Earn Airtime in Your Spare Time - Virgin Mobile USA Customers 'Ad' Airtime in Breakthrough New Incentive Service
30 May 2006
Virgin Mobile USA, the leading U.S. youth wireless service, has found yet another creative way to make Pay As You Go pay off for its customers. The company announced today the launch of the innovative new SugarMama service, a unique and exciting way for Virgin Mobile customers to earn precious airtime -- and for advertisers to engage, connect and interact with the youth market.
For the first time ever, Virgin Mobile USA customers will be able to earn airtime in their spare time simply by viewing a quick online advertisement or interacting with a short text-based ad, and then providing a few seconds of feedback to the advertiser.
"This is truly a win-win situation for everyone involved," said Dan Schulman, chief executive officer at Virgin Mobile USA. "Through this multi-faceted service, Virgin Mobile customers will earn free minutes as well as exclusive access to unique content and offers. Our partner brands will be able to enrich the lives of Virgin Mobile users while customizing how they engage with our base -- all while adding a smart and targeted mobile channel to their media mix."
The only service of its kind in the wireless industry, SugarMama creates a two-way relationship between top brands and the youth market, while simultaneously allowing Virgin Mobile to offer its customers a new way to take control of their wireless lives.
Partnering with Virgin Mobile on the launch of this ground-breaking new service are three powerful, national brands: Xbox (Microsoft); Pepsi-Cola North America, initially featuring Diet Mountain Dew; and truth(R), the American Legacy Foundation(R)'s national youth smoking prevention campaign. Each of these charter advertisers are name-brands and noted for their iconoclastic approach to leveraging various marketing channels.
"We're always seeking opportunities to learn from our customers how we can deliver the best gaming experiences possible on Xbox 360," said Director of Xbox marketing Chris Di Cesare. "Virgin Mobile's SugarMama program provides us with a new way to drive consumer awareness yet gain valuable insight from our customers that helps us continually deliver new breakthroughs in gaming entertainment."
"The truth(R) campaign seeks to educate teens about smoking and the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry, so we are always looking for unique ways to share the truth and reach teens," said Joseph Martyak, executive vice president of marketing, communications and public policy, at the American Legacy Foundation(R). "Since day one, our campaign has been focused around enabling young people to interact through peer-to-peer communication, then ask questions and make informed choices about tobacco use. So the two-way dialogue on which SugarMama is based will be another powerful way for us to engage teens with life-saving information, by harnessing technologies teens use frequently in their everyday lives."
How it Works
Continuing its mission to super-serve a desirable and often hard-to-reach audience, Virgin Mobile listened closely to the input of its customers in designing the SugarMama service. "It's critical that this service reflect the wants and needs of our users," noted Howard Handler, chief marketing officer at Virgin Mobile USA. "We viewed the development of SugarMama as a highly collaborative process, which includes the input of our charter partners."
Customers will opt-in to SugarMama via the Virgin Mobile website (http://www.virginmobileusa.com) by filling out a short demographic profile and certifying the fact that they are age 13 or older.
Customers will be invited to watch a streaming video advertisement, after which they'll spend a few seconds answering questions to show they watched the segment and understood key takeaways. Correct answers earn the customer free minutes of airtime.
Customers can also earn airtime by opting-in to SMS messages that contain advertisements or discounts. Virgin Mobile expects to continue to expand the scope of this program, offering advertisers the opportunity to showcase long-form or other unique types of content.
Powered by Ultramercial
SugarMama is powered by Virgin Mobile partner, Ultramercial LLC. Ultramercial brings its unique business model and ad unit to the partnership. Its back-end functionality allows viewers to choose to watch and interact with a full-screen commercial as "payment" for access to what would otherwise be charged to a credit card or other form of airtime Top-Up.
"Virgin Mobile's SugarMama site brings the value of a viewer's engagement to a new and higher plateau," notes Rick Vandervoorn, Ultramercial's East Coast vice president of sales. "These commercials will be more content-rich and less ad-like, to make a perfect fit with Virgin Mobile's young user base. And talk about a goodwill bounce -- the sponsor buying airtime minutes? What could be more valuable?"
Get What You Give!
A bold and unconventional service from an industry rebel, SugarMama is expected to be a hit with Virgin Mobile's customers. "Our customers are the first to try new things and often convince others to do the same," said Handler. "They are passionate about the brands and music they associate with and, like Virgin Mobile itself, they are not afraid to be different."
In addition to charter advertisers, Xbox, Pepsi and truth(R), Virgin Mobile expects to quickly welcome other advertisers into the partnership. "Everyone is racing to shove ads into the mobile channel," added Handler. "But the last thing young people want is spam on their phones. This service acknowledges the savvy and free will of our customer base. Our attitude, and that of our partners, is that these customers' time is valuable. They should get something for giving us something. And that's what SugarMama is all about."
About Virgin Mobile USA, LLC:
Launched nationally in July of 2002, Virgin Mobile USA, LLC is the nation's first wireless network created for and defined by youth. Virgin Mobile is a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel, which operates one of the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless networks in the United States. The country's first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Virgin Mobile's four million customers have access to a service portfolio that includes multiple voice pricing options, a full range of handsets and a broad array of messaging, music and mobile content offerings -- without long-term contracts. In addition, J.D. Power and Associates has recognized Virgin Mobile for providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" under its Certified Call Center Program.(SM)
Virgin Mobile phones are available at more than 25,000 stores, with Top-Up cards available at more than 80,000 locations nationwide. Virgin Mobile products can also be purchased online at http://www.virginmobileusa.com or by calling Virgin Mobile At Your Service (1-888-322-1122).
About Ultramercial:
Ultramercial, LLC markets its patents-pending business model and ad unit to Internet publishers and video-on-demand content providers. The Ultramercial model grants users free access to premium content they would normally have to pay for after they choose to engage with its full-screen multi-page commercials as an alternate form of payment.
Ultramercial, LLC is privately held, headquartered in Palos Verdes Estates, California with offices serving Los Angeles, New York and Detroit. The company maintains contracts with a network of online publishers and advertisers. More information may be found at http://www.ultramercial.com. Ultramercial is a registered trademark of Ultramercial, LLC.
Source: prnewswire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Related Articles
|
