ORANGE EXTENDS FREE BLACKBERRY INTERNET SERVICE FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

ORANGE EXTENDS FREE BLACKBERRY INTERNET SERVICE FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

BlackBerry Internet Service promotion during April and May on selected tariffs

London, April 08, 2009: Orange is extending its free BlackBerry® email and web browsing offer to help business customers in these challenging economic times. Customers who sign up to the BlackBerry® Internet Service (BIS) in April and May will be able to receive and reply to emails as well as browse the web on their BlackBerry device; all for free for the duration of their mobile voice contract.

“As the recession continues to bite, the last thing we want is to see is our customers worrying about their phone bill at the end of the month, so this move will hopefully alleviate some of the worries they are facing,” commented, Martin Lyne, Director of small and medium business, Orange UK.

The offer is available on all Blackberry devices to new and existing customers on select Orange business tariffs, making it much easier and cost-effective for customers to stay in touch when on the move. The service for both business and personal use means that access to data and people is available whenever the user wishes.

Until 31st May 2009, Orange customers can take up the offer with Business Solo or Business Infinity, subject to a minimum12 month contract.

For further information, please visit: http://www.orange.co.uk/business/bis

Read Full Post »

NEW ORANGE DATA BUNDLE ACCOMODATES EMPLOYEE DOWNTIME HABITS : orange.co.uk

NEW ORANGE DATA BUNDLE ACCOMODATES EMPLOYEE DOWNTIME HABITS

London, April 7, 2009: With more than three quarters (77%) of employees admitting to jumping online, either on their PC or mobile device, to entertain themselves during gaps in their working day, Orange hopes to ease the pressure on small and medium businesses with a new data tariff.

Priced at £4.25 per month for 500MB of data, Orange hopes to ease the pressure on small and medium businesses by giving them enough data to accommodate all their business needs plus more – without incurring any nasty hidden costs.

“In today’s economy, businesses and their employees need a break. We know everybody’s working hard so there’s enough capacity in our new data bundle to combine work with some fun such as social networking and entertainment that doesn’t penalise either staff or the bill payer,” said Martin Lyne.

He continued, “this bundle also serves as the perfect package for an increasingly growing customer base who are adopting a variety of multimedia services.”

According to the YouGov research, commissioned by Orange, a quarter of women would spend work downtime catching up with friends and family via social network sites and email, while one in ten would use the time to shop online. In contrast, half of men would fill a lull in their working day surfing the internet.

This competitive new tariff will replace the 10MB and 250MB (currently priced at £5.00 and £6.38 respectively) packages and will be available to pay monthly business customers with new or existing voice packages.

So what does 500MBs of data get you? Well this can be a maximum of either:

· 25,000 average webpages; or

· 175,000 emails; or

· 125 music downloads; or

· Over 48 hours of web browsing; or

· 192 hours of IM chat

For further information on the 500MG data bundle, please visit: http://www.orange.co.uk/business/owb

Read Full Post »

Orange Award for New Writers Announces 2009 Shortlist

Orange Award for New Writers Announces 2009 Shortlist

The Orange Award for New Writers, launched in 2005, announces this year’s shortlist today.

Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist: 21 April 2009

Awards Ceremony: 3 June 2009

The Orange Award for New Writers, launched in 2005, announces this year’s shortlist today.

All first works of fiction, including novels, short story collections and novellas, written in English by a woman of any age or nationality and published as a book in the UK, are eligible. The emphasis of the award is on emerging talent and the evidence of future potential. The winner will receive a £10,000 bursary funded by Arts Council England which is intended to help the winning writer pursue their work with greater freedom.

The 2009 shortlist is:

Francesca Kay – An Equal Stillness

Nami Mun – Miles From Nowhere

Ann Weisgarber – The Personal History of Rachel DuPree

The judges for the 2009 Orange Award for New Writers are:

Mishal Husain (Chair), Presenter, BBC World News

Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent, Evening Standard

Diana Evans, Author and winner of the inaugural Orange Award for New Writers

“We were deeply impressed by the tremendous quality of this year’s new writers,” said Mishal Husain, BBC World News presenter and Chair of judges, “it was a very competitive field and therefore an excruciating process to choose just three of the 80 books we read. The shortlist we eventually decided upon reflects the dynamism and diversity of the entries, showcasing three authors with very different voices but an outstanding talent. We believe their extraordinary novels will appeal to a wide range of readers and also inspire the writers of tomorrow.”

