the brand values lags behind the high level of awareness.
Taking the esoteric route to the Swiss Alps
The leaner the communication budgets of the telecom industry became, the closer the locations of the Orange umbrella campaigns moved to Switzerland. After the salt desert, the ice desert of Greenland. The untouched landscapes and the happy Greenlanders who laughed in the TV commercials and on the billboards for a year were replaced a year ago by a diversified brand image: on the one hand by Hong Kong scenes for the business platform and by people with strong characters in an English barber's store for the residential platform.
To emphasize the relevance of the brand in the crowded Swiss market, the advertising concept was adapted to the local market. Images of Alpine passes such as Albula or San Bernardino are intended to give the brand a new dynamic and, above all, improve the perception of its good coverage. "As neutral measurements show, our network coverage is on a par with that of Swisscom, and in certain places we even have exclusive coverage," says advertising manager Benz.
The latter was also taken as the starting point for the new implementation. Benz admits that it is of course irrelevant to many people whether they have reception in the forest near Hueb in the Bernese Oberland or not. But because the image of a Swisscom that can be reached anywhere is so well cemented among the target groups, this is the only way to counter the previous brand essence.
The team around CD Keith Loell and AD Simon Staub have allowed themselves two stylistic breaks: for the first time, there are no people in the sparse landscapes, but this is compensated for by the concrete poetry of lyricist Martin Stulz. In addition to the initial four print subjects, an equally genuinely dreamy TV and cinema spot is also being used.
