Mobile Advertising: Orange Innovates With In-SMS Ads Concept

PARIS and LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire - August 6, 2008) - Orange has run the world's first in-SMS advertising trial in Switzerland in partnership with Amobee Media Systems, a provider of advertising solutions for mobile phones. Several major brands participated in the project.

Orange ran a trial with SMS-embedded ads in Switzerland to leverage the mobile advertising potential in European markets.

SMS is probably the most efficient channel to link brands with mobile customers. With wide-spread usage, text messages reach a much larger audience than traditional media. Moreover, SMS are not intrusive and can be consulted by mobile users at any time.

Customers who signed up (opt in) to the trial were offered a discount on their invoice in return for insertion of advertising in the SMS they received. Advertising was inserted at the bottom of the message in the remaining available characters, total capacity of an SMS being limited to 160 characters.

"Text messaging represents the largest potential advertising opportunity in the mobile world," comments Zohar Levkovitz CEO at Amobee Media Systems. "Given that billions of messages are sent and received every day, the number of total viewers exceeds audiences of the largest web sites, TV and radio stations and newspapers. When it comes to global audience reach no media format exceeds text messaging."

Ads inserted in peer-to-peer SMS have a much higher chance of being read as they are less intrusive than the usual SMS push. In-SMS advertising allows for the integration of multiple interactivity features such as click-to-WAP, click-to-call or click-to-download. Moreover, thanks to Amobee's technology, Orange is able to accurately target specific geographical zones or delivery times.

Test results measured during the nine-week testing period are very positive in terms of acceptance rate, service delivery, click rates, number of inventories and the impact on brand recognition.

"This is a groundbreaking solution and we're very happy to be the first to test it," comments Fabrice Allegro, Vice-President Marketing and Solutions at Orange Switzerland. "Mobile advertising provides a compelling opportunity for brands and their media agencies while allowing our customers to consume more mobile services for less."

About Amobee Media Systems

Headquartered in Redwood City California, Amobee Media Systems is the most deployed telco-grade ad-serving solution 100% dedicated to mobile operators, allowing them to dynamically insert advertising impressions in all forms of mobile communication and content: WAP Browsing, Video & Music, SMS, MMS, and Games. Amobee's complete ad serving solution is designed to facilitate the launch of advertising campaigns for brand building, direct response and lead generation campaigns helping mobile operators and their subscribers "get more for less." The company enjoys financial backing from some of the biggest names in venture capital: Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Globespan, as well as strategic investments from two leading operators: Vodafone and Telefonica.

About Orange Switzerland

Orange Communications SA entered the Swiss telecoms market in July 1999 as the third mobile communications provider. The Orange mobile communications network covers 99% of the Swiss population and offers fast mobile internet connections in addition to mobile phone calls. As of June 2007, Orange also provides fixed network lines. In 2007, Orange generated total revenues of CHF 1,339 billion. Some 1,200 employees attend to the every-day needs of 1,526,937 customers (as at the end of June 2008).

Orange Switzerland is a 100% subsidiary of the France Telecom Group.

You can find more details on Orange at www.orange.ch.

About Orange

Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators. France Telecom serves close to 174 million customers in five continents as of June 30, 2008, of which two thirds are Orange customers. The Group had consolidated sales of 52.9 billion euros in 2007 (26.3 billion euros for the first half 2008). As of June 30, 2008, the Group had 113.8 million mobile customers and 12.2 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers.

Launched in June 2005, the NExT program (New Experience in Telecommunications) will enable the Group to pursue its transformation as an integrated operator and make France Telecom the benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. In 2006, Orange became the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates, and Orange Business Services the banner for services offered to businesses worldwide. France Telecom is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartiment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information: www.orange.com, www.francetelecom.com, www.orange-business.com. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.

Contact Information: For further information: Orange Suisse: Therese Wenger +41 78 787 10 16 Orange Groupe: Louis-Michel Aymard +33 1 44 44 93 93 Amobee Media Systems: Océanne Trovo +33 1 71 18 34 30