It's good to see that Virgin's publicity hound Richard Branson
hasn't let the economic blues dampen his hearty appetite for media
exposure.
With so many new businesses to launch in Asia, Branson has been clocking
up the frequent flier miles, zooming across the region. And at each
stop, the indefatigable Branson brings a veritable circus to town.
Diary's spies down under say Branson didn't stop a smaller budget or
heavyweight rivals like Optus and Telstra stop Virgin Mobile making a
louder noise when Australia allowed mobile phone users to change
operators and retain their telephone numbers.
He simply got into a tank and headed down Sydney's highways.
By the time you read this piece, Branson would have been up to another
publicity-grabbing trick - he would have abseiled down a building in
Singapore to announce Virgin Mobile's launch in the city. Let's see if
skimpy budgets will encourage other CEOs to trade the executive suite
for an adrenaline- pumping publicity rush - a la Branson? It's Diary's
dare to regional chieftains. And there's a truly great prize in store
for media-hungry companies on a lean budget - a page full of pictures to
show off any infamous stunt that even Branson would envy.
