Vodafone, Telefónica (O2), Deutsche Telekom and Orange on Wednesday announced a project to develop a platform for transmitting three-dimensional real-time images. Key financial data were not disclosed.
The project envisages that hologram data will be transmitted across networks in the future. Through virtual reality glasses, the caller sees the three-dimensional upper body of the caller in front of him, who is looking into his selfie camera. Thanks to the camera, the 3D hologram can be created.
The telecommunications industry has been tinkering for some time with hologram connections, which are technically possible but very complex. The 5G mobile communications standard has now become an important building block for making progress in this area.
In 2018, Vodafone demonstrated a hologram video call in a moving minibus in Aldenhoven (NRW). The project at that time was based on a different technology than the current project and was only moderately convincing visually. Now that the industry has joined forces, the technology is to be taken to a new level and turned into an everyday product in the long term. According to the information, the platform could be available to end customers in about two years. (sda.)
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For many, there is now a new smartphone almost every year. As soon as the latest iPhone or Android phone hits the shelves, you have to have it - even though your current phone still works perfectly. The desire to always have the latest technology is unfortunately anything but sustainable.
That's why the telecom company Orange wants to raise awareness for recycling and tells the story of a toy phone in a 60-second TV commercial that accompanies a girl as she grows up and becomes less and less important. In the end, it is passed on to the next generation, giving it a second life and bringing joy to another child. Especially beautifully realized: The various happy and sad facial features of the toy telephone over time.
With the TV spot, Orange and Publicis want to make people aware to bring their no longer needed cell phones back to the store, so they can give someone else a lot of joy again.
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On April 23, 2015, the telecommunications company Orange Switzerland gave itself the new name "Salt." Publicis, Orange's longtime lead agency, was tasked with the Herculean task, which cost 40 million. Under the strictest secrecy, Publicis helped build the Salt brand starting in the fall of 2013 - while continuing to advertise for Orange. Curdin Janett, CEO of Publicis, was named "Advertiser of the Year 2015" by Werbewoche on Thursday, June 18, 2015. We spoke to the newly crowned "Advertiser of the Year" about the Effie-ready implementation of the Salt campaign. Read more about what being named "Advertiser of the Year 2015" means for Curdin Janett in Werbewoche 12/13, which will be published on July 10.
WW: Curdin Janett, in mid-May you could see a poster saying "Salt. 6 weeks return guarantee" So two weeks after the launch, people acted as if the name Salt was already in their minds. Was that really the case?
Curdin Janett: In fact, at that time we already had very pleasing survey results, which allowed us to talk about Salt offers and at the same time be sure that people knew who the sender was. The enormous media coverage around the launch contributed significantly to this. Both the Tagesschau and every regional paper reported on it. With the paid
Nevertheless, the message "Orange is now Salt" was only seen briefly. Why?
The intention was to anchor the brand change strongly, but as briefly as possible, because we wanted to say soon what the new brand stood for. We therefore communicated in four stages: First, we said that Orange no longer exists. Then, what it is now called, what it stands for, and what the brand offers.
How was the name received by the population?
I am not allowed to give any figures. But according to our weekly surveys, there were encouraging responses, especially to the questions "Are you interested in this brand?" and "Have you been switched to this brand?"
Were there more new subscribers than cancellations?
Salt will have to communicate the figures, but the launch was generally a complete success.
What do you currently emphasize in your communications?
We are currently targeting everyone who no longer wants to receive their cell phone bill on a monthly basis, but prefers to buy a pass or annual pass, as with their mobility subscription. The headline is: "Pass. The simplest subscription in Switzerland."
How did you go about creating the Salt campaign?
We wanted to create a brand that didn't just make big promises. That's why we didn't cast any models, but sent five photographers out on the prowl. They were supposed to take unnoticed pictures of people who were using their cell phones. Only afterwards did they inform them and ask for their addresses. Then, when we selected the pictures, we contacted the people again and told them which advertising medium they were intended for and that we would pay them something if they agreed to use them. In short, we didn't want to recreate reality, we wanted to find them on the street.
Publicis has been Orange's lead agency for a long time. When did you become involved in building the new Salt brand?
I was impressed by the fact that they didn't talk about Uber's design at the beginning. Instead, they talked about what was changing in the telecommunications market and in society, and how they would position and name their own brand if they had the opportunity to do so. In the beginning, the implementation was not yet decided. We didn't ask ourselves what we liked, but what would fit the brand we were building. This strategy was followed consistently.
Were you also involved in finding the name?
Only insofar as we were sitting in. However, Prophet, a renowned branding agency, took care of the naming itself and the basic corporate design.
