Monday 26th January 2015 – Kingston, Jamaica
Digicel
put its own spin on reality TV last weekend when it pulled off the ‘Ultimate
Mission’ event in Jamaica
which has been described as a first for the Caribbean.
The
‘Ultimate Mission’ was the culmination of Digicel Jamaica’s Christmas promotion
and saw four contestants locked in a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle for 48 hours and
having to complete new and interesting ‘challenges’ every two to three hours.
The entire experience was streamed on Digicel’s Facebook page, while the last
hour was aired live on public television. The contestants, who at times
struggled with sleep deprivation and the cramped confines of the car, sang and
played games together to keep alert – and the resulting exchanges proved very
entertaining for viewers.
Using creative means of consumer engagement has long
been a mantra for Digicel in the region. The company’s longstanding sponsorship
of the talent show, Rising Stars, which takes place in Haiti, Jamaica
and Trinidad and Tobago, has
over the years, developed huge popularity in the region and the Caribbean diaspora.
Indicators
of the success of the event showed that 30,000 people viewed the live steam
online and more than 300,000 tuned in to local television for the final hour
and the results. Most viewers who watched online were located in Jamaica, but over eight percent were from the USA, Canada
and the UK.
Another three percent watched from other Caribbean countries, including The
Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman, Guyana,
Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago.
The
conversation, which took place over the live chat on the online stream,
generated approximately 50 messages every five minutes, as viewers remained
glued to the feed and continued to talk throughout. There was also high user
engagement on Digicel’s social media pages. For example, one photo of the
winner – an affable, easy-going Keisha Lawrence – reached over 28,000 timelines
on Facebook organically and within minutes of being posted.
“The making of the ‘Ultimate Mission’ underscores our
commitment to engaging our customers with more innovative, interesting and
original content,” said Peter Lloyd, Digicel Jamaica Marketing Director. “It
was an amazing 48 hours and we can’t thank the contestants and all our
customers enough for helping to make this a remarkable experience.”
The world’s fastest man and Digicel Brand Ambassador,
Usain Bolt, featured in the campaign and also had some words of encouragement
for the contestants. “You can do it, just stay focused, remember what you are
in there for and just get it done.”
The contestants completed 20 challenges, which
included a scavenger hunt, trivia games, memory challenges and eating raw food,
among other things. The grand prize was placed on a stage across from the
contestants and served as a constant reminder of why they should endure their
stay in the cramped VW Beetle. The winner was determined based on a combination
of points accumulated for completing the challenges, call/text votes and online
votes.
“It wasn’t easy to stay in the car and do all of the
challenges, but when you think about it—the Audi was across from us the whole
time, so it motivated me to do my best,” said Ms Lawrence, who won a 2015 Audi
A3 for her efforts.
The other three challengers walked away with a share
of JM$1 million. The first runner-up, Sacha Shaw-Cuthbert, said she was happy
to take home her prize of JM$500,000, which she plans to use to grow her
business – a medical practice for families.
ENDS
ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
Digicel Group is a leading global communications
provider with operations in 33 markets in the Caribbean, Central
America and Asia Pacific. After 13 years of operation, total
investment to date stands at over US$5 billion worldwide. The company is
renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.
Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean,
Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams
throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies
cricket team and is also the presenting partner of the Caribbean Premier
League. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby
teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu
cricket team.
Digicel also runs a host of
community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel
Foundations in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New
Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on
educational, cultural and social development programmes.
