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Archive for the 'Boost Mobile' Tag

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Boost Mobile turns Super Bowl ad into ringtone for charity

February 10th, 2010, 4:55 pm by

Boost Mobile won’t say how much it spent on its 30-second Super Bowl ad, which stars aging members of the 1985′s Chicago Bears redoing their “Super Bowl Shuffle.” But it has figured out how to help offset expenses: Sell the song as a 99-cent ringtone.


Boost Mobile’s Super Bowl 2010 ad

Why you might want to consider buying it? The Irvine prepaid wireless carrier is donating all proceeds to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a nonprofit led by legendary coach Mike Ditka. The money goes to help former NFL players who aren’t doing very well.

Yes, that may not sound like much of a sob-story charity, but not every football player makes a million bucks. According to the Gridiron site, there are plenty of retired players who never got the benefits or pensions that players do today. Some lack basic services, such as health insurance. The charity lists a bunch of stories about players it has helped, including an unnamed former San Diego Charger who was living in his car.

You can buy the ringtone at www.boostmobile.com/shuffle.

Recent Boost Mobile stories:

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Sprint still losing customers but prepaid Boost added

February 10th, 2010, 9:04 am by

Boost MobileSprint continued to lose wireless customers during the fourth quarter of last year but at least it lost fewer than before. What helped? Boost Mobile, the Irvine prepaid mobile service, which celebrated its success with a Super Bowl commercial.

According to the numbers, Boost’s national unlimited plan added enough customers in the quarter that parent company Sprint was able to winnow its prepaid customer churn rate — or customers coming and going —  down to 5.56%, compared to 8.2 % a year earlier. But Boost wasn’t alone in Sprint’s praise. Virgin Mobile, which Sprint acquired in November 2009, was noted for its low churn rate that, on average, was lower than Boost’s.

Boost’s main push last year was unlimited plans, which still allowed customers to pay when they needed service but required a month-long commitment. That helped Sprint make an average of $31 per customer, compared to $30 a year ago. However, before Virgin Mobile joined the prepaid group, the unit made $35 per customer.

Overall, Sprint lost about 200,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter, ending the year with 48.1 million customers. Approximately 10.7 million of those were prepaid subscribers. The company also posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $980 million on revenues of $7.9 billion. Comparably, the company posted a net loss of $1.6 billion on revenues of $8.4 billion in the prior year.

Sprint also updated the world with its 4G rollout, which promises faster wireless data speeds. Sprint 4G is now in 27 markets serving 30 million customers. That should reach 120 million people by the end of the year. This year, 4G will launch in Boston, New York, Houston, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Matt Carter, president of Boost Mobile in Irvine. Image courtesy of Boost Mobile.While not available yet in Orange County, former Boost Mobile president Matt Carter, pictured on right, was tapped in December to lead Sprint’s 4G division. He is still based in Orange County.

Read the full 4th quarter earnings release HERE.

Earlier on Boost and Sprint:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • | 7 Comments »

Watch O.C.’s Super Bowl 2010 TV commercials

February 7th, 2010, 10:12 am by

It’s a big year for Orange County’s tech-minded companies. Three are involved in Super Bowl ads, airing today. We got them ahead of time and have set them up to be available once they appear on TV. Until then, you’ll just see some blank spots below and will need to satisfy yourself with the extra filler.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vizio, HDTV company in Irvine
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Brightcove video.

Posted in: news • • • • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

O.C. Agency’s Super Bowl ad mixes The Who, hip hop and Haiti

February 5th, 2010, 3:35 pm by

Peter AddertonWho could forget those crazy Boost Mobile commercials with senior citizens dancing and talking “10 kinds of nasty.” Thank Peter Adderton for that.

The Australian native, (pictured on right) who founded and later left Boost, says that Boost was all about marketing a new brand aimed at the untapped youth market. Branding and marketing is his expertise.

Adderton, who never left Orange County, is at it again on Sunday with Super Bowl XLIV. This time, with his new advertising firm Agency 3.0 in Newport Beach, he developed three TV commercials for some other company: Flo TV, the mobile TV service from San Diego’s Qualcomm Inc (see earlier story, “Qualcomm’s tiny 3.5-inch TV coming this holiday“). The goal is to get consumers familiar with the service, which offers TV shows in a moving car, on your phone and out shopping when you’d rather watch a football game.

“That’s where our strength is. We launched the brand (Boost) and used wireless to push that through,” said Adderton, explaining how he went from founding mobile phone companies to an ad agency.  ”Flo TV is an extension of our expertise in that area.”

