News 2001
Virgin Mobile scores with Bath Rugby Club
29/08/2001
Local 'teams' get together in sponsorship deal
Virgin Mobile today announced that it is to become a team sponsor of Bath Rugby, one of Britain's most popular rugby union clubs.
The two-year deal gives Virgin Mobile a mix of promotional and advertising opportunities with Bath Rugby, use of the team in publicity and at staff events, as well as the chance to offer mobile media services to Bath fans all over the country. The team kit is also being emblazoned with the Virgin Mobile logo.
Virgin Mobile is creating Bath-branded phone covers, showing the club's famous '1865' logo and images of the team in action. These will be on sale at the club shop - alongside Virgin Mobile's state-of-the-art phone range - in Bath over the coming two seasons.
Virgin Mobile, which has its UK headquarters just a few miles away from the club in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, will send out Bath Rugby news alerts, scores, match reports and team gossip free of charge to Virgin Mobile customers through its VirginXtras text and WAP service. (Other mobile sports services charge up to £4 a month for text alerts!) VirginXtras also provides comprehensive news and results coverage of the Zurich Premiership, the National Provincial Championship, Super 12s, the Welsh Scottish League and International games, in addition to half-time and full-time specific team results.
The sponsorship deal confirms Virgin Mobile as a serious player in its support of sport and its local West Country community. Virgin Mobile already sponsors a British Superbike racing team, Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa, and is also sponsor of the popular 'V' series of music festivals.
Andrew Ralston, customer relationship director at Virgin Mobile, said: "This is a union between two great brands; we are two popular organisations that have a strong presence in the West Country, and a huge influence nationally. This is great news for rugby fans and fans of Bath Rugby. With Virgin Mobile they'll be able to keep up-to-the-minute with all the latest team news and results, as well as general rugby and sports news, with our free VirginXtras service."
Brian Sims, head of marketing at Bath Rugby Club, said: "By teaming up with such a forward-thinking company as Virgin Mobile, we aim to take Bath, both as a national rugby team and as a local business, to a new audience using new media."
As part of the deal, Virgin Mobile is supplying Bath Rugby Club with mobile phones and plans to launch an interactive text 'organiser system'. The SMS diary - like a modern-day pager system - allows the club's management to alert its players and staff to their schedules.
For further information please contact:
Joanne Baker, Virgin Mobile, 07941 233 300
Steven Day, Virgin Mobile, 07931 777777
Georgina Annett, Consolidated Communications,
07941 251 100
Julia Clark, Consolidated Communications,
07941 230 500
Sasha Bradbury, Consolidated Communications,
07941 230700
Helen Mercer, Bath Rugby, 01225 325200
Notes to Editors:
About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture company between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Deutsche Telekom's One 2 One, and is the UK's first mobile virtual operator (MVNO). Since its launch in November 1999 it has attracted over one million customers, making it one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies ever.
It has scored a number of firsts, including being the first operator to scrap peak rate calls, introduce a daily discounting tariff, introduce an integrated MP3 mobile phone and is the first operator to introduce a cash back tariff, The Big Bonus.
Virgin Mobile is the only network to offer cheap calls and no line rental with no hidden catches and no contracts to sign. Standard calls cost 15p per minute for the first 5 minutes of use each day, and 5p per minute after that, for up to 23 hours 55 minutes each day. There is no line rental fee and no catches, however you choose to pay - you only pay for the calls you make. Voicemail retrieval is free and SMS messages cost 10p per message in the UK.
You can also Pay As You Want - by topping up with a voucher or a debit or credit card, or you can pay monthly by direct debit. Either way, you still receive the same great value tariff and no monthly fee.
The Big Bonus scheme entitles customers using £30-worth of calls or more each month to 10% of whatever they spend as an airtime credit the following month (includes calls made within and from the UK). The Big Bonus is available to everyone paying by direct debit, or to pre-pay customers topping up with either a credit or debit card.
VirginXtras is Virgin Mobile's groundbreaking range of value-added and money-saving services. The VirginXtras service helps customers get the information they want, in the most accessible and easy-to-understand way, whether it be via IVR, SMS, voice or WAP, and can be tailor-made to suit each individual. VirginXtras is available to every Virgin Mobile customer and puts service over technology. Sports covered include: rugby union, rugby league, football, Formula 1, tennis, cricket, golf and British superbkes.
Customers logging on to www.virgin.com/mobile simply pre-select areas of interest from seven core categories, including: sport, music, going out, staying in, travel, shopping and fun. So, whether people are after the most recent film releases at their local cinema, discounts on a whole range of items from CDs to holidays, football scores for their favourite team or a recommendation for a night out, VirginXtras offers the easiest way to get the best and latest personalised information sent right to your phone.
Virgin has already taken the brand overseas with Virgin Mobile (Australia), a partnership with Optus, which opened for business at the end of October 2000. A similar joint-venture between Virgin and Singapore Telecom will see the launch of Virgin Mobile (Asia) later in 2001. The global Virgin Mobile brand is also expected to launch in the USA and Europe within two years. Virgin Mobile has also recently launched in Northern Ireland.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virgin.com/mobile; or on the High Street at over 4,500 outlets including Virgin Megastore, Our Price, V.SHOP and in outlets including supermarkets such as Sainsbury, Tesco, WH Smith, Iceland, Co-op, Asda, Somerfield and John Lewis.
