Media releases

Virgin Mobile Brings the Love to Canada for Valentine's Day

Almost a third of young Canadians spend more time with their phone and social networks than their partner

TORONTO (ONTARIO) February 10, 2010

It’s time to bring the love back to Valentine’s Day! According to a recent Virgin Mobile survey conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion, 30% of young Canadians spend more time with their phone and Facebook® than their partner and one in five Canadians say they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s not surprising, given that 13% of Canadians are also still looking for their Valentine.

“We’ve heard the cry for help from Canadians and Virgin Mobile is stepping in to bring the love back to Valentine’s Day,” said Nathan Rosenberg, Chief Marketing Officer, Virgin Mobile Canada. “Whether you’re a Virgin Mobile member or not, we’re bringing some special treats across Canada to show Canadians how we care. At Virgin Mobile, Valentine’s Day is our favourite holiday because we’re all about getting Canadians in the mood and spreading the love, from the company they love.”

From February 12 to 14, Virgin Mobile will be bringing some acts of love to Canada with Virgin Mobile Angels in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal giving Canadians a helping hand. Canadians who run into the Virgin Mobile Angels this weekend will be treated to a little bit of love with gifts such as free coffee, transit fares and hugs and kisses all around.

To find the Virgin Mobile Angels, look for the limo in your neighbourhood or follow Virgin Mobile on Facebook at facebook.com/virginmobilecan and Twitter at twitter.com/virginmobilecan where schedules for stops in the five cities will be updated regularly.

Love Survey Highlights

To find out more details leading up to Valentine’s Day, Virgin Mobile Canada did some digging to uncover what Canadians had planned for the day of love. Some of the highlights include:

• Phone or partner? – Nearly a third of Canadians aged 18-34 say they spend more time with their phone or Facebook than they do with current or potential partners. Women were also more likely than men to spend more time with their phone or Facebook than their partner.
• A message of love – For young Canadians, text messages (10%) rank up there with lingerie or a phone call as the best way to show a loved one you care on Valentine’s Day, beating out e-mails, Facebook gifts or messages and e-cards.
• Long distance love texts – When it comes to what they’d text, the top choice is “Luv u xoxo” with 33% of tech-savvy Canadians identifying it as their text, Facebook message or e-mail message of choice. Quebeckers went another way with 41% saying they’d send the message “Miss u.”
• Cell phone pick ups – When it comes to their favourite pick up line, some young Canadians (aged 18-34) opted for pick up lines that went straight for the mobile number such as “Something is wrong with my cell phone… your number’s not on it” (7%) or “I lost my phone number, can I have yours?” (4%).

Bringing some “Love Today” to Yonge-Dundas Square

To get Canadians in the Valentine’s spirit, Virgin Mobile Canada will be spreading some love at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square during today’s lunch hour. If you’re in the area, keep an eye out for the Virgin Mobile Angels as they “scramble” to bring passersby some “Love Today” with a special performance that’s sure to surprise. And if you miss the action, keep an eye on Virgin Mobile’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/virginmobilepresents to see how it all played out!

About the Survey

From February 3 to February 4, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,014 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is /- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About Virgin Mobile Canada

The Virgin Mobile group of companies has attracted more than 13.8 million customers worldwide. As the No.1 mobile youth network, Virgin Mobile Canada's mission is to be Canada’s most loved mobile company with the hottest phones and plans on the hottest network. Its plans with extra for no extra make it easy for members to find the perfect plan for them to connect to e-mail, social networks, texting and GPS navigation with the smartest phones and mobile Internet products. Virgin Mobile members also get access to the hottest events, global roaming and the best customer service. J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Canadian Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study has awarded Virgin Mobile “Highest in Customer Satisfaction With Prepaid Wireless Service, Five Years in a Row” and it has ranked Virgin Mobile “Highest in Customer Satisfaction With Postpaid Wireless Service” . 91% of customers would also recommend Virgin Mobile to a friend. Virgin Mobile phones are available at more than 4,000 locations nationally including The Source, Virgin Mobile retail locations and additional retail partners. Virgin Mobile products can also be purchased online at virginmobile.ca or by calling 1-888-999-2321. Get personal with Virgin Mobile Canada on Facebook at facebook.com/virginmobilecan and Twitter at twitter.com/virginmobilecan.

For more information, please contact:

Kayla Rochkin, Hill & Knowlton Canada 1-416-413-4767 Kayla.rochkin@hillandknowlton.ca

Erica Faltous, Virgin Mobile Canada 1-416-607-8412 / 1-416-400-0171 erica.faltous@virginmobile.ca