She continues,” We would also like to commend two other authors, Tania Hershman and CE Morgan, whose work stood out for its remarkable quality. We look forward to seeing more of their writing in the future.”

The Award was launched in 2005 in partnership with Arts Council England. Renewing their commitment to the partnership with Orange, Arts Council England has committed a further £30,000 over the next three years (£10,000 per year) for bursary awards for the winners of the Orange Award for New Writers. By offering a bursary to a novelist or short story writer for her first publication, the Arts Council is able to support the professional development of a writer at a crucial stage in her career.

Authors who have written their first work of fiction can be entered for both the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Award for New Writers in any given year.

Moira Sinclair, Executive Director of Arts Council England, London said: “The Orange Award for New Writers showcases and rewards the best contemporary writing by women today. Arts Council England is delighted to continue its partnership with the Orange Prize, investing in emerging literary talent. Prize money buys freedom, as Rose Tremain said in her Orange Prize winning speech last year, and we hope that the award in 2009 will offer a new literary voice the opportunity to develop in the most favourable conditions.”

Diana Evans took the first ever Orange Award for New Writers in 2005 for her debut novel, 26A. She subsequently went on to win the Decibel Award 2006 at the British Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award 2005. Naomi Alderman won the Orange Award for New Writers in 2006 and has since gone on to win The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year (2007) for her first novel, Disobedience. Canadian writer, Karen Connelly, took the Award in 2007 for her novel, The Lizard Cage and most recently, Joanna Kavenna won the Award in 2008 for her debut novel, Inglorious.

Ian Smith, Head of Partnerships at Orange UK said, “Supporting and rewarding a new generation of fresh and emerging talent is at the heart of what Orange believes in. The ensuing success of our past winners demonstrates the importance of investing in the future of female fiction, which would not be possible were it not for our partnership with Arts Council England.”

The winner will be announced at the Orange Prize for Fiction award ceremony which will take place on 3 June 2009 in The Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, central London.

Read Full Post »

Orange Award for New Writers Announces 2009 Shortlist

Orange Award for New Writers Announces 2009 Shortlist

The Orange Award for New Writers, launched in 2005, announces this year’s shortlist today.

Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist: 21 April 2009

Awards Ceremony: 3 June 2009

The Orange Award for New Writers, launched in 2005, announces this year’s shortlist today.

All first works of fiction, including novels, short story collections and novellas, written in English by a woman of any age or nationality and published as a book in the UK, are eligible. The emphasis of the award is on emerging talent and the evidence of future potential. The winner will receive a £10,000 bursary funded by Arts Council England which is intended to help the winning writer pursue their work with greater freedom.

The 2009 shortlist is:

Francesca Kay – An Equal Stillness

Nami Mun – Miles From Nowhere

Ann Weisgarber – The Personal History of Rachel DuPree

The judges for the 2009 Orange Award for New Writers are:

Mishal Husain (Chair), Presenter, BBC World News

Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent, Evening Standard

Diana Evans, Author and winner of the inaugural Orange Award for New Writers

“We were deeply impressed by the tremendous quality of this year’s new writers,” said Mishal Husain, BBC World News presenter and Chair of judges, “it was a very competitive field and therefore an excruciating process to choose just three of the 80 books we read. The shortlist we eventually decided upon reflects the dynamism and diversity of the entries, showcasing three authors with very different voices but an outstanding talent. We believe their extraordinary novels will appeal to a wide range of readers and also inspire the writers of tomorrow.”

She continues,” We would also like to commend two other authors, Tania Hershman and CE Morgan, whose work stood out for its remarkable quality. We look forward to seeing more of their writing in the future.”

The Award was launched in 2005 in partnership with Arts Council England. Renewing their commitment to the partnership with Orange, Arts Council England has committed a further £30,000 over the next three years (£10,000 per year) for bursary awards for the winners of the Orange Award for New Writers. By offering a bursary to a novelist or short story writer for her first publication, the Arts Council is able to support the professional development of a writer at a crucial stage in her career.

Authors who have written their first work of fiction can be entered for both the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Award for New Writers in any given year.

