Virgin Mobile partners with Merkle for performance media
Virgin Mobile has selected Merkle as its performance agency in the United Arab Emirates.
With millions of users in the Middle East, Virgin Mobile (a subsidiary of Richard Branson founded Virgin) is one of the largest telecom players in the region. Virgin Mobile delivers mobile telecom services to consumers across the region through two brands: Virgin Mobile and FRiENDi mobile.
Part of Virgin Mobile’s strategy for the five years is to grow its market position and brand recognition in the UAE, where the company is headquartered, for which the firm has turned to Merkle for support. The marketing consultants have been brought on board to support three key objectives: drive brand awareness, improve consumer engagement, and build lasting personalised relationships with consumers in the UAE.
According to a statement by Virgin Mobile, Merkle (a Dentsu subsidiary with nearly 10,000 professionals across 50+ offices worldwide) was selected “based on a combination of their global expertise in performance media and their passion for using technology to better understand local consumer needs and behaviours.”
Rob Beswick, Managing Director at Virgin Mobile UAE elaborated: “To ensure that we make a meaningful impact on our audiences, we needed a partner who clearly understood our vision for the mobile segment in the UAE coupled with an exceptional performance media track record. Merkle’s people-based insights will improve our data analytics and help us to deliver more effective customer engagement across all digital touchpoints.”
Vimal Badiani, who recently ascended to the helm of Merkle in MENA, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Virgin Mobile as it continues its rapid growth and builds on an excellent reputation for customer-centricity in the digital arena.”
“As digital adoption and transformation continues to accelerate amongst businesses and consumers, data-driven, people-based marketing capabilities become of greater importance. We look forward to supporting Virgin Mobile UAE in targeting audiences more efficiently and effectively to drive incremental growth and value for their brand.”