Virgin To Promote Breakfast Through Portal Streaming

Virgin Radio is to embark upon a high-tech marketing blitz to promote its new Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show, streaming the programme to several major internet portals, creating an uncut podcast of week’s shows and even broadcasting to a ‘sonic bus shelter’ over the coming weeks.

The new breakfast show, which launches on 23 January, will be streamed live to all the major UK web portals for its first week in a groundbreaking audio visual ad.

Visitors to the Orange, Wanadoo, AOL, MSN and Hotmail portals will be presented with live video footage alongside audio of the show live on air. The impressive deal was negotiated and planned by Starcom.

“Virgin Radio is again creating a world first with a unique ad for a radio show,” explained David Andrews, the broadcaster’s marketing director. “Video footage available online from our world-famous studios will really capture the public’s imagination as well as achieve massive additional reach for Britain’s best breakfast show.”

In addition to its online activities, Virgin has begun a wide-reaching outdoor campaign, promoting the show to a national audience to build on O’Connell’s existing profile within London, which resulted from his previous role as Breakfast host with Xfm (see Outdoor Campaign To Boost Virgin Breakfast).

Elsewhere, Virgin has brokered a deal to broadcast the breakfast show to a special ‘sonic bus shelter’ within central London – enabling those waiting for the number 88 bus to join in the morning’s broadcast as part of the show is transmitted live from shelter every day.

“We’ve always looked to connect with our listeners in more impactful and innovative ways,” explained Andrews, “Christian O’Connell’s broadcast through the sonic bus shelter really pushes back the boundaries in yet another UK radio first for Virgin Radio. Londoners won’t know what hits them.”

Virgin Radio: 020 7434 1215 www.virginradio.co.uk