Moira Sinclair, Executive Director of Arts Council England, London said: “The Orange Award for New Writers showcases and rewards the best contemporary writing by women today. Arts Council England is delighted to continue its partnership with the Orange Prize, investing in emerging literary talent. Prize money buys freedom, as Rose Tremain said in her Orange Prize winning speech last year, and we hope that the award in 2009 will offer a new literary voice the opportunity to develop in the most favourable conditions.”

Diana Evans took the first ever Orange Award for New Writers in 2005 for her debut novel, 26A. She subsequently went on to win the Decibel Award 2006 at the British Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award 2005. Naomi Alderman won the Orange Award for New Writers in 2006 and has since gone on to win The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year (2007) for her first novel, Disobedience. Canadian writer, Karen Connelly, took the Award in 2007 for her novel, The Lizard Cage and most recently, Joanna Kavenna won the Award in 2008 for her debut novel, Inglorious.

Ian Smith, Head of Partnerships at Orange UK said, “Supporting and rewarding a new generation of fresh and emerging talent is at the heart of what Orange believes in. The ensuing success of our past winners demonstrates the importance of investing in the future of female fiction, which would not be possible were it not for our partnership with Arts Council England.”

The winner will be announced at the Orange Prize for Fiction award ceremony which will take place on 3 June 2009 in The Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, central London.

Read Full Post »

ORANGE LAUNCHES NEW SALES ACADEMY TO DELIVER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

ORANGE LAUNCHES NEW SALES ACADEMY TO DELIVER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

• Extensive talent development programme aimed at delivering a superior customer experience
• Orange Sales Academy transforms career development for entire salesforce
• Significant investment in attracting and inspiring the best talent

London, 6th April 2009: Orange today announced the launch of the Sales Academy, an ambitious talent and development programme that redefines the way Orange attracts, evaluates, trains, coaches and rewards the best talent in Sales. Orange Sales Academy is part of the new vision to deliver outstanding sales performance and customer satisfaction by the Orange Sales and Loyalty team, led by Vice President Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke. Orange is making a substantial investment in the programme further to the commitment made by CEO Tom Alexander for the company to become the best-loved communications brand in the UK.

As part of the sales transformation programme, launched late last year, the extensive initiative aims to motivate and inspire team members, while empowering them with the skills to maximise their potential. The Sales Academy defines a personal career path for individuals whilst managing progress through every step of their journey to deliver top performance.

The launch of the Orange Sales Academy marks a unified approach to talent and development across all channels within the Sales and Loyalty team, which includes sales teams from retail, online, portal advertising, telechannels, indirect and B2B direct. Orange is also revising pay plans and incentives, as well as introducing new reward and recognition schemes as part of the plan.

Orange Sales Academy provides an objective and detailed evaluation of the skills, knowledge and behaviours of sales staff and managers. Training is enhanced by working closely with the internal Talent and Development team as well as external experts in sales performance. Silent Edge has been chosen to be our partner in delivering some key elements of the Academy vision. The focus is on giving managers the skills to become performance coaches and to develop a strong and sustainable in-house training team.

The Sales Academy will kick off with evaluation and training for all Sales and Loyalty staff, and will be followed by ‘sustainability sessions’ that will help to ensure adoption and understanding of the best practice and learnings from the initial training.

The programme provides a personalised training and development experience, and gives staff better visibility of the career opportunities open to them. New initiatives under the Sales Academy include streamlining sales processes and providing sales teams with the skills and techniques to talk customers’ language. This further builds on Orange’s commitment to effectively serve the 21st century customer.

Early last year, Orange created the Retail Centre of Excellence programme which supported a record breaking performance by Orange Retail despite the economic climate. The Centre of Excellence delivers training to sales advisors in Orange stores, starting with a full week induction for full time employees and followed by an eight week fast track programme to become a store manager. It provides an opportunity for all sales advisors to receive up to ten hours of training every quarter. The Sales Academy will complement this programme and take it on another level.

Last week marked the launch of Sales Legends, a programme that recognises outstanding achievements and awards the top 50 performers – the top one per cent – across Sales and Loyalty every month. The top 50 performers for the first half of 2009 will be crowned ‘Sales Legends’ and invited with their partners, to an exclusive VIP event on 16th July. The top three Sales Legends will be exclusively revealed at this event and they’ll walk away with fantastic prizes and the pride of being known across the business as the ‘best of the best’.

