News 2004
Virgin Mobile wins Gold at the prestigious IPA Effectiveness Awards
04/11/2004
04.11.04: Virgin Mobile has won three awards at the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2004, a bi-annual ceremony revealing the most successful adverts over the last two years. Virgin Mobile has claimed the prestigious Gold award and Best Presentation, while Virgin Group took Best New Client.
The IPA Effectiveness Awards reward and showcase the commercial power of ideas, and are the only awards where the entries have to prove that communication ideas actually deliver a return on investment. They also provide learning on how communication ideas work, and are the most rigorous and prestigious awards in a growing effectiveness culture. They are now in their 25th year.
Virgin Mobile triumphed over its competitors by winning the Gold and Best Presentation Award for their Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R campaign.
The judges commented:
"Virgin Mobile’s achievement is an impeccably presented case of how they have challenged conventions in the mobile phone market. Using its parent network as a "control", the paper isolates the specific contribution of the brand, and brand communications, to Virgin’s spectacular success in denting a market that it was late to enter.”
Tom Alexander, chief executive of Virgin Mobile, said: “These are difficult awards to win so this really is a fantastic result that shows that not only is our creative work well received, but is also very effective. I’d like to thank everyone who has worked with Virgin Mobile on creating our innovative campaigns – it is gratifying to see all the hard work and dedication rewarded by such a coveted accolade.”
For further information please contact:
| Virgin Mobile | |
| Virgin Mobile Press Office: | 0845 600 6272 or press.office@virginmobile.com |
| Alison Bonny: | 07802 430276 or alison.bonny@virginmobile.com |
| Joanne Baker: | 07941 233300 or joanne.baker@virginmobile.com |
| Lansons Communications | |
| Shellie Wells: | 0207 294 3627 or shelliew@lansons.com |
| Liz Willder: | 0207 294 3677 or lizw@lansons.com |
About Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK) plc, the UK's largest mobile virtual network operator, is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and uses T-Mobile's network. Since its launch in November 1999, Virgin Mobile has attracted more than 4.2 million customers.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virginmobile.com/mobile or on the High Street at approximately 5,000 outlets including Virgin Mobile Specialist Stores, Virgin Megastores, Sainsbury, Tesco, Safeway, Asda, John Lewis, Littlewoods, Argos, The Link, Dixons, Carphone Warehouse, Curry's, Comet, Phones 4 U, TOMO, Woolworths, Toys R Us and Rymans.
Virgin Mobile employs approximately 1,400 staff at three sites, Trowbridge, London and Daventry, and has an outsourced customer service centre operated by approximately 200 staff in Middlesbrough. It has been voted one of the top 50 places to work in Britain for two years running in an annual Financial Times survey.
Virgin Mobile's customers are considered the most satisfied in the prepay sector according to a recent UK survey by market researchers JD Power and Associates.
