Entering Chile's Mobile Phone Market

In marketing class, we have often discussed entering the Latin American market as a foreign company. We have addressed what tactics to take and which countries might be more successful for doing business with.  This week, I decided to investigate further and examine what the thought process was for Virgin Mobile who recently joined the Chilean market, as their first South American investment.

In this insightful interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0PcAoMq4NQ

Famous CEO, Richard Branson, discusses why he and his associates chose to bring his company, Virgin Mobile, to Chile.  Branson explains that the main reason Virgin decides to join a market is when the existing companies are not doing a good job and they see that there are areas that can be improved upon.  He mentions a more specific group within the Chilean market that he chose to focus on was the youth of the nation.  Virgin Mobile noticed that many young Chileans were not happy with their current cell phone and the company aimed to provide a better service and product.  The specific point that Branson notes is that young people were being penalized by their cell phone carriers for using social media (i.e. Facebook, twitter).  Thus, it is evident that Virgin Mobile has used this knowledge when making marketing decisions in Chile.  In the International Marketing book, the many ways to enter a foreign market are identified and discussed.  Virgin Mobile chose to create a strategic alliance with an existing phone company and serve as a mobile virtual network operator with an agreement with Movistar.  It is seems to have been the right decision to enter Chile as the first country in South America, as expansion has already begun within the continent.  Virgin Mobile Colombia was started the year after Chile and Virgin Mobile Mexico and Virgin Mobile Brazil are up next.  Richard Branson is often seen as an innovative businessman and thus it is interesting to see what marketing decisions he and his company would make when entering a Latino market for the first time.