Jean Pascal Van Overbeke, VP for Sales and Loyalty at Orange UK commented: “Our vision is to build a world class sales team that is motivated and inspired, and knows how to deliver the right customer experience and return for Orange. We’re making a serious investment in our people and Orange Sales Academy reflects our desire to attract and develop the best salespeople. The Academy will be the place where great sales people are made, and with the tools and guidance from Orange become sales legends.”

Read Full Post »

Orange Gives Team Night Out a Credit Crunch Makeover

Orange Gives Team Night Out a Credit Crunch Makeover
As recession doom and gloom hits the workplace, Orange is helping save the traditional team night out by giving its business customers an extra way of keeping up team morale and rewarding staff.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the famous Orange Wednesdays 2-for-1 cinema tickets offer, the deal has been expanded to include a 2-for-1 offer at any PizzaExpress restaurant, any Wednesday, nationwide, making it the perfect package for a great ‘credit crunch’ team night out.

Martin Lyne, Director of small and medium business, Orange UK said, „If ever there was a time to recognise and reward the hard work of employees it’s now. Everybody is working hard, everybody is feeling the pinch and everybody deserves a little thank you now and again. Combine the Orange Wednesdays cinema offer with a quick bite to eat at PizzaExpress and you have a fun, affordable night out with staff and colleagues.”

Orange Wednesdays 2-for-1 cinema and PizzaExpress offers are open to all Orange business customers. All you need to do is simply text ‘film’ to 241 from your Orange mobile, then head to orange.co.uk/orangewednesdays to download your PizzaExpress 2-for-1 meal deal voucher – including a choice of either free garlic bread or dough balls.

Read Full Post »

ORANGE UNVEILS NEW CINEMA ADVERTISING WITH LAUNCH OF ORANGE FILM STUDIOS

ORANGE UNVEILS NEW CINEMA ADVERTISING WITH LAUNCH OF ORANGE FILM STUDIOS

• The first new cinema ad features Emilio Estevez in a ‘re-envisioned’ version of Hollywood war epic, Saving Private Ryan made by the fictitious ‘Orange Film Studios’
• Digital campaign to support new adverts goes live

London, 26th March 2009: Orange today announces a new era for its prestigious cinema advertising known as the ‘Gold Spot’ with the launch of Orange Film Studios.

After years of hearing celebrity pitches for movie ideas Orange is now moving into the production business – ‘re-envisioning’ Hollywood blockbusters with Orange mobile phones at the centre of the action. Orange Film Studios is led by the much loved characters Mr Dresden and Elliott.

Emilio Estevez will star in the first of a series of cinema adverts created by Fallon. The cinema adverts will continue to remind people to turn off their phones whilst retaining the well loved key characters, Mr Dresden & Elliott.

Set at night time in L.A, the first ad features Emilio Estevez, Elliott and Mr Dresden at the red carpet premiere of their re-envisioned movie “Saving Private Ryan’s Number”. In the film, Estevez plays Captain Parker who forgets to save Ryan’s number to his mobile phone and so he and his men embark on a mission to find him. Estevez does not realise the mobile phone has been inserted into the movie and is horrified when he finds out.

On the red carpet, Estevez stops dead in his tracks when he sees a clip of the movie. On screen, he is dressed as a WW2 sergeant. Explosions, shrapnel and machine-gun fire blaze around him but he pays it no attention. He can only stare at his mobile phone and weep.

Titles appear over the action: “ORANGE FILMS PRESENTS…”, and Estevez is horrified as he reads out “Saving Private Ryan’s – Number!?”. He seizes Mr Dresden’s arm and continues, “But in that scene I was holding a photograph!”. Dresden responds, “Come February that’ll be an Oscar.”

The ad reaches a climax when the reporters on the red carpet question Estevez about the historical accuracy of the movie. Suddenly it all gets too much and Estevez bolts down the red carpet, shoving past those in his way.

For the first time, Orange has extended the cinema advertising to include a digital campaign by creative agency Poke. The online campaign spoofs how movies are promoted on the web as if Orange Film Studios’ ‘new movie’ was real. A dedicated website http://www.orange.co.uk/orangefilmstudios will feature promotional materials about the movie in the cinema adverts, such as ring tones, games and even wallpaper. Together they have also created a movie trailer, and a press junket with film critic Mark Kermode interviewing the producers Dresden and Elliott about their ‘new movie’.

