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Vibes Media Taps into Teen Obsessions
October 2, 2006
Two teen obsessions, dating and text messaging, are at the heart of a new promotional game created by Chicago’s Vibes Media for Virgin Mobile USA, a cellular operator with a youthful following.
The “Back-2-School Hook-Up Text Adventure Game,” available only to Virgin Mobile’s 4 million customers in the United States, is a test of dating acumen that lets players determine if they are, well, “playas.”
Wireless carriers like Virgin Mobile are trying to dial up higher revenues from instant messaging and other functions to offset falling prices for standard calling plans. Campaigns cooked up by Vibes for more than 100 consumer brands, entertainment companies and wireless carriers have generated more than 100 million text messages over the past five years.
R U A PLAYA?
Virgin Mobile and Vibes Media are offering this virtual dating game. To play, you reply by texting one of the capitalized words.
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EXAMPLE STRING #1
As the two make your way to ur car: Do u WALK straight to the drivers seat, OPEN her door for her, or STAY 2 steps behind her to check out her backside?
Reply: WALK
I guess Chivalry is dead. C’mon, stay sharp. u should’ve opened her door. As u arrive at the club do u FIND parking, VALET, or just park ur car up FRONT?
Reply: FIND
U circle around & around. 20 minutes later Angel suggests u VALET. She offers to pay, ya cheapo.
Reply: VALET
The valet opens ur doors & u see the line. It must be around the block. Do you get in LINE, TIP the bouncer or SNEAK in the back? -
EXAMPLE STRING #2
At the party, Nick spots u across the room & winks. Do u BLUSH, WINK back or coyly LIFT ur skirt up a few inches?
Reply: WINK
u sly fox. He crosses the room to chat, and sparks fly. U guys hit the dance floor & partake in some PG-13 DIRTY dancin’. -
EXAMPLE ENDINGS
He drives u home & walks u 2 ur doorstep. It’s the moment of truth: Time to see if you’ve played ur CARDS right tonight. The judges are tallying up your points…
Option 1: TOO SHY
Sorry sweetie - ur too cute, but too shy. C’mon throw him a bone once in a while - the poor guy still can’t tell if u like him or NOT.
Option 2: PLAYA PLAYA
Congrats! Looks like u know how to tease & how to lead. Clearly, you’ve mastered the art of hooking UP!
Option 3: TOO BOLD
Calm down, sista. U jumped the gun too many times & scared the fella - he has no idea if u dig him or if u act like THIS w/ every guy.
“The interesting thing about messaging is that you interact with a huge number of subscribers,” says Jack Philbin, Vibes’ president and co-founder. He notes that nearly half of the 216 million cellular phone users in the United States send text messages.
Since it offers pay-as-you-go service rather than annual contracts, Virgin Mobile must constantly find new ways to connect with its core users, people aged 13 to 24 — a notoriously finicky slice of the market.
The company, part of Richard Branson’s entertainment, travel and telecom conglomerate, does so with funny ads and promotional efforts that often push the bounds of good taste. During the 2005 holiday season, Virgin Mobile set up a help line for shoppers navigating the “10.5 days of Chrismahanukwanzakah,” with gift tips from a Jew, a Hindu Santa, a gay elf and a “Kwanzaa” guy.
“Virgin is all about pushing the envelope,” says a spokeswoman for the New Jersey-based carrier, created in 2002 as a joint venture between Mr. Branson’s Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel Co.
Vibes’ new game certainly does that. By responding to a series of mildly racy and playful queries, participants can determine if they are “Too Shy, “Too Bold” or “Playa Playa.” Average players need between 25 and 50 messages to learn if they’ll hook up or strike out with their dream dates. The Virgin spokeswoman won’t reveal how many people have played the game, nor how many text messages it has generated.
It appears to be an effective way of reaching teenage girls, who send text messages at twice the rate of the overall population, says Mike Vorhaus, managing director at Frank N. Magid Associates, a Los Angeles-based market research firm.
“That sounds like a great combination,” he adds. “If it’s a quick hit and dating, what’s wrong with that?”