How many people were involved on the part of Publicis?
At the very beginning, there were only three people - and the team remained quite small until fall 2014, when the actual implementation began. Because the project was under strict secrecy. We went very far in this regard: A secret team worked in parallel for Salt - with code names, in separate offices and on separate servers. Because it would have been bad for the team that continued to work for Orange to know that its work would soon become wastepaper.
The rebranding was not only a communications feat, but also a gigantic logistics task: 84 stores had to be redesigned, a website launched, company cars and cabs rebadged, and brochures printed.
We functioned as a kind of mixture of general contractor and "brand guardian," bringing in a total of 16 companies. Some had already been Orange partners before, others we suggested. For example, Blue Spirit implemented the POS measures and redesigned 84 stores in one weekend, Emakina and Divio were responsible for digital work. And all of them were under confidentiality.
Nevertheless, the Speculation about the name even before the launch.
Which was quite good, in my opinion, because then at the launch people were no longer just talking and writing about the name, but also about initial content and offerings.
The satirical program "26 Minutes" in French-speaking Switzerland announced "Salt" as the new Orange name back in February. How did it come about?
I would give a lot to know this. It was also astonishing that they knew the actual name, but that it didn't go any further - probably because it was assumed to be a joke. After all, the topic was in the air due to the change of ownership, and if Giacobbo/Müller had run the article, the NZZ probably wouldn't have jumped on it either.
How do you prevent a reversion to Orange "among the people"?
There can be no relapse, only the situation that the old name does not disappear. But the more a name is communicated via new offers, and even more so in a new way, the less this danger is. But one thing is clear: Orange's brand awareness will not fall to zero in three weeks, certainly not in western Switzerland, where a very strong Orange still exists in the neighboring country.
Publicis is the largest Swiss advertising agency. Is size - also in terms of personnel - a prerequisite for being able to pull off such a brand change?
For the creation, this probably doesn't play the decisive role. But the size was certainly an advantage when it came to having two teams working in parallel.
Publicis has won several awards for the Swiss "Seats for Switzerland" campaign. Would you briefly describe it?
The aim was to deepen the Swiss population's identification with Swiss. Because Swiss brings people together, we called on people to tell us who they miss the most and why. The stories were published on an online platform, and the public could vote to decide who Swiss would grant their wish to with a free ticket.
How was the response?
In a very short time, around 3,000 moving stories were received. And Swiss television made a program about it, which Swiss sponsored. In addition, a campaign followed last year with six selected authentic reunion stories: People who paid a surprise visit to a relative or friend far away. We had these reunions accompanied by budding film directors. The result were stories that got under the skin. We showed the short films on TV, in cinemas and on Seatsforswitzerland.com, which brought the campaign a lot of attention.
Publicis has received several awards for this...
Yes, at the Crossmedia Award 2014 we received silver, at ADC 2015 we won gold in film and the only medal in overall campaigns. And we hope to add more international awards to that.
Back to the Salt campaign, I assume you will enter it for the Effie.
That gives me an idea. If the values are still this good in six months, the campaign should actually win an Effie.
Markus Knöpfli / afh
Salt CEO Andsjö contrasts the cost of the name change with annual marketing expenses: These amounted to an average of 55 million francs, "plus around 30 million francs in our stores, all this for a brand that no longer belonged to us," Andsjö said in an interview published by the French-speaking Swiss newspaper Le Temps on Saturday. The new name will also allow the mobile operator to save on license payments. To use the Orange brand, the company previously had to pay 20 million francs a year to former owner France Télécom, which owns the brand. Asked about the relationship with the new owner, Frenchman Xavier Niel, Andsjö said he had not had much contact with him so far. Niel has introduced himself to all employees and has been involved in the rebranding, but that is all, Andsjö said. Meetings with Niel take place monthly, he said.
737 possible names evaluated
After the takeover by Niel, Orange Switzerland had renamed itself Salt on April 23. The name change had taken some time: The search for the new name began more than a year earlier, as Andsjö had announced at the launch event in April. Over time, 737 possible brand names were evaluated. Six concepts were looked at more closely, two were developed further and finally one was selected. For this, 1300 customers were surveyed. The company wants to score points with subscriptions that allow unlimited use within Switzerland. The existing Orange subscriptions will remain valid, Andsjö said at the launch. A radical change in the tariff structure was never intended. Andsjö thus rejected speculation about a price war that had circulated after the takeover by Niel. (SDA)
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The clear goal: the brand and its values should resonate in every tool. Personal, simple, without frippery. This included the new magazines for the launch and the stores in large print runs, all vehicle lettering, tactical communication with co-ads, POS posters, subscription flyers, folders, stickers, sales folders; many small details such as stickers for the entrance door, signs for ticket issue, coffee mugs, receipt pads; special brand experiences such as charger stations, cab lettering, mobile safes and lottery stations for events, office decorations and much, much more. The act of violence was done with a lot of heart and soul, so that the whole of Switzerland can experience Salt live and share the joy of the new brand.
