Virgin Mobile enters Singapore price fray

SINGAPORE: Virgin Mobile launches in Singapore on October 12, with Richard Branson set to abseil down a building as part of its "The Great Escape" campaign. Virgin has shunned TV and print in the campaign, arguing that both mediums are expensive. A major exception is that Virgin will have a music TV programme on Channel 5 called Upwardly Mobile. Virgin is using radio and outdoor extensively. "We're using 'reality marketing', which means we want to reach the consumer when they are out and about," said regional brand director Jonny Lang. Virgin's debut coincides with a price war sparked by Singapore Telecommunications. Despite its stake in Virgin, SingTel is treating it as a rival and is offering a 50 per cent price cut. With Singapore's high mobile phone penetration rate, Virgin has to convince locals to switch from one of the three established players to its service. It aims to woo people by highlighting competitors' restrictions, while arguing that its service does not bind customers to yearly contracts. Tequila created the Virgin ads, which include cheeky one-liners such as "We're here but we have no plans". "We want to position Virgin around the notion of freedom. It's about the freedom to choose and allowing consumers to escape from being trapped," Lang added.

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