MUMBAI: Virgin Mobile, India's first youth mobile products and services brand has been awarded the coveted Infocom award for the �Most Innovative Mobile Services' for the year 2009. This award is yet another acknowledgment to Virgin Mobile's commitment of ushering in pioneering industry defining propositions for its target audience.
The Hon'ble Minister of State Communications & IT, Mr. Gurudas Kamat presented the award to M. A. Madhusudan, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile India at the Annual Infocom National Telecom awards function held in New Delhi. The Infocom National Telecom Awards 2009 were announced by INFOCOM along with CMAI (Communications and Manufacturing Association of India). The awards are held annually with the objective of recognizing and providing greater impetus to the telecom players for their contribution in building a robust National Telecom Network and providing an effective means of communications.
On receiving the award, M. A. Madhusudan, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile, India said It is indeed an honor to receive this award and be recognized as the best amongst our peers in the industry. This award reaffirms Virgin Mobile's dedicated efforts to set industry benchmarks in innovation and service excellence. Our ability to leverage the youth connect to offer innovative mobile products and services will play a key role in differentiating the brand from the rest. I am grateful to CMAI INFOCOM and the honored jury members for acknowledging our efforts in this category and providing recognition to our spirit of leading innovation and change in the mobile space....
Through its Hatke brand DNA, and a unique tone of voice, Virgin Mobile has established an incredible brand connect with the youth of the country. Launched in March 2008 in India, Virgin Mobile in an incredibly short span of time has evolved into a brand that the Indian youth relate to as a buddy. In a recent brand survey conducted by A C Neilson, Virgin Mobile witnessed 92% awareness amongst the surveyed target audience with 95% brand advocacy levels. All the products and services as well as the communication is targeted and customized for the youth segment.
Since its launch in India, Virgin Mobile has taken a number of innovative initiatives to offer customized and relevant offerings for its youth audience to meet their style, budget and aspirational quotient.
* Virgin Mobile 2 Virgin Mobile', free after 3: Another unique tariff offer from Virgin Mobile where customers only have to pay for the first 3 minutes of the day at Re. 1/minute for local calls post which calls are free between Virgin Mobile to Virgin Mobile (daily cap at 200 minutes per day) without any extra pack.
* New 50 paise STD local' - The first of its kind, this offer made geography history and made making STD calls as easy as Local. Virgin Mobile customers can make STD and Local calls @50paise/minute without any extra charges or a pack.
* STD: After the first 3 minutes @Rs. 1.5/minute each day, customers can enjoy outgoing calls through the day at just 50paise/minute for up to 60 minutes daily. Beyond this, the initial rate is applicable.
* LOCAL - After the first 3 minutes @Re.1/minute each day, customers can enjoy outgoing calls for rest of the day at just 50paise/minute.
* SMS 123 - A unique proposition which allows Virgin Mobile customers to send as many as 200 messages per day free to their friends etc. by just paying for the first three messages.
* STD Messages: After the first three messages of the day at Rs. 1.5/- per message, customers can enjoy 100 free messages, beyond which the regular rates apply.
* Local Messages: After the first three messages of the day at Re. 1/- per message in all circles except Tamil Nadu and Karnataka where it is 50 paise, customers can enjoy 100 free messages, beyond which the regular rates apply. This offer from Virgin Mobile was aimed at ushering in genuine freedom of sending SMSs for youth by providing it without any extra pack or upfront commitment.
In addition, Virgin Mobile offers innovative schemes such as �Thank God its Weekend' that let youth enjoy 100 free local SMSs and all local mobile calls at 30 paise between Friday and Sunday on payment of just Rs. 18.
Virgin Mobile offers a range of six handsets with a blend of style, features, differentiation and affordability. The handsets are priced between Rs. 1,199 and Rs. 4,250 and meet the lifestyle, budget and aspirations of the youth. The current handset portfolio includes – vJazz, vBeat, vStyle, vBond, vDesire and vGlide. These handsets are RUIM enabled, come with a colour screen, stereo FM Radio, include one touch access for Vbytes - Virgin Mobile's VAS portal and much more. Recently Virgin Mobile also made its entry into the data devices segment with the launch of vLink – a sleek USB modem with wireless internet access and 1GB data storage space at Rs. 2,100/- only.