News 2003
Virgin Mobile launches biggest ever customer reward scheme
16/10/2003
Virgin Mobile, the UK’s fastest growing mobile operator, will launch the biggest customer reward scheme ever seen in the mobile industry this week. Called ‘Glue’, the ‘connect-a-mate’ scheme gives Virgin Mobile’s customers £10 free airtime for every mate introduced to the network. Offering a maximum of £80 per year (eight connections) to over three million customers, this means a potential annual giveaway of more than a quarter of a billion pounds!
‘Glue’ is about getting your mates and family connected to Virgin Mobile, which gets you more for your money as well as the added incentive of free airtime. It is also the first and only mobile connection scheme that offers ‘cash without a catch’ - only two other connection schemes exist (Orange and Vodafone) and both demand that the ‘mate’ spends over £99.99 on a handset.
An outstanding 75% of Virgin Mobile’s customers have recommended people switching on to the same network , however, according to Oftel’s survey across all the main five UK networks, the industry standard for customers who would recommend switching is actually far lower at 27%.
Graeme Hutchinson, sales and marketing director at Virgin Mobile, said: “We are putting our money where our mouth is - a quarter of a billion pounds in fact - and would love all of our three million customers to take us up on this offer, and try to put us out of business!
“This great deal will prompt customers to question whether they and their mates are getting the best deal from their network. We’re not afraid of a little healthy competition from our rivals, and we want to encourage network promiscuity – mobile customers should always shop around the networks to find the best deal for them.
“A Virgin Mobile is a great gift for Christmas - with texts at only 3p, no peak rates, no contract to sign, and phones from only £49.99 and colour phones from £69.99 . And with the launch of Glue, Virgin Mobile is responding to a growing mobile trend - that of tribalism – where customers are using their group status to reap the financial and social benefits of being on the same mobile network.”
