At Brightec, we have decades of experience developing top-quality applications that get our clients noticed, win them more customers, and ultimately deliver an unforgettable user experience. As experts in app development, we know what people want and we develop applications that meet needs and create connections.

That’s why in 2020, Virgin Red, Virgin Red’s new rewards club, approached us to help build out their new loyalty platform and help them to come up with exciting new ways to reward existing members and attract new members too.

For half a century, the Virgin brand has been renowned for providing unique and exceptional customer experiences across the Virgin group and Virgin Red is now the red thread that connects all the Virgin companies together. Using one universal currency - Virgin Points - which never expire, Virgin Red celebrates its members for living a life more Virgin by giving them exclusive access to rewards from the Virgin group and beyond.

Anyone can sign up to Virgin Red and start earning points to spend on everyday treats and extraordinary experiences. Virgin Red also makes it easy to support local communities, charities and the environment. In the UK, members can earn and spend points with Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Money, Virgin Experience Days, Virgin Wines, Virgin Voyages, Virgin Active and Virgin Limited Edition, as well as some of the UK’s biggest retailers including John Lewis, TK Maxx, Wickes, Dunelm, Clarks, Lego, Halfords, Greggs, ebay and more.

One of the many things we love about the Virgin brand is that everything it does revolves around its customers and Virgin Red is no exception. The rewards club is always looking for new ways to lift experiences out of the ordinary and surprise and delight its members.

In 2020, the team decided that they wanted to launch a new train ticketing feature as part of Virgin Red. This new service would take something ordinary - the necessity of purchasing train tickets - and make it extraordinary by giving members the chance to earn points on their everyday travel. The service would not only reward existing members, but also help attract new members into the Virgin Red rewards club.

September 2020

In September, the design and development of a minimum viable product began. Working as an extension of the Virgin Red team with their delivery and product managers, as well as other third parties, we collaborated to ensure that all developmental challenges were thoroughly solved.

Through detailed app design and development, we addressed performance and memory limitations, network speed, cross-device compatibility, battery consumption, and assisting with app store releases.

Working within React Native, we produced some middleware to sit between the train's data and the application. We designed everything in Sketch, version-controlled with Abstract and handed over designs through Zeplin. Carrying out multiple rounds of user testing to ensure users would understand and enjoy the proposition.

Scrum Framework and Sprints

The application was built within an agile framework running two-week sprints. Working closely with the Virgin Red team to plan the work in short cycles allowed us the opportunity to meet regularly to discuss any issues, overcome any roadblocks, and keep the project running smoothly together.

As a team, we reflected on each two-week period and used this information to improve upon our approach for the next two-week sprint. This helped us continually refine our processes and streamline the app's development.

November 2020

At Brightec, we know how important it is for applications to work seamlessly across a range of technologies and devices. Applications that work well on mobile only to fail on the web can be damaging to a brand's reputation, so prioritising web app flow is essential.

Therefore, during November our primary focus was to develop a seamless web app flow. Led by our web engineers, the web app mimics the design, aesthetics, and usability of the mobile application on the web, ensuring the Virgin Red brand remains consistent across all platforms.

May 2021

Before the app was released, it had to pass certain accreditation criteria from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) to ensure it was ready to handle user demand. The app was subjected to careful testing to ensure it could handle everything from basic journeys to complex ones, including the uncertainties of travel; from late trains and ticket cancellations to multiple changes and rail replacements. Following this extensive testing, we were reassured the app was ready to be released to the public.

Brightec’s ethos is to produce meaningful technology that makes people’s lives better, so knowing that thousands of people will use and benefit from Virgin Trains Ticketing on a regular basis is something we take great pride in!

Our team loved this project from the get-go. It was fantastic and inspiring to work with the Virgin Red team and we are grateful to have learned new things and grown as a team during the process.

We’ve already begun work on the next Virgin project and it’s a big one, so stay tuned because there is more to come…