Virgin Mobile Australia
Encyclopedia
Virgin Mobile Australia (VMA) is a telecommunications company based in Sydney
, Australia
. They sell through over 3500 retail outlets, including flagship stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as via telesales and web-based stores.
VMA offers pre-paid, monthly and CAP plans for mobile phones. It also has two wireless broadband products: Broadband At Home and Mobile Broadband.
and Optus
. VMA was Australia's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator
. In this case the arrangement was to use the Optus network infrastructure but with Virgin management of all aspects of the customer experience including branding of products, customer service and billing.
In 2002, Virgin Mobile UK increased its shareholding to 74.15 per cent after Optus refused to inject more cash into the operations. Optus was reported to have lost A$116 million from the operation since the joint venture began.
At the end of 2005, VMA claimed over 300,000 customers.
In January 2006, Optus bought all other shares in the business, and VMA became a wholly owned subsidiary of Optus. A long-term licensing agreement is now in place for the business to continue trading under the Virgin brand.
In April 2006, VMA was merged with SIMplus and M8, other Optus subsidiaries. The new entity, still trading as Virgin Mobile Australia, now claims a customer base of over 500,000 customers.
In April 2010, shortly after attaining 1 million customers, VMA made big changes by replacing former CEO Peter Bithos with new chief Sue Bailey and appointed Michael Seymour as CFO.
2007 Best of the Best Gold Medal for Low-User plans.
These products include all modern telecommunications features such as mobile phone calls, SMS
, Multimedia Messaging Service
, voicemail
, international calls, global roaming
, ringtones and Java
game
s.
In April 2007, VMA launched its 3G
service including video calling
, mobile web browsing
, email
and data services.
In August 2007, Virgin Mobile launched the Virgin Broadband (Australia)
service, offering two products: Broadband at Home (a bundle service including a fixed phone equivalent plus broadband
), and Mobile Broadband (a portable USB modem). Both products utilise the Optus
3G
wireless
network.
In August 2008, VMA became the fourth major telco in Australia to begin selling the new Apple iPhone 3G.
.
, without the consent of the subjects, resulting in media speculation about the possibility of legal conflict. The uploaders did give permission for the use of the photo by assigning the Creative Commons license to the photos. One of the uploaders, Molly Herzschlag, stated on her weblog that, "What they (Virgin Mobile) failed to do was get permission from the people in the photos ... Not sure what the next step will be legal-wise, if any, but I'm looking into it ... This is not the kind of famous I had in mind."
- a major music festival held in Sydney
, Gold Coast
, Melbourne
, and Perth
.
VMA also sponsor local community aid organisations Stretch-a-family and South Sydney Youth Services.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They sell through over 3500 retail outlets, including flagship stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as via telesales and web-based stores.
VMA offers pre-paid, monthly and CAP plans for mobile phones. It also has two wireless broadband products: Broadband At Home and Mobile Broadband.
History
VMA was founded in October 2000, as a 50/50 business partnership between Virgin Mobile UKVirgin Mobile UK
Virgin Mobile UK is a mobile phone service provider operating in the United Kingdom. The company was the world's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator, launched in 1999. Being a virtual operator, Virgin Mobile does not maintain its own network, and instead has contracts to use the existing network...
and Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
. VMA was Australia's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator
Mobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum, nor does it necessarily have all of the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service...
. In this case the arrangement was to use the Optus network infrastructure but with Virgin management of all aspects of the customer experience including branding of products, customer service and billing.
In 2002, Virgin Mobile UK increased its shareholding to 74.15 per cent after Optus refused to inject more cash into the operations. Optus was reported to have lost A$116 million from the operation since the joint venture began.
At the end of 2005, VMA claimed over 300,000 customers.
In January 2006, Optus bought all other shares in the business, and VMA became a wholly owned subsidiary of Optus. A long-term licensing agreement is now in place for the business to continue trading under the Virgin brand.
In April 2006, VMA was merged with SIMplus and M8, other Optus subsidiaries. The new entity, still trading as Virgin Mobile Australia, now claims a customer base of over 500,000 customers.