Added Feb. 6: Peek at Flo TV’s “Moments” Super Bowl ad with Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am remixed “My Generation” by The Who:

YouTube Preview Image Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Boost’s $2.5 million bet: Super Bowl ad to parody 1985′s ‘Shuffle’

January 20th, 2010, 2:47 pm by

Boost Mobile redoing "Super Bowl Shuffle" from 1985.Boost Mobile officials won’t say how much they’re paying to air a new 30-second commercial during a football game on February 7. But that game, which one research firm estimates costs  $2.5 million to $2.8 million for a 30-second spot, is one of the most watched TV events each year.

(If you’re wondering… Boost asked me to remove the original photo with the logo on right for legal reasons. The Boost commercial is now called the “The Boost Mobile Shuffle.”)

Super Bowl XLIV will be the Irvine prepaid wireless company’s first time advertising in the game — and the first for the prepaid industry. It’s because the company had an excellent 2009 with the launch of its $50 everything-included mobile plan. That greatly helped out parent company Sprint by bringing millions of new customers to Boost.

Boost wanted to up its game, said Caralene Robinson, Boost’s director of brand marketing and communications.

“As I’m sure you can guess, the Super Bowl is always a little bit of a risk for any company and we felt that it was necessary to get into the game,” Robinson said. “We really think this is our way to expose ourselves to broader audience.”

The message? “We’re in it to win,” she said.

The commercial also has Boost’s signature irreverence — some people may remember Boost’s early commercials of senior citizens dancing to Hip Hop music. The company convinced members of 1985′s winning Chicago Bears team to parody the famous “Super Bowl Shuffle.”

Former players who show up in ad include Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

Boost Mobile adds unlimited calls to Mexico landlines for $10

December 16th, 2009, 12:57 pm by

Boost MobileNoted: An unlimited international plan for Irvine’s Boost Mobile customers got a few more cities added to its calling area. The $10-monthly plan adds calls Canada (excluding Northern Territories with area code 867) and calls to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

The $10 flat rate, an option only for prepaid customers who order Boost’s $50 monthly unlimited plan, already includes unlimited text messaging worldwide and Walkie-Talkie calls from the U.S., Canada and Baja California to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Chile.

The unlimited plans have proven to be very popular with Boost customers. The company launched its $50 unlimited U.S. calling and texting plan in January. It signed up 777,000 new customers within the first several months, helping boost numbers for parent company Sprint.

More Boost Mobile stories:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

AT&T service ranks lowest; iPhone users don’t mind

December 1st, 2009, 3:44 pm by

Consumer Reports rates cell phone services for 2009.Who’s got the best cell phone service in the U.S.? Hands down, it’s Verizon, according to readers of Consumer Reports.

The publication just issued its annual update on mobile service and once again ranked Verizon at the top nationwide for overall service, scoring 75 points out of 100. Second place T-Mobile scored 70.

But just because both companies did better than the others doesn’t mean everyone is happy with service. According to its survey of 50,000 readers, Consumer Reports said that only 54 percent were “completely or very satisfied” with service.

While still a majority, those aren’t very good numbers for any consumer-oriented business.

“Despite ‘smarter phones,’ more flexible plans, and faster wireless networks, cell service continues to be among the lower-rated of all the services that Consumer Reports evaluates,” the organization concluded in its January 2010 issue.

Ouch! Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • • | 28 Comments »

Exclusive: Boost female-friendly Motorola Debut i856w

November 9th, 2009, 8:23 am by

Opened Motorola Debut i856w from Boost Mobile. Sneak Peek: Since Boost Mobile calls Orange County home, the Irvine prepaid wireless provider wanted to give its neighbors the first look at the new  Motorola Debut i856w, a phone targeting women that comes out this week.

It’s far from the fanciest phone out there and the female-friendliness appears limited to subtle swirly designs on the back and front. But it’s also a thin, sleek phone — and Boost’s first slider phone, says the company. (And it’s Motorola’s first slider phone using the iDen Walkie-Talkie technology).

Some features: a music player, threaded text messaging (shows the history of messages from the same person), 1.3-megapixel camera with video capture and playback on the phone. There’s also stereo Bluetooth, Walkie-Talkie, removable memory slot (up to 8 GB microSD card), speakerphone with voice-activated dialing, and it’s GPS and web enabled if you purchase the service. More details at Motorola’s i856w site.

The phone starts shipping Nov. 11 for $149.99. For those unfamiliar with Boost, once you buy the phone, you then buy minutes when you need them. There’s no monthly contract for the phone. Boost is part of the Sprint phone company.

It’s not the first time Boost has built special phones for women. Three years ago, staff designer Gina Scollick prettied up the Motorola i835. And during an office tour, I spotted several female friendly phones. Check it out at “New ladies line from Boost Mobile.”

More pics of the new Motorola Debut i856w (click to enlarge):

Motorola Debut i856w from Boost Mobile. Back of Motorola Debut i856w from Boost Mobile.

More on cell, mobile services:

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Cell phones • Gadgets • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

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