If the team behind the merger of Orange and T-Mobile wanted to attract attention, it certainly went the right way about it. Not for those involved the creation of a dull-but-worthy corporate brand in the mould of Centrica. Instead, they decided to call the new brand Everything Everywhere. The response to last week's announcement has been surprise and, in some quarters, derision.
'Some of the press have been a bit "You what?",' admits Steven Day, vice-president, brands and communications, at Everything Everywhere. 'But we wanted that reaction. When Orange was unveiled we had a similar reaction; the alternative name was Microtel.'
The company insists it will retain both the Orange and T-Mobile brands. Day's role is to sharpen the distinctions between the two so they serve different audiences. This portfolio strategy is not unusual in other sectors, but has not been tried before in the UK's fast-moving mobile space.
This raises the obvious question as to what the point is of having such a bold corporate brand if it already houses two strong consumer-facing brands.
Corporate vs consumer
Working out a brand dichotomy is a common problem when brands merge - especially if their pairing is for financial reasons - and the architecture can change over time. After Norwich Union merged with CGU in 2000, for instance, it created the rather bland corporate name Aviva, but retained Norwich Union as its consumer-facing brand in the UK. Last year, however, Aviva dumped the Norwich Union brand to achieve global consistency.
An interesting comparison in this case is TUI, which houses travel brands Thomson and First Choice. TUI is a big name in Germany, but not the UK - Tim Williamson, the group's customer director, says its unprompted awareness is just 4%. It relies on the strength of its brands.
Nevertheless, Williamson insists that having a separate corporate brand is worthwhile as a means to present a united front to staff and investors.
'I'm very pleased with it,' he says. 'The advantage it gives you is that it allows you to talk to your staff as one.'
Day shares this thinking. '[Everything Everywhere is] very much an internal brand at the moment as people get used to it,' he says. 'It helps them realise the merger is actually real.'
Distinguishing between a corporate entity and the brand reduces confusion for consumers: Vodafone, for example, is a multinational organisation as well as a UK consumer brand.TUI's only use in the UK, meanwhile, is as a corporate entity. Everything Everywhere, on the other hand, has slightly different plans.
Initially, consumers will see the name only on till receipts and contracts, but that may change. When the T-Mobile and Orange networks are bolted together, consumers will be able to move from one to the other. The Everything Everywhere brand will sit behind both as a reminder that the two are linked, and may eventually be used in marketing with the consumer brands.
Keeping options open
Some branding experts remain less than convinced by such strategies. Paul Simonet, creative strategies director at experience agency Imagination, argues that 'the jury's out' on what corporate brands can add to another that has its own positioning and associations.
'Everything Everywhere takes the branding model for consumer brands and puts it into the corporate world. I'm not sure what value it adds,' he says. 'It sounds like more of a soundbite than a business strategy.'
Andrew Welch, executive director, corporate brands, at brand consultancy Landor, suspects that there are major plans for Everything Everywhere beyond a simple corporate brand. 'It's bizarre to introduce something as bold and ballsy as this as an entity at a different level,' he says. 'It hints that it will be taken into different areas.'
Day admits the strategy may extend beyond the existing brands if the company opts to create lines for niche segments, products or geographies. However, Welch points out that Orange has a history of innovating in new areas and that it is 'odd' it 'was not seen to be able to fulfil this role'. Whether his scepticism is well-founded or not, Everything Everywhere's strategy is undoubtedly intriguing.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
The merger of T-Mobile and Orange unites the UK's third and fourth-biggest mobile network operators. Between them they have 30m customers, more than half the UK adult population.
The two brands will remain. Orange is likely to build on a premium positioning; T-Mobile a more mass-market one. The latter will be able to launch fixed-line services under the tie-up.
There is a small group of senior marketers within Everything Everywhere. Guillaume van Gaver is vice-president of marketing, Mark Duncan vice-president of sales and loyalty, Steven Day vice-president of brands and communications, and Andrew Ralston chief commercial officer.
Over time, the intention is to create a bigger marketing department that will work across both brands.