Silence since summer 2014
Blue Spirit worked on this project for more than nine months under the strictest secrecy, in a room specially set up for this purpose, accessible only via fingerprint scanner, with IT detached from the regular infrastructure. Initially with just two, later with a good dozen employees.
Responsible at Salt: Sven Jasper (Manager POS & Trade Communication), Roger von Gunten (Senior Project Manager POS & Trade), Sascha Rüttimann (Senior Project Manager POS & Trade Communication), Heidi Pazanda-Truog (Senior POS & Trade Specialist), Janique Müller (Senior POS & Trade Specialist), Laura Gutknecht (Jr. POS & Trade Specialist), Robin Haller (Trainee BMS POS & Trade). Responsible at Blue Spirit: Rolf Jeger (CEO), Liliane Ritzi (COO), Die Sarah Pietrasanta (CD/Text), Jürg Büchi (AD), Danny Bron, Sherif Ademi (Graphics), Eros Montagnani, Günter Prächt (DTP), Manuela Lopez, Cynthia Domfe, Caro Bünter, Vanessa Jenni, Carmen Calisi (Consulting), Theres Cordes (Production). Launch Magazine: Michael Brauchli, Anatole Comte (Publicis).
"We are launching a premium brand," Andsjö had said in an interview with the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. The company wants to score points with subscriptions that allow unlimited use within Switzerland, as the Orange/Salt boss announced at the event to launch the new name in front of 1,200 guests - including many Orange/Salt employees - on Thursday evening in Zurich. There are Swiss rates, Andsjö said: the cheapest Pass subscription costs 999 francs per year or 83.25 francs per month. There are also subscriptions for the young and the old, as well as for people who want unlimited calls in Europe.
The existing Orange subscriptions will remain valid, Andsjö said in an interview with the news agency SDA: "We didn't want to make any big changes to the offer." A revolutionary change in the tariff structure was never intended, he added. Andsjö thus rejected speculation about a price war that had circulated after the takeover by Niel.
The new Salt also wants to entice customers with bundled device offers. In addition to the subscription and the smartphone, these also include a tablet computer and another device, such as a portable speaker, headphones, or a keyboard. Salt is thus following on from Orange's Duo Pack offers, with which smartphones and tablets were sold together.
Telecom expert Ralf Beyeler from the Internet comparison service Comparis judged: "Salt: Salted prices for new subscriptions." Compared to the big competitors, Salt and Sunrise are practically the same price for the cheapest subscription. "However, the price difference to the offers of M-Budget, Aldi and UPC Cablecom is large," Beyeler found.
Further expansion of the cell phone network
Salt also wants to introduce phone calls via Wifi. Customers can use any Wi-Fi hotspot like a cell phone antenna. This will enable them to make calls even in buildings where there is no cell phone network reception, for example. Salt intends to continue expanding its mobile network. By the end of the year, 96 percent of the population should have coverage with the 4th generation of mobile communications, LTE (also known as 4G). This enables surfing speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbit/s).
Things are set to get even faster in the big Swiss cities. LTE Advanced (also known as 4G+), which doubles the speed compared with LTE, will go into operation there by the end of the year. In addition, Salt plans to build 300 new cell phone antennas and thus increase network coverage. This is the largest increase in network coverage within a year since Orange entered the market in 1999.
Name change noticeable for customers
The name change from Orange to Salt is also noticeable for customers. During the time of the changeover, stores will be closed for 72 hours. The goal is for at least 90 percent of the stores to open with the new brand on Monday, Andsjö said. During those three days, customer service will also be limited, he said. The website will also be offline from 9 p.m. Friday until Monday morning to allow systems to be adjusted. While these measures met with understanding in some social media, there was criticism on Twitter, for example, that customers will have to re-register for their online account.
In general, the name change is a feat of strength for the company. More than 16 trucks and 65 delivery vans were used for logistical handling. In total, the exercise cost 40 million francs. In addition to the redesign of the stores, it also includes an increase in marketing efforts to make the new brand known. Andsjö plans to open more stores, but did not say how many.
Long search for new name
According to Andsjö, the search for the new name began more than a year ago. Over time, 737 possible brand names were evaluated. Six concepts were looked at more closely, two were developed further and finally one was selected. For this, 1300 customers were surveyed.
