SINGAPORE: Virgin Mobile has shunned traditional advertising agencies in
Singapore, picking Sydney hot shop Attik as its lead creative agency,
while Tequila in Singapore will handle its customer relationship
marketing.
Both had been appointed without a formal pitch to work on Virgin's
launch campaign starting around July. Virgin executives were impressed
with Attik's work for Nike Australia and Jonny Lang, Virgin regional
brand director, is familiar with the agency's UK work. Unlike
traditional ad agencies, Attik looks beyond television, using
alternative mediums, said Lang, previously customer experience director
for UK portal Virgin.com.
Tequila has been appointed to create direct response press ads. Its
managing director, Philip Brett, said working for Virgin will "allow for
a lot of freedom and creativity in a category that had until now been
fairly dull". Lang added: "We want to properly manage our customer
relationships and not just be a monthly bill."
Virgin Mobile faces stiff competition from established players, SingTel,
M1 and StarHub, but Lang argues it will succeed. "We're not a
traditional telecommunications company, we're a lifestyle brand so we
can be different - we can do things that others can't because they don't
have the credibility we have," said Lang.
