Virgin Entertainment Group Announces Project 2050 as Its New Agency of Record

Virgin Entertainment Group Announces Project 2050 as Its New Agency of Record

Lifestyle Marketing and Strategy Shop to Develop Brand Position as Virgin Megastore Chain Enhances New York City and Los Angeles Flagship Offerings

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Entertainment Group, North America, the world's premier music and entertainment retailer, is pleased to announce it has retained the services of Project 2050 as its new Agency of Record for strategic marketing and creative services for the North American chain of Virgin Megastores. The agency will initially be tasked with developing campaigns for the opening of the new Hollywood & Highland Virgin Megastore in Los Angeles and the refurbishment of its East coast flagship location in Times Square this fall. Virgin Entertainment Group has also re-signed the Los Angeles-based public relations agency, SJ Communications for the fourth consecutive year, to continue to develop and manage all media relations for the brand.

This announcement marks the company's further commitment to the future of music and entertainment retailing, at a time when other music retailers are downsizing. Like Virgin, Project 2050's managing partners; Phil Colon, Chris White, and Matt Pressman have a diverse entertainment lifestyle background rooted in music culture. The agency's creative director, Shepard Fairey, is an award-winning designer of concert poster art, band merchandise, CD, DVD and video game packaging and the architect of the infamous Obey Giant art phenomenon and was touted by Brandweek as 2004's Guerilla Marketer of the Year. The agency will be responsible for development of the company's overall creative platform, as well as the design and execution of consumer marketing communications, including advertising, collateral and in-store graphics and signage.

"After working on many album covers and rock concert poster art, it's exciting to be working with the Virgin Megastore brand that is so appealing to such a broad range of real music fans," says Shepard Fairey, Creative Director, Project 2050. "Virgin Megastores are a leading destination for entertainment products across the board and I feel the potential to create an even more compelling brand image as an exciting challenge."

"We are excited to be working with Project 2050, as they bring extensive experience from the music, media, art, advertising and entertainment realms," says Dave Alder, Chief Marketing Officer, Virgin Entertainment Group, North America. "In addition, Shepard Fairey's work and reputation resonates perfectly with the Virgin Megastore customer and we look forward to doing some groundbreaking work with Project 2050."

About Virgin Megastores

Virgin Megastores (Virgin Entertainment Group, North America) is the world's leading multi-channel music and entertainment retailer, providing customers with a range of superior entertainment experiences through a family of integrated Virgin-branded businesses. The "category killer" Virgin Megastores and Virgin Megastore Online (www.virginmega.com) are integral parts of the company's strategy to provide entertainment customers with what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. For more information, or to check out the location of the nearest Virgin Megastore, go to www.virginmegamagazine.com.

About Project 2050

Project 2050 consists of cultural youth and lifestyle experts led by Managing Partners Phil Colon, Chris White and Matt Pressman. Renowned design revolutionary Shepard Fairey is the company's creative director. Their collective efforts help bring brands closer to the influential, trendsetting and urban-skewing youth markets. The marketing and strategy shop offers corporate clients as well as advertising agencies services that include brand consulting, branded content opportunities, public relations, experiential marketing, creative services and trend analysis. Project 2050's coveted 16-28 year old target audience, representing 50 million ethnically diverse consumers (encompassing African Americans, Latinos, Asians and CWK's -- cool, white kids), is becoming increasingly multicultural. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the year 2050 a "tipping point" will occur -- where ethnic groups will exceed 50% of the U.S. population, thus becoming the new mainstream. Already, this is occurring in major metropolitan cities across the U.S. This cultural shift represents the genesis of the company's name, Project 2050.

About SJ Communications

SJ Communications is a corporate and marketing communications firm based in Los Angeles that specializes in building strong media relations with the national entertainment, consumer, travel and tourism, athletic and business press. The agency excels in corporate/reputation management, business-to- consumer marketing, the coordination of corporate and celebrity publicity, special events, media/presentation training, company launches and crisis management. Our staff at SJ Communications has proven they can design and deliver successful campaigns, find creative solutions to challenging communications assignments and exceed client expectations which have earned us a reputation as an expert in the industry.

Source: Virgin Entertainment Group, North America

CONTACT: Krysty O'Quinn of SJ Communications, +1-818-881-3889, Krysty@sjcommunications.com, for Virgin Megastore; or Theresa Tran, +1-917-568-8702, ttt@tmo.blackberry.net, for Project 2050

Web site: http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/

Web site: http://www.virginmega.com/

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