With the new name, the mobile operator can save on license payments to France Télécom, which owns the Orange brand, from the beginning of May. Orange Switzerland had been sold by France Télécom to the British investment company Apax in 2012. At the time, a five-year license agreement was signed to continue using the Orange name, Andsjö said. The agreement expires at the beginning of 2017.
License fees saved
Last year, Orange Switzerland had transferred 21.4 million francs to the French for license and other fees. This means that after two years with a new brand, the mobile operator is driving cheaper. The actual costs are even greater, Andsjö said: "If we add everything up - licensing costs, marketing and stores - we have so far invested 80 million francs a year in the brand of another company instead of building our own brand."
Apax, for its part, had sold Orange Switzerland in February to telecom entrepreneur Niel, who owns the provider Iliad in France. Niel put 2.3 billion euros (2.8 billion francs) on the table for the deal. With the sale, Apax made a strong return of 800 million francs. (SDA)
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Andsjö does not explicitly confirm the new brand name. But he comments on the speculation as follows: "All I can say about this is that if this is the new brand, it would be a short, simple name that comes before Swisscom and Sunrise in the alphabet."
The reason for the change: At the beginning of 2017, the five-year license agreement that Orange Switzerland signed in order to be able to continue using the name of the French Orange as a subsidiary expires. In order not to be under time pressure, the decision was already made in 2014, says Andsjö.
The company estimates the cost of the rebranding at around 40 million Swiss francs. This amount is made up of the redesign of the stores and an increase in marketing expenditure to communicate the new brand.
But the new brand will also save money, since the license fee for the Orange name will be eliminated. Says Andsjö, "I'm not allowed to give the exact figure. But a range of 18 to 20 million francs per year has been mentioned in the media." If one assumes these figures, the company will be operating more cheaply with the new brand after just two years. Above all, however, the company has so far "invested in the brand of another company instead of building up its own brand," Andsjö told the NZZ am Sonntag.
After the launch event next Thursday, the stores will be closed for 72 hours and refitted, Andsjö announced in an interview with NZZ am Sonntag. The goal is to have at least 90 percent of the stores open with the new brand on the following Monday.
Asked whether Swiss telecom operators will face a price war from Salt's new owner Xavier Niel (known for aggressive price cuts), Andsjö replied in the negative. "We are launching a premium brand. Xavier Niel now operates in France, in Monaco, Israel and Singapore, and has a different strategy everywhere. Still, there is a kind of Xavier Niel DNA, and that is simplicity and innovation. But the pricing is different from market to market." (NZZ am Sonntag/sis)
Details of the new appearance will be communicated on April 23, 2015. Meanwhile, Orange is keeping the new name a secret. Nevertheless, the newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag believes it already knows it: Salt. The reason for this assumption is that various names have been entered in the trademark register that suggest Orange: "Salt", "Salt Communications", "Salt Mobile" and "Salt Cinema". The latter is reminiscent of Orange Cinema, the company's cinema brand. The trademarks were registered by Bär & Karrer in Zurich. The law firm also registered isolated trademarks for Orange, the newspaper said.
Further indications are changes to Salt.ch - Holder of the Domain is also Bär & Karrer - and a new, still inactive Twitter account @SaltMobile_Care. It remains a mystery, however, why the French Swiss satirical program "26 Minutes" announced the name "Salt" as the new Orange name in a sketch back in February. Orange does not want to comment on the issue. (hae/SaS)
Image: Switzerland on Sunday
Would YOU find the name "Salt" a good choice?
Niel made headlines around the world with the failed takeover of the U.S. company T-Mobile. Niel earned his first money in the 1980s with the French Internet forerunner Minitel: The young entrepreneur offered chat services for adults on Minitel. Later, he focused on the fledgling Internet and co-founded one of the first French Internet providers, World-Net. He later demonstrated his flair for the telecommunications business with the provider Free, which was one of the first in France to offer telephone, TV and Internet as a package deal. Iliad, with its Free and Free Mobile brands, is now one of the largest telecommunications groups in the Republic. According to its own figures, Iliad is number three in the mobile business - even though the group only expanded into the mobile market in 2012. Free Mobile owes its rapid rise to its aggressive pricing policy.
But France is apparently not big enough for Niel: Last summer, he tried unsuccessfully with Iliad to buy a majority stake in T-Mobile US, the fourth-largest mobile carrier in the United States. His $15 billion offer was audacious, because T-Mobile is worth around 60 percent more on the stock market than Iliad. But the failed takeover attempt did not cool Niel's expansion plans, as the purchase of Orange Switzerland proves.
