Guinness Pioneers New Interactive Football & Entertainment Platform of Mobile Phones

Last week Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, the leading dark beer in Nigeria, announced that it had launched a new innovation for mobile phone users across Nigeria called the Guinness VIP program. Tapping into the digital revolution and a market of over 80million unique mobile phone users, Guinness VIP is Nigeria’s first fully mobile phone-based community of beer drinkers.

Guinness VIP is fully accessible from any WAP enabled mobile phone and provides the user with access to the latest football news, infotainment, chat forums, football trivia, instant messaging and much, much more.

Guinness who are also both the broadcast sponsor of the Barclays English Premier League and the Nigerian Super-Eagles have combined all of these elements to provide football lovers with a really unique opportunity to get the inside track on all the latest news of teams, players and clubs as well as the opportunity to win exclusive prizes and competitions. One of the new features of the GVIP community platform is to allow free membership access, save standard network internet data charges and allows friends and fans communicate with one another for free via the GVIP messenger as long as both are on the platform. This will also allow members to chat and debate about everything that’s going on in the world of football and give their opinion to other GVIP members as well as the opportunity to chat to players.

To join consumers simply SMS the word YES followed by the individuals date of birth (Yes, dd/mm/yy) to 1759. Activation text costs N10, and thereafter the service is free.

Alternatively go to Guinnessvip and follow the prompts to register on WAP enabled phones.

 

Ruairi Twomey, Marketing & Innovation Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, commented “ This is a real marketing departure in Nigeria and is yet another example of how our approach to marketing across the country is rapidly changing so we can better reward our drinkers in ways we wouldn’t even  have conceived of not so long ago. Guinness has always ensured that drinkers get more from our beer than any other and the GVIP program continues that tradition. ”

“The Guinness brand has a really strong reputation in Nigeria for ground-breaking, innovative marketing and this definitely brings us back into that realm. Nigerians haven’t seen anything yet. This is Guinness doing what it does best – rewarding Guinness drinkers using cutting edge technology ” said Guinness Marketing Manager Adenike Adebola.

Guinness VIP launched on November 24th 2010 and  this application will work on all WAP enabled phones and Guinness have ensured that those with non WAP enabled phones do not miss out – Guinness is providing an SMS based version of the service for these phones.

Guinness VIP is described by the company as “the new cool in football” and brings a total football experience to Guinness drinkers in an exciting and engaging way directly from the convenience of their mobile phone.

 

The Facts

What is Guinness VIP?
It’s the new cool in football. It’s an exclusive club that connects you and your friends to the very latest football news, competitions and much, much more. Membership is completely free!

How do I join?
SMS the word YES followed by your date of birth (Yes, dd/mm/yy) to 1759. For example if your date of birth is 15th Nov 1982 text ‘Yes, 15/11/82’. Follow the instructions on the text returned. Activation text cost N10.  Thereafter, the service is free.

What are the benefits?

• The inside track on all things football and the latest news on your favorite football teams.
• FREE access to exclusive content such as wallpapers, ringtones, video clips of football action, competitions etc.
• Chat with your friends, other VIPs and celebrities.
• Invitations and VIP access to Guinness sponsored events and programmes.
• The opportunity to win instant airtime and lots of other great prizes.

How much does it cost to be a VIP?

• Guinness VIP membership is completely FREE.
• Standard internet data charges apply.

How do I access it on my phone?

• Click on the link in the return SMS sent to you.
• The link takes you to the Guinness VIP mobi site.
• Follow the instructions and complete the registration process.
• Start enjoying the benefits of Guinness VIP.
• Requires that your phone has internet access.

What is the Guinness VIP Messenger?

• The Guinness VIP messenger allows you to chat for next to nothing versus standard texting.

How do I download the Guinness VIP Messenger?

• Go to the Guinness VIP mobi site at http://m.guinnessvip.com

• Click on ‘download Guinness VIP instant messenger powered by MXIT’ on the mobi site.
• Once download is complete, open your applications folder and click on GVIP/MXIT icon.
• Follow the instructions to register.
• Guinness VIP will appear as a contact on the homepage, click it to start interacting
• Start inviting your friends so that you can chat using the Guinness VIP messenger.

Guinness Nigeria Plc was established in 1950, making it one of the oldest companies in Nigeria. Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1965, and with a shareholder base of over 75,000 shareholders, it is also one of the foremost quoted companies in Nigeria.