Justin Billingsley, Brand Director at Orange UK commented: “The Gold Spots have been a tremendous brand asset to us over the last 6 years helping solidify our position as the number 1 brand associated with film in the UK. With this new approach the challenge for us was to keep what made them great, whilst evolving them from a set of quarterly great ads to a campaign with new ways to access and interact with this idea that has entertained millions of people. Now combined with the digital work we have achieved this.”

Orange has held the prestigious 65 second slot or ‘Gold Spot’ since 2000, with the original Film Funding Board creative starting in 2003 with Mother. The new ad starring Emilio Estevez will run in cinemas across the UK from 27th March. Fallon has created three other Gold Spots that will hit the screens throughout the year.

Read Full Post »

Youth Panel to Shadow Official Orange Prize Judges

Youth Panel to Shadow Official Orange Prize Judges

Six teenagers will form a youth panel to shadow the judging process of the official Orange Prize 2009 judges it was announced today. The Orange Prize for Fiction is the UK’s only annual book award for international fiction written by a woman.

The three girls and three boys, aged between 16 – 19, will read the 20 books longlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize, then meet to choose their own shortlist of six and subsequently, a winner. They will be sharing their experiences of judging a book prize publicly online via the teenage website, Spinebreakers (Spinebreakers.com).

“Some years ago, we had a male panel shadowing the main prize, which raised all sorts of interesting issues. Since there’s a big debate at present in the book trade about teenage reading, it seemed a logical step to set up a shadow teenage panel,” commented Kate Mosse, author and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize. “We hope that it will not only engage a wider, younger audience with the Prize but also provide interesting insights into the judging process and the question of who reads what.”

“I love books and feel very proud to be part of this youth panel,” said Lily Dessau, aged 16.

“I’m really looking forward to being a member of the panel and to getting stuck into the discussions,” added Francis Gene-Rowe, aged 18.

The official Orange Prize judging panel this year includes broadcaster Fi Glover (Chair), writer and novelist Bidisha, journalist and academic Sarah Churchwell, journalist Kira Cochrane and entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox.

The choices of the youth panel will not influence the decisions of the official panel, but will be made public after the announcement of the Orange Prize shortlist in April. Orange Prize Honorary Director, the novelist Kate Mosse, will sit in on the discussions of both sets of judges and act as facilitator of the youth panel.

The youth panel consists of:

· Lily Dessau (16), studying Art, English, History and Maths and a fan of Philip Pullman, George Orwell and Malorie Blackman

· Joe Kerridge (16), an avid reader of Jack Kerouac and Harold Pinter who also plays for the England youth cricket team

· Clarissa Pabi (18), currently studying for A-levels in English Literature, Philosophy and Maths whose favourite authors include Mary Shelley, Will Self and J.K. Rowling

· Rossana Duarte (18) also studying for A-levels who enjoys reading and writing poetry in her spare time and cites Jane Austen, Stephen Fry and Isabel Allende as her favourite authors

· Francis Gene-Rowe (18), a gap year student, whose favourite authors include Joseph Conrad, William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald

· Max Elsworth (19) an A-level student and aspiring journalist who lists Tolkien, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, R.L Stine and J.K. Rowling as his top five authors

The Orange Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible and is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman. Any woman writing in English – whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter – is eligible.

Previous winners are Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), and Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996).

http://www.orangeprize.co.uk
Notes to Editors:

The official Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 shortlist will be announced by Fi Glover on Tuesday 21 April 2009 at London Book Fair.

About Spinebreakers
Spinebreakers.co.uk is a teen online book community run by teenagers themselves.

Launched in 2007, editorial control of the site is in the hands of a core editorial team of nine teenagers aged between 13 and 18 years, supported by a large network of contributing teen editors from across the UK.

The teen team produce a wide variety of multi-media content for the website including video and audio reviews, alternative book jackets and endings, soundtracks, author interviews, podcasts, blogs, short stories and much more.

About the Youth Panel
The youth panel were recruited via the Spinebreakers website, the UK’s only online book community for teenagers run by teenagers.

Lily Dessau, 16
Lily lives in South London and is studying Art, English, History and Maths at school. She loves reading and is the longest-serving member of Spinebreakers. Also a fan of live music, Lily would like to study English Literature at University and her ambition is to become a writer or journalist. Her favourite authors include Philip Pullman, George Orwell and Malorie Blackman and she also enjoys reading murder/mystery, comedy and adventure stories.

