Reporters from Vancouver are expected to converge on Squamish next week to see a publicity stunt. One of the most famous wealthy people in the world plans to come to Squamish to promote a new business venture.
According to a news release, issued Tuesday (Aug. 2) Sir Richard Branson will "ride the waves into Squamish" on Monday (Aug. 8).
Branson, 58, is a British entrepreneur known for his success in the recording and airline industries. He is also known for his unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon and his recent television show called The Rebel Billionaire.
The release indicated the chairman of the Virgin Group and the founder of Virgin Mobile will splash onto the shore at the windsurfing spit in Squamish to make two significant announcements with people from his Virgin Mobile Canada (VMC) team.
Andrew Black, CEO of Branson's Canadian telecommunications company, will be one of the people on hand.
The release indicated a news conference would start at 11:30 a.m.
Reporters were instructed to bring a windbreaker and running shoes because the location is windy and the terrain is rough.
The event organizers are bussing reporters from Lions Bay and West Vancouver. Reporters had to book space in advance to ride the bus. The bus is scheduled to arrive at the spit at 11 a.m. The reporters will have to register once they get to the spit.
According to the news release, the event won't be open to the public but the event is taking place in a place accessible by the public.
VMC launched last May with plans to offer voice and data services mainly aimed at young Canadians. The Virgin Group partnered with Bell Mobility to create VMC.
"We plan to deliver transparent value for money and great customer service," Branson said last May. "Bell Mobility offers us the best network and best coverage in Canada. A quality network is fundamental in helping us deliver to customers the value and products for which Virgin is known."
Branson launched his company's Canadian service in Toronto by staging a publicity stunt in March. He staged the stunt in the downtown core of Canada's largest city.
He followed that by pulling a similar stunt in Montreal the next day to launch the service in Quebec.On May 31, Branson made an appearance in Halifax to introduce VMC to Atlantic Canada.
This summer Virgin introduced inter-carrier multi-media messaging which allows customers with advanced phones to share pictures and other content.
Days later, VMC launched its top ten ring tone chart. The most popular ring tone at the time of the chart launch was Don't Phunk With My Heart by the Black Eyed Peas. Currently, 50 Cent holds down the number one spot with Candy Shop.
"Virgin's focused youth-oriented consumer offer is complementary to the positioning of the Bell brand and will stimulate the wireless industry in Canada," Michael Neuman, president of Bell Mobility, said at the time of VMC's initial Canadian launch.
Virgin Mobile launched in Britain in 1999 and the company expanded to the USA July of 2002 in a joint venture partnership with Sprint PCS. Virgin Mobile also has an Australian operation.
Branson's announcement in Squamish comes as Telus, the province's dominant telecommunications company, is involved in a major labour dispute.
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