Orange have launched a global re-brand this week, thought to be worth as much as 90 million pounds, that centres around the phrase, and search query: “I am”.
“This is not just a campaign, it is a system,” said Jonathan Morley, the vice-president global brand at Orange. “It will inform everything we do and refocus and refresh the brand.”
In the UK, Orange will be committing a record £30m advertising budget to the campaign and it is understood up to be spending nearly £100m globally.
Interestingly, rather than cover their print, online and television ads with a web address - Orange have opted to ask users to: “search online for I am”.
Dropping URLs in favour of search as a call-to-action isn’t totally new, (Kellogs tried it with Special K in 2007) but it’s yet another pointer to how search-centric internet users have become.
With a massive brand like Orange heading down this route, we’re certain to see other brands follow - and search engine optimisation becoming even more important.
Full report on the re-brand at Media Guardian.
