Director of communications and sponsorship at Orange for Africa, the Middle East and Asia
Karim Mbengue
“OUR SUPPORT FOR AFRICAN SPORT GOES WELL BEYOND THE AFCON”
FrancsJeux : Orange is the title partner of the African Football Cup of Nations, the last edition of which has just ended in South Africa. What form does this partnership between the telephone operator and the competition currently take?
Karim Mbengue: Karim Mbengue: This partnership, a major one for the Orange group, is part of our company's sponsorship strategy, which consists of finding our customers around their passions in our respective markets. As you know, football is the most popular sport on the African continent, so it is only natural that our group has committed to the African Football Confederation for eight years. Personalized marketing action plans have been launched in each of our subsidiaries, with a catalog of specific CAN Orange offers. During the competition, numerous local events took place in our markets, including the “CAN Orange Village”, a space for broadcasting matches on giant screens. Finally, an on-site “hospitality” program in the different tournament cities allowed our subsidiaries to provide their customers with a unique experience.
What assessment do you make of the last edition of the CAN, in terms of impact?
It is still premature to talk about the impact of the "Orange CAN, South Africa 2013", because we are currently in the phase of consolidating the results. The final report will not be available for several weeks. We have already received many positive reactions, both internally and from our subsidiaries and their guests, which is rather reassuring.
Is Orange's presence in African sport broader than just the CAN? Will it expand?
Of course, our support for African sport goes well beyond the Orange CAN. The partnership contract, signed in 2009 with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), includes the status of "title partner" of the African Cup of Nations, as well as that of five other African competitions (Champions' League, European Championship). Nations, Confederation Cup, CAF Super Cup and CAN juniors), until 2016. In addition, our subsidiaries are partners of numerous national football federations, including that of Mali. Finally, we support certain other disciplines in several countries, when they are very established locally. We can cite, for example, the struggle in Senegal.
