GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 1 - May 2007

Affliate Program Manager Interview Series 39 Value, Quality, Innovation, Fun: ONLINE GAMING IN VIRGIN TERRITORY Name: Pierrick Leveque Position: Affiliate Program Manager Age: 34 Beginnings: “I was born in La Baule, a quiet seaside resort on the Atlantic coast, south of Brittany, France. I now live in London, capital city of a country called England, UK” Background: involved in online gaming for more than 6 years, with extensive experience in both the online gaming operational and marketing fields Favourite sports: “football (as in soccer) once a week with the Virgin boys, bit of skateboarding (now - due to old age - limited to trips to the supermarket and downhill in Greenwich Park, London), snowboarding. Rugby and football on TV, Golf on Playstation” Preferred pastimes: playing blues guitar, reading, videogames (“old habits die hard!”), and “generally hanging o ut with my girlfriend and friends” Favourite TV shows: “My girlfrien d recently converted me to “CSI” (crim e scene investigation) and I have to admit it ’s growingonme.I justboughtafingerprintin g kit I plan to use at CAC Amsterdam to hon e my skills. One can’t pray for a better po ol of mischief makers. Beware!” Other interests: astronomy, physic s, sailing, nature, reading On the industry in 2008: “M y crystal ball tells me a titan fight lies ahea d, between the larger, possibly merge d groups that will remain and the US lan d- based companies, who will enter the gam e (again), and through the front door th is time.” Email: affiliates@virgingames.com E veryone knows Virgin – as in Virgin Atlantic Airways — one of the most respected brands in Britain and quickly becoming one of the fastest growing global brand names of the 21st century. Virgin is involved in planes, trains, finance, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, holidays, cars, wines, publishing, and even bridal wear. T hey have created over 200 companies worldwide, employing over 25,000 pe ople. In 2004, Virgin Games – which operates Virgin Casino, Virgin Poker, Vi rgin Bingo, and Virgin Skill – was launched, with the announced goal of pr oviding online customers with the value, quality of service, innovation, a nd fun that have characterized Virgin’s business philosophy since the co mpany was founded in 1970. Vi rgin Games Affiliates followed in 2006, and in January of this year, the pr ogram rolled out brand-new affiliate software. It allows webmasters to pr omote Virgin Casino, Poker, and Bingo under a single affiliate account a nd offers a revenue share of 50% commission for two months, then up to 4 0% thereafter. CPA and hybrid models are on the way. T he Virgin Games Affiliates Program is managed by Pierrick Leveque, w ho joined Virgin in late 2005. In speaking with GPWA Times recently, he described the program and the new affiliate software as part of the or ganization’s strategy to offer affiliates the reporting and marketing tools th ey need in order to promote their services efficiently. “We rely strongly on fe edback,” Leveque explained, “so we strongly encourage affiliates to let us k now if there’s anything they need; by helping them, we’ll be helping our af filiate community as a whole as well. My job is to ensure that affiliates feel co mfortable investing time and efforts in promoting our brands.” T he benefits that VirginGames players enjoy—trusted brands, fast payouts, a ndaunique loyalty systemwith loyaltypoints redemptionoptions including Vi rgin Atlantic flying club miles, charity donations, or Virgin vouchers — ar e mirrored in the benefits for affiliates — high conversion rates, flexible co mmission models, multiple campaigns tracking, unique affiliate loyalty sy stem, accurate statistics and reporting, prompt and regular payments, no ne gative carryovers and an easy-to-use banner and reporting system. T he future looks bright for Virgin Games. Because they never took U.S. bets, th e effects of the UIGEA have been quite beneficial, as a majority of affiliates ar e now trying to diversify their traffic and target new markets. Virgin is w ell known and trusted in many countries, which makes promoting Virgin G ames an obvious choice for affiliates planning to reach out to European pl ayers. Leveque sums it up this way: “Affiliate marketing is nothing b ut a partnership. In the long run, only trust matters. For example, our p artnership with GPWA will help us prove that we are a solid and trusted af filiate partner, and help us spread the good word about Virgin Games.” GPWA TIMES | VIRGIN | Pierrick Leveque