Orange and SFR Launch 'Proximity+', a Joint Opt-In SMS Ad Offer
Orange Advertising and SFR have merged their opt-in SMS and RCS databases into Proximity+, a single French mobile-marketing offer reaching 11.5 million consenting people at a 95% open rate — a rare truce between two telecoms rivals.
Two Rivals, One Opt-In Audience
On 30 August 2026, Orange Advertising and SFR unveiled Proximity+, a joint advertising offer that pools their permission-based mobile audiences — Orange's Instants Partenaires and SFR's PromosLive — into one media buy. For advertisers it means a single point of access to 11.5 million deduplicated, opt-in French consumers reachable by SMS and, increasingly, RCS.
The tie-up is striking because Orange and SFR are direct competitors in French telecoms, and because the market is in the middle of a wider consolidation. Setting rivalry aside to sell media together signals just how valuable first-party, consented mobile data has become in a cookie-constrained world.
Why the Engagement Numbers Matter
The metric brands will notice is attention. Orange Advertising cites a 95% SMS open rate, with 90% of messages opened within three minutes, click-through rates of up to 30% on affinity-targeted sends, and an unsubscribe rate below 0.2%. Add geofencing accurate to 150 metres — a precision only network operators can offer — and Proximity+ looks like a performance channel, not just a reminder tool.
Context helps. Promotional SMS volumes in France grew 9% year on year, the operators say. As email inboxes clog and organic social reach wobbles, the humble text message is quietly re-emerging as one of the highest-attention formats a marketer can buy.
Consent and Control Are the Selling Points
Crucially, the two operators keep their data apart. Each retains sovereignty over its own base, with no cross-sharing, and each stays the sender of its own messages. Frequency is capped at one communication per week per user, sent between 9am and 7pm and never on Sundays.
That restraint is deliberate. In a market where the CNIL polices data and the DGCCRF watches consumer protection, a conservative, consent-first design is what makes an 11.5-million-strong SMS audience both defensible and durable.
Marketing Minute's Read: What Businesses Should Do
Our take: Proximity+ is a reminder that owned, opted-in audiences beat rented reach. You don't need operator-scale data to borrow the model — build a permission-based SMS or RCS list, cap the frequency, and lead with genuinely useful offers rather than sheer volume.
For media buyers, treat mobile messaging as a measurable performance line, not an afterthought. A 30% click rate on an affinity segment will out-perform most display buys — the only question is whether your creative and your offer are worth the interruption.
Quick FAQ
What is Proximity+?
A joint advertising offer from Orange Advertising and SFR that combines their opt-in SMS and RCS audiences into a single French mobile-marketing buy of 11.5 million consenting consumers.
How well does SMS advertising actually perform?
The operators report a 95% open rate, 90% of messages read within three minutes, and click-through rates up to 30% on affinity targeting — well above typical email or display benchmarks.
Is Proximity+ privacy-compliant?
It is built on opt-in consent, capped at one message a week, with each operator keeping its own data and acting as sender — a consent-first design aimed at French and EU privacy rules.
When two fierce rivals pool their audiences, you know first-party data has become the real prize. Proximity+ works because it respects the customer — opt-in only, once a week, genuinely useful. That's the lesson for every business: permission and restraint aren't limits on marketing, they're what make it work. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
SMS isn't dead — it's quietly one of the highest-attention formats in marketing, and consent is exactly what keeps it that way.
Is opt-in SMS part of your marketing mix yet, or are you leaving one of the highest open-rate channels on the table?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: The Media Leader France, Ecran Mobile, Orange Advertising.
Related reading
Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
Comments