We have a bumper edition for you this time round, so let's get straight into it! Here is what we have for you:

  •  FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH PROJECT E-PLAY
  •  'YOU'RE A LIGHTWEIGHT! YOU'RE HIRED!'
  •  DO SOMETHING INCREDIBLE TODAY - HELP SAVE A LIFE
  •  MORE BUSINESS BUILDING WORKSHOPS
  •  TOM 'Big Al' SCHREITER'S 'COLOURS' SEMINAR
  •  MOMENTOUS 'I WAS THERE!' MEETING
  •  'FAST 5' PROMOTION CONTINUES
  •  JUST 'PAYSAFE' AND PLAY
  •  SIX OF THE BEST
    		•

     
    FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH PROJECT E-PLAY
    Those of you who’ve been keeping up with Head of Marketing Mark Davies’s new blog, or Group Director Malcolm Horsey’s Tuesday telephone conference calls, will already know something about the recent pilgrimage made by Mark and Tom Brodie to the Mecca of Computer Gaming: the annual Game Developers Conference 2007.

    Held this year between March 8th and 12th at the Moscone Centre, San Francisco, everybody who’s anybody in the design, production and distribution of online games congregated to learn, exchange ideas, and generally commune with their peers at the very cutting edge of the industry.

    Find out exactly whom the guys met and what they discovered.

    READ MORE...

    ‘YOU'RE A LIGHTWEIGHT! YOU'RE HIRED!’
    If you're a fan of the hit BBC programme The Apprentice (latest 12-week series started 22 February), you’ll be familiar with boss-man Alan Sugar’s withering command, now turned catch-phrase: ‘You're a lightweight! You're fired!’

    Well, you could say we’ve just HIRED a lightweight. Namely, the prospecting DVD in its new cardboard sleeve. (It’s not a new version of the DVD, by the way, which is just as heavyweight in its persuasive power as ever.)

    Lighter than the plastic case we’ve been used to, and little bigger than the disk itself, the sleeve means there’s now no excuse whatsoever for not having a DVD handy in your pocket, or bag, or glove compartment to give to prospects on the spur of the moment.

    And it’s ideal for popping in the post. Indeed, you can get three of them and a letter in an A5 envelope and still be within the lowest UK postage price band (‘Letter’/100g).

    The Marketing Shop in your back office now has them on sale. And – it gets even better – they cost only half as much as before! (Well, there goes another excuse.) In fact, buy 100 and they’re just 55 pence each.


    DO SOMETHING INCREDIBLE TODAY – HELP SAVE A LIFE!
    The Race for Life campaign has literally run (pun intended) for 13 years, now. And in that time nearly 2 million women have raised over £130 million for Cancer Research UK.

    This year, there are over 280 Race for Life events taking place all over the UK, aiming to bring 800,000 amazing women together to raise a sensational £60 MILLION!

    Three of those amazing women, who are taking part in the event in Rhyl, North Wales, on 20th May 2007, work here at Commodore House in the Support Department; you may have spoken to them. They are: Kelly Bennett, Cerys Arslanian, and Samantha Taylor.


    To make it easy to raise funds, Cancer Research UK have set up a website giving each participant their own sponsorship page, to which supporters can go and make instant donations.

    We appreciate that you’re going to want to help out right now before you forget, so we’ve included links to the ladies’ pages...

    http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/kellye-lottery

    http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/ceryse-lottery

    http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/same-lottery


    (You’ll notice they’ve chosen to name their team the ‘e-lottery Sexy Ladies’ ... but we shan’t go there, shall we?)
     

    MORE BUSINESS BUILDING WORKSHOPS
    Not unlike a EuroMillions jackpot, the programme of Business Building Workshops (BBWs) really is on a roll.

    The ones we’ve had over the last couple of months in Birmingham and Potters Bar have been great, sold-out successes, and there are more BBWs on the schedule in April, that will no doubt sell out, too.

    There’s no simpler way of saying it: training puts pounds in your pocket. So would you like to know whether there’s a workshop coming up in your region? Read on...

    READ MORE...

    TOM ‘Big Al’ SCHREITER'S 'COLOURS' SEMINAR
    Before these BBWs, though, there’s another training session we’re staging that couldn’t come more highly recommended – an event that will change the way you speak to prospects forever...


    READ MORE...

    MOMENTOUS ‘I WAS THERE!’ MEETING
     
    You may be aware that every few months Tom and Len invite a group of the most experienced, high-achieving Affiliates to a Leadership meeting at Commodore House.

    The purpose of these meetings is to give the leaders a heads-up on the future direction of the company, present current marketing and organisational initiatives, and provide a forum for feedback from the field.

    The next meeting is coming up soon, on Friday 13th April. But this one is different: it’s less a meeting than it is a truly momentous event. Why?

    Well, this is when Tom, Len, Mark and the team will be unveiling for the very first time important, hush-hush information about project e-play.

    We can’t disclose any more than that in this bulletin. Expect an announcement soon about exactly where and when in June we’ll be staging a seminar for ‘lighting the blue touch paper’ on the E-PLAY PRE-LAUNCH CAMPAIGN.

    Watch this web space.
     

    ‘FAST 5’ PROMOTION CONTINUES
    ‘More good news now that will help to increase the value of your VWD cheque: you may have noticed that the Fast 5 Bonus promotion (introduced at the Birmingham Training and Recruitment Rally last January by Head of Development and Support Eric Avery) hasn’t ended yet.

    Read on to find out why it’s still alive and kicking...


    READ MORE...
     

    JUST ‘PAYSAFE’ AND PLAY
    Have you ever had a prospect tell you they would love to join VWD but they can’t because they don’t have either a credit/debit card or a bank account they can use? Or if they have, they just don’t want to use it because of ‘security issues’?

    Yes, frustrating, isn’t it? It happens to everybody now and again.

    If they’re determined to play nonetheless, the only alternative is to regularly mail a British Postal Order (or a registered envelope of cash)
     to VWD HQ. Which is a bit of a hassle, and even then only a realistic solution for UK residents.

    That was the only alternative for ‘non-banked’ Members...until now!


    READ MORE...
     

    SIX OF THE BEST!
    With e-Lottery going from strength to strength and e-play in the pipeline, inevitably, we’ve had to up-staff.

    So, when you next phone Admin, you may hear a new voice as your enquiry is being handled with our customary efficiency. That will belong to either Phil Roberts or Chantal Hodson.

    If you call and would prefer to speak in German, Spanish or French, you may find yourself talking to Bruce Jones, who’s joined the Translation Department.

    Meanwhile, behind the scenes, in Marketing, Christian Jones and Ben Kennedy will be beavering away, creating our new offline and online sales tools. Also, please welcome Jennifer Wise, who will be in charge of proof-reading.

    We’d like you to join us in giving a warm Virtual World Direct welcome to all six new faces...whom you could well meet face-to-face at our next seminar.