Joe Kerridge, 16
Joe goes to school in South East London. He has loved reading since a child and cites literature and sport as his two main passions. His top five authors at the moment include Ian McEwan, Jack Kerouac, Harold Pinter, Franz Kafka and Stephen Fry. Joe also plays for the England youth cricket team.

Clarissa Pabi, 18
Clarissa is currently studying for A-levels in English Literature, Philosophy and Maths and also enjoys theatre, physics and politics. She writes for the Spinebreakers website and last year became the 2008 Roundhouse Theatre Poetry Champion. She is also part of the Barbican Young Poets. Her ambition is to become a critic and a writer and her favourite authors include Will Self, J.K Rowling and Mary Shelley.

Rossana Duarte, 18
Rossana is taking Physics, Chemistry and Biology A-levels and she hopes to go to university to study Chemistry. Her hobbies include go-karting, reading and writing poetry and astronomy and her dream is to become an astronaut. Rossana’s favourite authors include Jane Austen, Stephen Fry, Isabel Allende and F.Scott Fitzgerald.

Francis Rowe-Gene, 18
Francis is a gap year student and next year he will be going to UCL to read English. In the meantime he works as a part-time teacher and tutor. His main interests are theatre, music, film and writing and he hopes one day to work in one or more of those fields. In the past he has worked on several theatre projects both in school and out, and when he is not teaching, he can normally be found with his nose in a book.

Max Elsworth, 19
Max is currently finishing English and History A-levels at college and his ambition is to study English at Oxford. His main hobbies include reading, writing, playing the cello and guitar. An aspiring story writer, poet, song writer and journalist, Max’s top five authors are Tolkien, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, R.L Stine and J.K. Rowling.

Read Full Post »

ORANGE ENTERS INTO A DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH BRIGHTPOINT

ORANGE ENTERS INTO A DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH BRIGHTPOINT

Agreement sees Orange enable UK network alliance for global wireless distributor

Orange UK has entered into an agreement with Brightpoint GB Limited (“Brightpoint”), a subsidiary of Brightpoint, Inc., a global leader in the distribution of wireless devices and customised logistic services. This collaboration in the UK is a direct distribution agreement that will see Brightpoint’s IT and PBX resellers target business customers with a range of solutions including Orange connectivity, Orange devices and SIM only deals. This agreement will allow Orange to leverage Brightpoint’s device agreements with Nokia and RIM as well as its exclusive agreement with HTC in the UK.

“Through this strategic alliance, Brightpoint will be able to gain access to all our products and services enabling its resellers to offer a complete mobility solution to its customers. Our excellent network coverage and product portfolio combined with Brightpoint’s expertise of working with IT resellers will give us the competitive edge to offer businesses the best possible service,” commented, Mark O’Meara, National Sales Manager for Independent Retail and Distribution, Orange UK.

Resellers will receive additional support through a number of Orange led initiatives including pre-sales training and the ability to access Orange technical support. Both companies will work together to bring hosted email for both Exchange and non-Exchange users with Orange providing additional email training courses to support resellers in this process

Read Full Post »

ORANGE SPONSORED RESEARCH SEES THE MOBILE MEDIUM ESTABLISH ITSELF FIRMLY IN THE MARKETING CHANNEL

ORANGE SPONSORED RESEARCH SEES THE MOBILE MEDIUM ESTABLISH ITSELF FIRMLY IN THE MARKETING CHANNEL

Orange announces key findings from its independent research into consumer mobile media habits across the UK – Exposure 2

• 81% of mobile media* users access mobile media once a week with strong usage in the home, as well as on public transport and around town
• Mobile media users are very much open to mobile marketing with 70% of participants attracted by interactive marketing formats
• The most popular forms of mobile marketing currently are click-through advertisements and voucher redemption codes
• Mobile is viewed as the most innovative and personal media channel compared to all other traditional and digital channels

London, 24 March 2009: Orange this week launches Exposure 2, the second Exposure research survey commissioned to reveal the role of mobile media usage within the broader media landscape. Exposure 2 consists of independent qualitative and quantitative research, following a survey of more than 2,000 mobile media users from across all UK mobile networks. The survey focuses on consumer consumption of mobile media, and attitudes towards it when used as a marketing channel – particularly in comparison to other traditional and digital media.

