Professionnalisation et politisation des commentaires numériques sur la marque Orange en Afrique de l'Ouest

Abstract

This article explores the professionalization and politicization of digital commentaries on Orange's brand in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s first underlines the overrepresentation of negative comments published on Facebook and Twitter as well as the diversity of boycott actions initiated by "customer" Internet users: Orangesatch (2013), Boycott-orange-Niger (2015) Stop anarchs of Orange Mali (2015) Africa boycott Orange (2016) or Talatay-Orange (2018). It describes the nature of digital commentaries, ideological, political and even geopolitical issues, as well as the use of Cultural Jamming by contestants who develop technical and social skills. The study exposes the tactics favored by the Orange brand including the establishment of "Team digital" to animate and manage its official pages and accounts and the use of bloggers/influencers to strengthen its reputational authority. Finally, the promotional or entertaining nature of the responses provided by the brand's community managers, in a situation of sensitive communication that can lead to a crisis, questions the skills related to the reputation of the brand.