Virgin Mobile Australia launches unused data ‘auction’

Australian MVNO Virgin Mobile has launched a publicity stunt to promote its new data rollover postpaid plans by hosting an auction allowing local consumers to ‘bid’ for items using unused data allocations.

The company will auction off 30 items over 30 days, with the top prize being an A$43,000 ($33,000) vacation package to the private Wadigi Island in Fiji.

Consumers can place ‘bids’ on Virgin Mobile’s Facebook page by posting their most recent mobile bill showing how much unused data was left over. The person with the highest amount of unused data wins the prize for that day, or in the event of a tie whoever placed a bid first will win.

Virgin Mobile Australia head of brand and consumer marketing Philippa Duant commented that the stunt aims to raise awareness of the company’s data rollover plans, that are designed to give subscribers a second chance at using their allocation.

“Terabytes upon terabytes of unused mobile data are being taken back from consumers every month by other telcos,” she said.

“At Virgin Mobile we don’t think it’s fair that something they’ve paid for is snatched away – they should get a second chance to use it and what better way than through a unique auction that offers the opportunity to live like [Virgin Group co-founder] Sir Richard Branson on your own private island.”