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Wrenching the pounds 50 million Orange account out of WCRS and

handing it to Lowe Lintas has proved such a difficult move for Hans

Snook, the chief executive of the telecoms company, that he is talking

about softening the blow by keeping the chairman of WCRS, Robin Wight,

on as a consultant.

’I would love to be able to use Robin as a consultancy,’ he says.

The remark followed his comments on how one of the earlier options

during the near six-month review had been to split the business between

WCRS and Lowe Lintas. ’We did explore using different elements of the

two agencies going forward but we decided it made things too

complicated,’ Snook says.

Snook makes no secret of his personal regard for Wight: ’It was one hell

of a difficult decision for us to make, particularly me as I know Robin

so well.’ So he seems keen to give WCRS a dignified exit from Orange by

saying the agency did not have the requisite network to support the

brand in its planned rapid global expansion following its acquisition by

France Telecom at the beginning of June.

’With France Telecom we are suddenly going into 28 countries. We need to

look very quickly at how to bring them into Orange,’ he explains. The

international expansion will begin in Europe and then roll out into

other global markets.

The expansion is also likely to spark a media review over the next few

months as Orange seeks a global media agency. Media Planning handles the

UK account.

WCRS is part of the Havas-owned Campus network, with offices in Germany,

France, Italy, Spain and the US. However, Wight says it is not big

enough to support Orange’s expansion plans: ’We are in six markets, not

the 50 that Orange needs.’

Snook will not explain why it took almost two months from the time that

France Telecom came on board to inform WCRS that it did not have the

necessary network facilities. Wight says the delay was because Orange

needed to know that Lowe Lintas had truly cracked the creative before

handing the account to that agency. If Lowe Lintas hadn’t proved that,

according to Wight, the business would have stayed at WCRS.

The review began in mid-February, before France Telecom was in the

equation.

Snook said: ’We have a policy to review all major suppliers at least

every three years. For strategic relations such as with WCRS, it’s every

five years. In fact, with WCRS it extended beyond five years, but we had

to do it at some point.’ He explained that the objective was to

’benchmark’ WCRS’ work by comparing it with what else was available in

the market.

It is not clear whether Orange was then thinking about the need for a

network to take it forward, as it also shortlisted HHCL & Partners and

the network-supported TBWA GGT Simons Palmer and Lowe Lintas.

Snook clearly holds WCRS in very high regard, so much so that he is not

forthcoming about what he believes Lowe Lintas can do for Orange.

However, he sees the agency as being suitable to continue WCRS’ work:

’Lowe Lintas can understand the brand strategy for Orange: what it is,

what it is going to be and what it can be.’

Although unable to name any Lowe Lintas campaigns that he particularly

admires, Snook says his impression of the agency was that it produced

’likeable’ advertising.

’Most of the philosophy of advertising is to make sure the message is

memorable and likeable. We have our likeable quotient,’ he says.

Bob Fuller, Orange’s chief operating officer, is more specific about

what he believes Lowe Lintas can bring to Orange: ’The decision to go

with Lowe Lintas is based on some very dynamic strategic thinking and

creative ideas, as well as its global perspective.’

Orange has yet to decide when the Lowe Lintas work will break. WCRS is

contracted to Orange for six months and has made some of ads that have

yet to run.

The international work will hit regions where Orange is strong - Britain

and Switzerland - before rolling out into key markets such as France and

Italy. Snook and his team must now decide whether they should

immediately rename the existing telecoms brands owned by France Telecom

as Orange or come up with an interim strategy featuring both names. He

states repeatedly that speed is of the essence.

For Snook and his marketing department, firing WCRS has been a difficult

and brave decision to make. The agency has consistently produced work of

the highest standards for Orange, and Snook and Wight have also become

personal friends.

Wight believes that it is a brave move on Snook’s part: ’He’s a very

bold man who’s taken a very bold move. He knows we will now work for one

of his enemies.’

ORANGE: CREATIVE HIGHLIGHTS

Since WCRS began working with Orange in 1994, it has produced not only

some of its best creative work but also without doubt some of the most

effective advertising campaigns in the telecoms market.

’The future’s bright, the future’s Orange’ endowed the new brand with

mystery and a futuristic positioning, and this powerful imagery has

helped Orange consistently win the brand war against its three biggest

rivals.

Although a latecomer to the UK mobile telecoms market, Orange was

positioned as the first player in a newer market by the WCRS ads.

The launch campaign, created by Rooney Curruthers and Larry Barker,

began with a series of poster teasers carrying orange words reading

’laugh’, ’cry’ and ’listen’, set against a black background.

The agency won an IPA Effectiveness award for the launch that year,

following its submission that claimed the success of the advertising had

added pounds 300 million to the company’s stock market value.

Other striking campaigns have followed, including ’Vietnam’ in 1995,

shot by Frank Budgen and the personal favourite of Hans Snook, Orange’s

chief executive. Ridley Scott shot the pounds 1 million blockbuster

’better place’, first shown in 1998.

Barker left for BMP DDB in 1998 and Curruthers moved to FCB San

Francisco earlier this year, but the agency has upheld its creative

standards with its latest Orange work, ’small people’, featuring a

miniature car chase on top of a bar.

The memorable branding work has been backed with equally reputable

tactical campaigns. ’Top dog’, featuring a dog digging in the sand, was

WCRS’ response to Orange coming top in an Oftel survey in 1998, and the

’performance’ campaign illustrates that Orange has more transmitters

than any other digital network.