News 2006
Virgin Mobile Bites back with unique 3G entertainment content
27/04/2006
27.04.06: Virgin Mobile Bites unveils its new enhanced suite of value added services, which includes new 3G-enabled services, and unique mobile video content to offer a first class experience to its customers. Building on its success to date, Virgin Mobile Bites has been enhanced and extended to offer 3G services and more unique music, editorial and video content.
Virgin Mobile Bites offers fun, cheeky and irreverent “Bite-sized boredom busters” to its customers, and acts like a cross between a celebrity gossip magazine and a personal entertainment system on your mobile. Virgin Mobile customers can now banish boredom by downloading full-length digital music tracks and videos straight to their phone. Through a deal with Musiwave customers can choose over 400,000 music tracks and videos from all the top artists such as Robbie Williams, Coldplay and Beyonce.
Virgin Mobile’s unique content is key to the Bites video channel, and its fun and entertaining content remains true to its brand approach. There are exclusive celebrity and music interviews, the latest film reviews, and some exciting new comedy services such as Dancing Dads and Bites Boy. Dancing Dads features content sent in by Virgin Mobile customers, and viewers then may vote for the grooviest ‘dad’ dancer. Bites Boy is a character that will do anything asked of him by Virgin Mobile customers, no matter how wild or outrageous, which is then filmed by hidden cameras and the results broadcast over Bites.
Virgin Mobile Bites is available for Virgin Mobile customers to experience for 30p a day, around the cost of a daily newspaper. The service is complemented by a monthly Virgin Mobile Bites entertainment magazine, sent to customers for free. Customers who haven’t been regular users of Bites can benefit from a great value `try-before-you-buy’ offer – giving 30 days of access for free.
With Bites new enhanced 3G services, voice calls are also taken to the next level – Virgin Mobile customers with 3G video calling phones can now make and receive video calls to any UK mobile network. 3G services are available on Virgin Mobile’s Nokia N70, which has the video calling functionality along with other great features, including a 2 megapixel camera.
Nick White, head of value added services and product marketing at Virgin Mobile, said: “3G is all about evolution rather than revolution but we’re trying to make it fun and different. Our customers care about the video content they can see and the music they can buy rather then the name of the technology that delivers it. However, the launch of 3G is a significant step forward in providing a competitive customer experience, underpinning Virgin Mobile’s ability to continue to attract higher spending customers. We will progressively introduce phones with 3G capability throughout 2006."
Virgin Mobile Bites is highly interactive, with quizzes, polls, opinions and reviews. It offers the chance for customers to publish their own material by text, picture messaging and video. It rewards participation with prizes, and creates a tribal feeling through the sharing of this content.
Bites has been created exclusively for Virgin Mobile with Que Pasa, which specialises in planning, creating and delivering multi-platform content in the youth market.
For more information on Bites see www.virgin.com/mobile
For information or to taste Virgin Mobile Bites, please contact:
Virgin Mobile Press Office: 0845 600 6272
Email: pressoffice@virginmobile.com
Joanne Baker: 07941 233300 or jo.baker@virginmobile.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 million customers*.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virginmobile.com or on the high street at approximately 5,000 outlets including Virgin Mobile Stores within Virgin Megastores, The Carphone Warehouse, The Link, Dixons, Phones 4u, Curry's, Comet, Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Argos, TOMO, Woolworths, Toys R Us and Ryman plus hundreds of independents mobile phones dealers and available via Shop Direct, Littlewoods, Grattan and Empire home shopping channels.
Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly (contract) is currently available in Virgin Mobile Stores, The Carphone Warehouse, The Link, Phones 4u and at concessions in WHSmith and at www.virginmobile.com
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.
Virgin Mobile's customers were found to be the most-satisfied mobile consumers in the pre-pay sector for two years running in 2005 and 2004, according to the surveys by J.D. Power and Associates. Virgin Mobile is also featured in `The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For’ list 2005 and is part of the FTSE4Good Index.
*On a 90-day activity basis.
