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Virgin Mobile USA's New 'Fund My Phone' Application on Facebook(R) Platform
WARREN, N.J., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Facebook has a brand new Sugar Mama, thanks to a unique new application that lets friends earn wireless airtime for other friends who are Virgin Mobile USA customers. The national provider of wireless communications services and plans without annual contracts has designed the "Fund My Phone" application, allowing Virgin Mobile USA's more than 5 million customers to get their Facebook friends to help pay for their wireless minutes.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/NYTH038 )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070613/VIRGINMOBILE )
"Fund My Phone" is an extension of the popular Sugar Mama mobile marketing program first launched by Virgin Mobile USA in 2006. Customers who opt in to Sugar Mama are invited to earn up to 75 minutes per month by viewing a variety of ad spots and other creative materials and answer a few questions. Customers also earn airtime by completing surveys online, responding to branded text messages or forwarding Sugar Mama spots to friends to share. Over 700,000 Virgin Mobile USA customers have opted-in to Sugar Mama since its launch, earning more than 26 million minutes of free airtime.
"Developing a special Facebook application was a natural next step for us," said Bob Stohrer, Chief Marketing Officer at Virgin Mobile USA. "The interaction among Facebook users mirrors the strong community among Virgin Mobile USA customers. Now, customers can add to their minutes by having friends contribute to their talk time and share cool content. And Fund My Phone also offers a powerful vehicle for Virgin Mobile USA's brand partners to reach audiences beyond our customer base."
Add Application, Earn Airtime
The "Fund My Phone" application is fast to install and easy to use. Virgin Mobile USA customers can download the application and place it within their Facebook page. The application allows the customer to share up to five different spots with Facebook friends. As an extension of Sugar Mama, if the user's friends will watch ads on their Facebook page those friends are earning the host Virgin Mobile USA airtime. Sugar Mama will showcase advertisers' creativity offering these program partners "peer endorsed" exposure.
On the profile page, the application displays thumbnail images of a randomly rotated Sugar Mama advertising content. When friends click on the application, a Sugar Mama ad or other piece of advertiser content begins playing for them to view and rate.
Each viewing is credited to the host Virgin Mobile USA phone number linked through the Facebook application. The Virgin Mobile USA customer earns six minutes of airtime as soon as the first four "views" by Facebook friends are credited. After the initial viewings, the customer receives one minute of airtime for every four views by their Facebook friends.
About Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA offers more than five million customers control, flexibility and choice in wireless service, rich data content and innovative products without annual contracts. Voice pricing plans range from monthly options with unlimited nights and weekends to by-the-minute offers, allowing consumers to adjust how and what they pay according to their needs. Virgin Mobile USA's smart, stylish and affordable handsets, including the Wild Card, Super Slice and Flare, are available at top retailers in more than 40,000 locations nationwide and online at http://www.virginmobileusa.com/, with Top-Up cards available at more than 140,000 locations.
J.D. Power and Associates ranked Virgin Mobile USA highest in customer satisfaction among wireless prepaid services in both 2006 and 2007, and its customers report a 90% satisfaction rate. Virgin Mobile USA contributes a portion of profits from downloadable content to The RE*Generation, its pro-social initiative to help homeless youth, and provides postage-paid return envelopes in every new phone package for customers to recycle old phones. Virgin Mobile USA's national coverage is powered by the nationwide Sprint PCS network.
Facebook(R) is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/NYTH038http://www.newscom.com/cgi-b
in/prnh/20070613/VIRGINMOBILEPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Virgin Mobile USA
CONTACT: Corinne Nosal of Virgin Mobile USA, +1-908-607-4235,corinne.nosal@virginmobileusa.com; or Alysa McKenna of CooperKatz for VirginMobile USA, +1-917-595-3048, amckenna@cooperkatz.com
Web site: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/
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