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Brands & Merch Business News Deals Live Business
NEC Group announces Virgin Trains tie-up, Live Nation allies with Qantas
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 18 June 2014
Birmingham-based venue operator the NEC Group has announced a new deal that makes Virgin Trains the official ‘rail partner’ for the company’s arenas.
Anyone trying to travel to the ICC, NIA or LG Arena by any other form of transport will now be refused admission at the door and sent straight home. No, not really. Though the NEC venues will be incorporating elements of the Virgin Train experience into their general ambience – there’ll be nowhere to store your luggage, the cafes will charge a fortune for terrible coffee, there’ll be listening pods all over the place that work for a week and are then switched off forever, and the whole place will smell of a blocked toilet. Good times.
But on the upside, people attending concerts at NEC venues or buying tickets via the firm’s Ticket Factory website, will be able to get a 25% discount on Virgin Train tickets to get to the show if booked in advance.
Says Virgin Train’s Partnership & Regions Manager Adrian Varma: “We share the NEC Group’s vision, working hard to create memorable experiences for our customers. We aspire to be more than simply the best choice for people looking for the fastest way of getting from A to B. With the exclusive discount and by booking in advance, arriving at a concert, business event or comedy performance by Virgin Trains is the fastest, cheapest and most comfortable way of enjoying what the NEC Group does so well”.
Meanwhile NEC CEO Paul Thandi added: “The NEC Group is all about bringing live to life and creating unforgettable experiences for its visitors, be it at an exhibition, conference or other live event. We are continuously looking for new ways to enhance the customer experience and our partnership with Virgin Trains is just another way in which we have been able to do this”.
Elsewhere in pop/transport alliances, in Australia live giant Live Nation has announced a partnership with airline Qantas. Live Nation artists will fly around Australasia on Qantas planes, while other customers of the air firm will get preferential access to ticket offers and other special promotions.