Steve Heald, Director of Partner Channels at Orange UK, said: “Exposure 2 shows that mobile media is now very much part of the mainstream for consumers. The public’s openness to marketing through mobile media highlights that there is a huge opportunity for marketers to engage consumers with clever executions. I hope the findings will prove to be a catalyst for a wave of inspiring and creative marketing campaigns that capitalise on mobile’s unique properties as the most personal and innovative of channels.”

Key Findings

Mobile Media Consumption

Mobile media usage patterns differ greatly depending on a consumers location, with the strongest usage of mobile media being in the home: 67% of participants who used their mobile for email did so in their home and 56% for mobile internet browsing. Downloading, mobile content was also revealed as significantly more likely to be performed at home, with speed, convenience and alleviating boredom, cited as the key reasons for usage.

Meanwhile, high use of mobile media on public transport centred around entertainment services, such as TV, music and games, whereas services used most when out and about, such as local information and internet search, tend to facilitate movement.

Other key findings on mobile media usage included:

* The average age for mobile media users is 36, and 81% use mobile media more than once a week with 46% using it daily
* Men generally use mobile media more, although women are much more likely to use picture messaging
* The mobile internet pages viewed most often are search engines, email, news, music and film although, interestingly, a high proportion (55%) of people browse the mobile internet with no specific agenda, providing an opportunity for marketers to attract their attention

Attitudes to Mobile Media as a Marketing Channel

Research participants were asked to rate traditional and digital broadcast and print media on a number of attributes. Mobile media was overwhelmingly viewed as the most personal and innovative media, providing it with a unique place in the marketing mix.

The research revealed that people are very much open to mobile marketing and contained some important insights for brands looking to engage with consumers using the media:

* Short SMS codes remain a popular marketing mechanic, having been used by two-thirds of participants
* 70% of participants are attracted more by interactive marketing formats, such as sponsorship, coupons or picture messaging mechanics
* In general, consumers viewed marketing formats with perceived value as the most appealing, such as coupons offering discounts and sponsored games available for free download
* When clicking on adverts on the mobile internet, the next stages which are most popular are: adverts which click straight through to the brand’s website (favoured by 47%); voucher code or coupon (43%); click through to another area of the site (36%); entered in a competition (34%)
* Icons letting users know what to expect from mobile advertising were received positively by 76% of participants

* 82% of respondents have the operator’s portal as their mobile internet home page, making this page an extremely valuable piece of marketing estate

Steve Heald said: “Exposure 2 provides some terrific insights into how exactly brands can go about engaging consumers through mobile. The public is looking for campaigns that reflect their perceptions of mobile as unique and innovative and that entices and excites them with clever interaction. There’s also a clear signal that brands need to be clear on what consumers can expect from mobile campaigns.”

-Ends-
Notes to Editors:

Notes to editors
* A mobile media user for the Exposure2 study is anyone who has used their mobile handset to do one of the following:

Watch Mobile TV
Use the mobile internet
Use Bluetooth
Send & receive mobile videos / MMS
Send & receive pictures / MMS
Send & receive emails
Search the internet
Play games
Listen to the radio
Listen to music
Find local information
Download wallpapers/pictures
Download screen logos
Download ringtones
Download music
Download games

Research conducted by research house: Basis

There are 15,375,945 mobile media users in the UK. (3 month average to Jan 09 – Source M Metrics)

The Orange Advertising Network
• Orange UK’s ad sales team have adopted the new ‚Orange Advertising Network’ name in line with Orange in France, Poland and Spain
• Orange UK partner list includes ViaMichelin, MyVillage and Femalefirst

The Orange Advertising Network offers advertisers the ability to communicate across three screens: PC, TV (where available) and mobile.
In Europe, Orange has attracted advertisers such as Danone, Fox, Adidas, Nike, Gucci, ING Direct, eBay, McDonalds and Walt Disney Pictures
More information on the Orange Advertising Network can be found here.
Orange Digital Media Index
On December 22nd, 2008, Orange unveiled its fourth Digital Media Index, a detailed report offering an insight into customer consumption of digital media. Headline findings included:
• Mobile search increases by 30% – while local search increases by 100%
• Social networking takes off – with over 166 million page impressions on average per month
• Music downloads increase by 10% – with September specifically seeing a record 300,000 full tracks downloaded
The press release and full report can be downloaded here.

Read Full Post »