Orange drops Edelman as it revisits CSR plans

Orange: CSR drive

David Quainton 21-Feb-08

Mobile phone firm Orange has ditched Edelman after six years and brought in two new agencies for a revitalised CSR effort.

CSR specialists Planet 2050 and Good Business will head up an expanded CSR brief as Orange aims to place a much greater emphasis on corporate and social responsibility.

‘A lot of companies still feel they can do the bare minimum, tick the CSR box and call themselves a responsible organisation. That's not what Orange is about,' said interim comms director Stuart Jackson.

Edelman arm First&42nd handled the previous brief, which was believed to be worth around £100,000 a year. The new arrangement, although no longer a retainer, should see a significant increase in spend.

Orange declined to comment on the figures involved. The two agencies report to Orange UK head of CSR Christèle Delbé, who joined the firm 12 months ago, having worked at Orange Group for the previous five years. She has been devising a new CSR strategy for the UK business.

Jackson said Orange would now focus on ‘minimising the impact our business has on the environment, advising our customers on safe and responsible use of our products and services and working with charity partners'.

Orange UK has experienced big changes in its comms team in the past few months, following the departure of comms director Scott Jacobson last November and the appointment of new chief executive Tom Alexander.

One of Alexander's first moves was to bring on board former Virgin Mobile colleague Steven Day as a board-level chief of staff and comms (PRWeek, 20 January).

2050 sister firm Golin Harris has worked with Orange since 2006, when it won the firm's consumer brief. Edelman retains the Orange B2B brief that it has held since 2002 (PRWeek, 9 August 2002).

Orange UK was once the leading mobile phone firm in terms of subscribers but is now number three in an increasingly crowded market.