Virgin Signs 40,000 V.I.P. Members

Virgin Megastores isn’t that worried about Napster and iTunes.

The music retailer has signed 40,000 members to its V.I.P. Customer Loyalty program in just four months since launching the program in California and New York (PROMO Xtra, Oct. 18, 2006). That strong early performance has helped push Virgin Megastore sales up 5% for the year, the company said.

The program has rolled out to seven stores in New York and California, a little over half of the chain’s 13 stores. The program enrolls an average of 2,500 new members each week. The Times Square store in Manhattan brings in the largest percentage of new members, the company said.

Shoppers can join V.I.P. for free when they make a purchase of $20 or more, then earn one point for each $1 spent in purchases of $10 or more. Once they hit 100 points, they get a $5 store voucher.

That’s pretty standard loyalty marketing. What makes V.I.P. different is the card itself. Members get a rewritable magnetic-stripe card that carries a new message each time it’s used. Virgin uses the card to field sweepstakes and members-only perks, like backstage passes and extra in-store discounts.

For example, an Oscar-themed sweepstakes running Feb. 15 through March 28 will award a Sony Camcorder and accessories as grand prize; smaller prize packages include DVDs of past Oscar winners, and $5 store vouchers.

Virgin has already doled out $100,000 worth of prizes, including trips to London and Australia (on Virgin Atlantic Airlines), Sony Playstation 3 Systems, Sony Oscar home theatre packages, Virgin Mobile phones and vouchers for Hilton and Mandarin Oriental hotels.

V.I.P. members have also been invited to meet Sir Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Pamela Anderson, Snoop Dogg and James Blunt.

Lifestyle marketing shop Project 2050, New York, handles creative; Virgin’s
in-house team manages the program. Visible Results, Overland Park, KS, makes the magnetic-stripe card.