Co-owner of Le Monde
Thanks to his majority stake in Iliad, Niel is one of the richest men in France - according to Forbes magazine, the telecom entrepreneur is worth around 8.2 billion dollars. In France, the billionaire is also known as one of the owners of the newspaper Le Monde. Niel joined other investors in the traditional Parisian paper in 2010. (SDA)
Niel on the acquisition of Orange Switzerland: "Since Orange Switzerland was acquired by Apax funds in 2012, my team and I have followed the development of the company very closely. As such, we have witnessed the successful change process at Orange Switzerland under Apax's leadership. NJJ Capital, as the new owner of Orange Switzerland, will provide continuity to customers, employees and management. NJJ Capital is a long-term strategic investor, owned and managed by proven telecom specialists, whose goal is to share and exchange best practices with Orange Switzerland management. My top priority in the future will be to manage Orange Switzerland according to the Swiss environment and its customs."
Orange has changed hands many times
In the 16-year history of Orange Switzerland, the number three in the mobile communications market, there have been several changes of ownership. Here are the most important milestones in Orange's history:
1994: Establishment of the Orange Group in the United Kingdom as a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa and British Aerospace. It builds Orange Communications in Switzerland with the German Viag Group, Zurich-based Swissphone Engineering AG and Waadtländer Kantonalbank.
January 1998: Orange Communications AG is founded with headquarters in Zug. Later, the company headquarters are moved first to Lausanne, then to Renens VD.
April 20, 1998: Orange Switzerland receives a mobile communications license from the Federal Communications Commission (Comcom).
June 28, 1999: Orange becomes the third mobile communications provider to start operations in Switzerland, after Swisscom and DiAx (later Sunrise).
October 1999: The German industrial group Mannesmann acquires Orange, giving Orange Switzerland a new major shareholder. At the same time, Orange concludes an interconnection agreement with Swisscom and thus enters the fixed network.
April 2000: There is another change in the shareholder structure of Orange Switzerland, as the British company Vodafone acquires Mannesmann together with Orange. However, under pressure from the European competition authorities, Vodafone has to sell Orange.
May 30, 2000: The French state-owned telecommunications group France Télécom is buying Orange for around 74 billion francs. France Télécom thus also acquires a 42.5 percent stake in Orange Switzerland.
November 8, 2000: France Télécom acquires a majority stake in Orange Switzerland and pays CHF 2.4 billion for the 42.5 percent stake held by German conglomerate E.ON.
December 6, 2000: Orange Switzerland acquires a UMTS license for CHF 50 million.
November 25, 2009: France Télécom announces its intention to buy Sunrise and merge it with Orange Switzerland.
April 22, 2010: The Competition Commission (Weko) prohibits the planned merger to prevent a duopoly of Sunrise/Orange and Swisscom in the mobile communications market.
June 3, 2010: Orange Switzerland and Sunrise definitively drop the intended merger and withdraw their appeal against the Weko veto. Sunrise is then sold by its owner, the TDC Group, to the financial investor CVC Capital Partners for CHF 3.3 billion.
July 28, 2011: France Télécom, which is having problems on its home market, is looking for a buyer for Orange Switzerland. The Swiss subsidiary no longer fits its strategy.
December 24, 2011: Orange Switzerland is going to the British investment company Apax, which includes the fashion company Tommy Hilfiger, for around 2 billion Swiss francs.
February 15, 2013: Orange announces up to 140 job cuts in 2013.
December 18, 2014: Apax sells Orange Switzerland to French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel. (SDA)
Activities are being reorganized, job cuts are being examined and a consultation phase is being initiated, according to Orange. During the initial phase in the coming weeks, a potential reduction of around 70 jobs in management and administration is planned. Further adjustments will then be examined in a further phase during the course of the year on the basis of modernized and simplified customer processes, Orange said in the press release.
In addition, at least 60 new jobs are to be created and 18 new Orange Centers are to be opened. This is intended to supplement the current investments of 700 million Swiss francs in the mobile network.
Syndicom sees downsizing as a consequence of the price war
For the Syndicom trade union, this further wave of redundancies within the telecommunications industry comes as no surprise; on the contrary, it was foreseeable, as the union wrote in a press release on Friday. The ruinous and ongoing price cuts in the mobile telephony market and the merger between Orange and Sunrise, which was prevented by the Competition Commission, are among the main reasons for the worrying developments in mobile telephony.
Syndicom welcomes Orange's willingness to involve the union in the consultation process and to subsequently participate in the social plan. The union concludes by saying that it hopes to be able to work with the employee representatives during the consultation process to come up with proposals and solutions relevant to the labor market that will open up new and sustainable career prospects for the affected employees both within and outside Orange.
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