In April 2010, shortly after attaining 1 million customers, VMA made big changes by replacing former CEO Peter Bithos with new chief Sue Bailey and appointed Michael Seymour as CFO.
Products
VMA offers pre-paid, monthly and CAP plans for mobile phones. Their online-only prepaid product, Bean Counter has won Australian Money MagazineMoney Magazine
Money Magazine is a business news and financial programme that is broadcast on Sundays at 7:00pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl.-Producers and reporters:...
2007 Best of the Best Gold Medal for Low-User plans.
These products include all modern telecommunications features such as mobile phone calls, SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
, Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
, voicemail
Voicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
, international calls, global roaming
Roaming
In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...
, ringtones and Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s.
In April 2007, VMA launched its 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
service including video calling
Videophone
A videophone is a telephone with a video screen, and is capable of full duplex video and audio transmissions for communication between people in real-time...
, mobile web browsing
Mobile Web
The Mobile Web refers to the use of Internet-connected applications, or browser-based access to the Internet from a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, connected to a wireless network....
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and data services.
In August 2007, Virgin Mobile launched the Virgin Broadband (Australia)
Virgin Broadband (Australia)
Virgin Broadband is a wireless broadband service offered in Australia by the telecommunications company Virgin Mobile Australia.It is provided over the mobile network of parent company Optus using HSDPA technology....
service, offering two products: Broadband at Home (a bundle service including a fixed phone equivalent plus broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
), and Mobile Broadband (a portable USB modem). Both products utilise the Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
network.
In August 2008, VMA became the fourth major telco in Australia to begin selling the new Apple iPhone 3G.
Advertising campaigns
Since its inception, VMA has been associated with several innovative and award-winning advertising campaigns, as perhaps expected for a company connected to a very strong international brandBrand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
.
- Warren This campaign was set as a dodgy dating video in which 'lovable loser' Warren was desperately searching for a date - he struggled even tho it cost only 5c to text him. He got interest from a male called Richard, which was a fun poke at Virgin founder Richard Branson. This campaign won the Grand Prix Lion award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising FestivalThe Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
2004. - 5c Campaign This campaign introduced a character known as 5c, a rapper of small but rotund proportions, who by his name was clearly a parody of rap artist 50 cent50 CentCurtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
. This campaign won the Titanium Lion award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising FestivalThe Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
2005. - Enjoy Our Rates Responsibly Campaign This campaign utilised the celebrity Jason DonovanJason DonovanJason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
in a guerrilla marketing style campaign. It began with deliberately planted internet pictures of Jason supposedly trying to sell his 4WD, with a sign on it clearly showing his personal mobile phone number. The campaign centered on the phrase 'Do Not Text Jason D on 0403xxxxxx', as well as the theme of 'enjoy text responsibly', with of course the exact opposite intention. It won several awards including the Lions Direct - Gold at the 2006 Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising FestivalThe Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
.
Flickr advertising issue
VMA's 2007 national advertising campaign - 'Are You With Us Or What?' - has used images from Yahoo's popular image sharing site, FlickrFlickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
, without the consent of the subjects, resulting in media speculation about the possibility of legal conflict. The uploaders did give permission for the use of the photo by assigning the Creative Commons license to the photos. One of the uploaders, Molly Herzschlag, stated on her weblog that, "What they (Virgin Mobile) failed to do was get permission from the people in the photos ... Not sure what the next step will be legal-wise, if any, but I'm looking into it ... This is not the kind of famous I had in mind."
Corporate sponsorships
VMA are the major sponsor of the Australian V FestivalV Festival (Australia)
The Australian V Festival was an Australian music festival, and a spin-off of the British V Festival. Like all V Festivals, the event was primarily sponsored by Virgin Mobile. In Australia the event was also sponsored by airline Virgin Blue. The V Festival was televised exclusively in Australia by...
- a major music festival held in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
VMA also sponsor local community aid organisations Stretch-a-family and South Sydney Youth Services.