Lenovo partners battle it out for Grand Prix prize

Vendor's reward programme encourages VARs to sell PCs pre-loaded with Vista

Lenovo is offering double points on its Ultimate Challenge incentive programme from now until the end of the scheme which closes on 31 March 2008.

Launched in September, the programme pits Lenovo Business Partners from the UK, France, Italy and Spain against each other in a competitive race to sell eligible Lenovo notebooks and desktops pre-loaded with Windows Vista Business or Ultimate, earning themselves points.

Business Partners can trade their accumulated points for a number of gifts from a regularly-updated catalogue, which includes a broad range of ‘lifestyle’ prizes plus a selection of official AT&T Williams merchandise – in keeping with Lenovo’s sponsorship of the motor racing team.

On top of this, sales training modules designed by Microsoft in collaboration with Lenovo will enable Business Partners to sell Microsoft software products pre-loaded onto Lenovo desktops and notebooks. The modules, currently available on Windows Vista Business and Microsoft Office 2007, with a further module available shortly, culminate in a test. Upon successful completion of each test, the Business Partner will earn reward points. Successful completion of all the modules enables the Business Partner to qualify for the Grand Prize of a trip to the Barcelona Grand Prix in 2008.

“This is no ordinary incentive programme,” said Mike Etherington, Lenovo EMEA web marketing director. “Not only can our Business Partners now earn rewards for their sales, but they can also learn how to improve the way they sell Windows Vista and Microsoft Office software products at the same time, and be rewarded for this. The most successful of our Partners taking part in the Ultimate Challenge Programme can also win a trip to Barcelona to witness yet another great and exciting challenge: that of the AT&T Williams team in the F1 Grand Prix.”

”Microsoft counts on this type of strategic relationship to further the value proposition of its platform,” added Miguel Chessa, Microsoft EMEA account marketing manager. “We are excited to be able to engage with Lenovo Business Partners and drive the adoption of Windows Vista on Lenovo Systems targeted at SME customers.”

Ultimate Challenge Grand Prize winners will be announced on Tuesday 8 April 2008, with one winner selected from each of the participating countries.

To register for the Ultimate Challenge programme, partners should go to: www.lenovo-uc.com