Under a heavy cloak of secrecy, Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR)has been preparing for its rebranding. The orange logo color, which had become closely-identified with the company, will soon be switched to green-blue and the brand name will change from Orange to Partner, sources inform “Globes”.
The rebranding process should be launched within the coming weeks, likely by the end of February.
The rebrand was formulated abroad byglobal public relations firm Publicis itsadvertising agencies Baumann Ber Rivnay and Glickman Shamir Samsonov will lead Partner’s advertising campaigns. The two agenciesfaced off in a bid to lead the new line. However, at this time it appears they will jointly manage the campaigns, with the agenciestaking turns leading, instead of taking the lead in certain areas or on specific projects.
The decision to split from the global brand came in the wake of the media storm last summer stirred up by comments by France Télécom CEO Stéphane Richard, who speaking in Egypt, said he wanted to end the company’s relationship with Partner as part of Orange's new branding policy. France Télécom owns the Orange brand.
The two parties then decided to separate, with global Orange paying Partner compensation of €90 million.
After the decision, it was clear the company needed to formulate an alternative strategy. Orange was one of the strongest brands in Israel, after years of closely following a rigorous branding strategy not only focused on theshade of the color but on the voice of the announcer in the commercials. Althoughthe investment in advertising has dramatically decreased in recent years, the massive outlays over the years haveleft the Orange brand stamped firmly in the public consciousness.
The Partner executives likely had the option of starting over, picking a new name and laying the groundwork for a new brand. But that would have carried greater costs, and Partner is currently keeping its eye on the bottom line and not rushing to increase its outlays even with the compensation fromFrance Télécom.
Instead, the option of using the name ‘Partner’ the brand the company used 12 years ago was raised. Throughout the crisis with worldwide Orange, the Partner name was used to separate the global brand from the Israeli operator among consumers.
Partner's managementalso considered whether to integrate012 the telephone and Internet service provider into the new Partner or leave it as a separate budget brand. It appears the company decided to keep 012 independently branded, but lower its advertising volume.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 2, 2016
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