It all began with a bold move. ​At the beginning of the 1990s, the Hutchison Whampoa group sent a team from Hong Kong led by Hans Snook to close its failing Rabbit mobile network. But he had other ideas and instead brought it back to life under a new brand identity, Orange. On 28 April 1994, the brand was launched with the most optimistic tagline: “The future’s bright, the future’s Orange” with the idea of making technology accessible for everyone not just the few. No technical jargon, just a clear vision and a distinctive color in the telecom world. In 2000, France Télécom acquired Orange for 39.7 billion euros, beginning the next challenge: how to transform a UK brand into the face of a French industrial group operating across three continents. 

The art of an evolving signature

In France, Wanadoo and Ma Ligne TV became Orange in 2006, and by 2013, the entire group adopted the name. This bold move reflected strong confidence in a brand from abroad. Orange’s first secret? Unlike traditional telecom brands tied to national identity, it developed a universal identity: a simple name, a distinctive color, and an optimistic tone that could evolve without losing its essence. From the original 1994 slogan to the latest brand tagline launched for the 30th anniversary, “Orange is here,” with stops along the way like “Today changes with Orange” in 2011 and “Brings you closer to what matters” in 2017, the brand has remained consistent in its mission: supporting customers through the transformations of their times. Today, “Orange is here” emphasizes availability and support over technical feats. It signals a promise to be more than a connectivity provider – an operator people can trust at every step of their journey.

The results speak for themselves. Thirty years after its creation, Orange ranks as the second most valuable telecom brand in Europe and the third most valuable French brand in the world, according to Brand Finance’s 2024 Global 500 report. Proof that a brand can grow over decades without losing its soul.