Virgin Megastore Captures 'Thieves' Breaking In at Hollywood Megastore on Tape

Virgin Megastore Captures 'Thieves' Breaking In at Hollywood Megastore on Tape

Virgin Megastores Launch Marketing Campaign and Online Contest With Staged Breaking and Entering Footage on YouTube

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Megastores have "leaked" footage on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/VirginMegaUSA) of a group of thieves breaking and entering the Hollywood and Highland Megastore and "stealing" an art collection designed for Virgin's $10 Sale and online contest. The stunt, staged and filmed by Virgin, is posted on YouTube and is all a part of a marketing effort to engage online consumers in a national contest hosted by the lifestyle entertainment retailer.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080731/LATH529)

As part of Virgin's $10 Sale ad campaign Virgin executives were inspired by LA street graphic artist, David Browne, http://www.myspace.com/berdhousegallery, who is known for his signature BERD art collection. Virgin's marketing team instructed Ashba Media, the brand's advertising agency, to work in tandem with Browne to create a Virgin-themed Bird they could use in the advertisements of the sale.

Virgin then wanted to further the campaign by creating an interactive element to give customers a more hands-on experience. Browne was commissioned by Virgin to create 30 original Virgin-themed Bird art pieces. The 30 Virgin-Birds, which were "stolen", have now been placed in various locations in 3 participating cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. In true scavenger-hunt fashion, Virgin Megastores have created an online contest through its Social Mashup Site, http://www.virginmegamashup.com/, which allow consumers to search for clues online, which will lead them to the hidden birds for a chance to win prizes ranging from $100 - $1000 each.

To help kick off the contest and annual sale Virgin's marketing department created the Breaking and Entering video showing a Security-Camera angle of the Virgin-Birds being "stolen" from the Hollywood Virgin Megastore. The video, posted on YouTube, instructs the viewers to "Help Virgin Megastores Find Their Stolen Birds" by logging onto the Social Mashup site for clues and rules of the contest.

For the six week contest consumers can log onto http://www.virginmegamashup.com/, powered by SJ Communications, Virgin's Public Relations AOR, for a series of clues broken down by each city, to help guide them to find one of the 10 Virgin-Birds located in each of the three cities. Participants are instructed to bring the Birds back into a Virgin Megastore to claim a $100 Reward. There will be one $1000 winner in each of the three cities. If the Bird has already been found, participants can photograph themselves at the hidden location and submit it online to be entered to win the $1000 contest.

"The contest is a fun interactive way for us at Virgin Megastores to reach out to our customers, all the while promoting our best sale of the year, the $10 Sale," explains Dee Mc Laughlin, VP of Marketing, Virgin Entertainment Group, North America. "We've looked into ways to bring new interest to a popular campaign by focusing a big portion of our efforts to our online viewers. We also love the cities that we have our stores in and we wanted our customers to venture out and explore the cities as well."

In an effort to gain the public's attention to the "stolen" Virgin Birds, the marketing team at Virgin also worked with Epson to start the renegade promotion, by projecting a four-stories high image of the Virgin Bird, a la Batman style, onto the side of the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown Hollywood, the night after the birds were "stolen." Click here to see a photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/virginmegamashup/2689118841/

Additional elements Virgin Megastores are using to support the campaign are:

-- LOST BIRD Flyers which are being posted at local venues and put in
customer shopping bags at Megastores in participating cities
-- Full Page Ad-Buys in weeklies in LA Weekly, San Francisco Bay Guardian
and AmNY
-- Virgin Megastore employees wearing "FIND OUR BIRDS" T-Shirts in
participating cities
-- YouTube Video (http://www.youtube.com/VirginMegaUSA)
-- Online Contest at http://www.virginmegamashup.com/
-- In-store signage and endcap promotions
-- Store Front Window Displays at participating Virgin Megastores

This is the third year that Virgin Megastores have teamed with a street artist to help promote the brand's $10 Sale.

"By having artists, like David Browne, participate in our campaign we are furthering our interest in promoting up and coming artists, be it in music, film or graphic arts," Mc Laughlin adds.

The contest starts today, July 31, and runs through September 17. Grand prize winners will be announced September 26.

For more information on the contest and rules go to http://www.virginmegamashup.com/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080731/LATH529
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Virgin Megastores

CONTACT: Krysty O'Quinn Ronchetti of SJ Communications, +1-818-881-3889,
Krysty@sjcommunications.com, for Virgin Megastores

Web site: http://www.virginmegamashup.com/
http://www.virginmega.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: To line up any interviews with Virgin Megastores Marketing executives, contact Krysty O'Quinn Ronchetti

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