Telecommunications companies simply aren’t listening. Just ask people in France, Spain, Senegal and Poland, where telcos have proliferated to meet the demands of digital-centric societies. Companies purporting to facilitate communications are, ironically, disconnecting with customers.

When Orange entered the market, it stood out as a more “human” option, but in this increasingly digital age, simply being simple isn't enough. Orange needed to determine and convey what qualities made it special.

So, 20 years after our agency created the original brand, we pitched and won the opportunity to collaborate with brand, marketing, product, digital and retail teams and re-envision Orange’s flavor.

Working under the notion that technology thrives when it personally connects people, we conducted surveys to learn what’s essential in customers’ lives. Additionally, we spoke to researchers and clinical psychologists to determine the principles of a true listening experience. Through these conversations we identified 10 global themes to organize products and services under. These include family, work, money and wellbeing.

The new visual identity projects Orange into everyday situations and communicates with customers through colorful visual elements—frames and pop outs styled after its square logo. Frames contain text blurbs illustrating how Orange is listening to people, while the cookie-cutter pop outs reveal how it’s responding. For instance, a frame that reads “A plan that fits around me” could correspond with a pop out containing words, icons, photos or moving images illustrating products and services.

We also needed to transform 170,000 employees into brilliant listeners and design a future proof culture that could introduce and support systemic global change. To broaden Orange’s conversations with customers—from pricing and product features to broader needs—we piloted a program in Poland and Spain that used workshops, games and an online platform to champion great ideas and train the next generation of employees.

Orange’s new brand identity focuses on the customer experience, a shift that reflects the company’s will to be a telecom innovator. Thanks to the campaign, Orange is no longer seen as just a supplier of telephony and mobile networks. It’s a brand that delivers essential services.

With a team of almost 100 members of our creative consultancy onboard, the 360°-redesign of Orange’s brand identity has been one of our most ambitious projects to date. Through sustained collaboration, we have inspired 170,000 employees across 29 countries to embrace the spirit of the change and, simply... listen. Consumer insights from our research have driven the redesign of digital retail and store experiences.

The engagement initiative articulated a leadership story that was clear, inspiring and ownable, thus turning Orange employees into true collaborators—experts in listening to customers and responding to their changing needs. Piloting the programme in Spain and Poland allowed us to observe where, specifically, moments of tangible change were inspired so we could emphasize them in other markets.

Through our search-and-discovery approach to the brand architecture, everything Orange does today lives in one interconnected, seamless system that allows customers worldwide to dial up the full brand offer.

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 39 billion euros in 2014 and 156,000 employees worldwide. With a presence in 29 countries, the company has 244 million customers, including 185 million mobile and 16 million broadband subscribers. It is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the Orange Business Services brand.

Orange was created in 1994, a time when we could only barely to envision today’s technologies. Mobile phones were relatively new—and far from smart. The Internet wasn’t very accessible and social media didn’t exist.