In 2008, Digicel gave the public for Christmas the chance to live Free for a year. In 2009, a lucky person got the chance to choose either a piece of land, a brand new Nissan vehicle or a vacation every year for five years valued at EC$100,000.{{more}}

Now for the 2010 Yuletide season, the telecommunications company, which has proven time and time again that its promotions are indeed ‘Bigger and Better’ (as the tagline says), is giving Vincentians the opportunity to win up to EC$100,000 in cash and electronic gadgets.

Digicel’s 2010 Christmas promotion, which this year is called ‘Once Upon a Digicel Christmas Promotion’, will be officially launched this afternoon at the Pool Side of the Canash Beach Apartments at 8 p.m. As usual, the evening promises to be one that customers will remember for years to come. The local face of the 2010 promotion, Lafayette Johnson, will be at the launch, while attendees will be given a haute couture experience by Kimon Baptiste and designs from her clothing line Kimmystic Clo. Guest designer Barbadian Patricia Blackman will also have designs on show.

Explaining the promotion and how one is entered in it, Marketing Manager at Digicel Juno DeRoche revealed that beginning today (November 19) up until January 31 2011 persons who top up their prepaid phone EC$20 or more, persons who purchase a handset or postpaid customers who pay their bill in full and on time will be entered in a draw not only for weekly prizes but for a grand prize.

More specifically, every top up of EC$20 or more earns a prepaid customer a chance in the draw while a postpaid customer earns a chance for each EC$20 paid towards their monthly bill provided that the entire amount due for that month is paid in full on or before the due date (in other words if you pay EC$100 on your post paid bill you will be given 5 entries to the raffle). Persons who purchase handsets get one entry in the draw.

A random draw will choose five persons (whether postpaid or prepaid) who on Friday, February 4, 2011, at Heritage Square in Kingstown will be given the opportunity to enter a cash machine to see how much money they can grab in 30 seconds.

DeRoche said that the machine will blow cash through the air and persons will be given a Digicel apron in which they will place the money which they are able to grab from the air.

The machine will contain EC$80,000 and the five finalists one at a time will be given 30 seconds to grab as much Digicel cash as possible; the finalists will receive in the amount they grab actual cash in the form of an Eastern Caribbean Dollars cheque on a date to be determined by Digicel.

Deroche also revealed that an alternate will not be allowed once the actual winner cannot make it, “should a contestant decide not to participate, their place and prize will be forfeited”. It is also noted that each finalist must adhere to the single rule of not bending over to collect Digi-dollars located on the floor of the machine. Any finalist found in violation of this rule will be disqualified and will be asked to forfeit their prize winning.

Persons who win weekly prizes will still be eligible for the grand prize draw. Weekly prizes are made up of handsets from Digicel and electronic gadgets compliments Courts SVG Ltd. Persons wanting to know how many entries they have in the raffle must call customer care at their ‘100’ number.

Marketing Executive Justin John added that persons at this evening’s launch can also expect to win prizes.

Last year’s Christmas promotion which was dubbed ‘All I want for Christmas’ was won by Carmelear Cain of Park Hill. Cain was given the opportunity to choose between $100,000 worth of land, a brand new Nissan vehicle or a vacation every year for five years. She chose the land.

In the 2008 Christmas promotion, Nerissa Garraway, Vaughn Holder and Rayshaun Shallow won first, second and third place, respectively, in the Digicel Live Free for a year promotion. Holder took home the top prize in which she got EC$5000 every month in 2009. Holder got EC$2400 every month in 2009 while Shallow got EC$1800 every month in 2009.

John described the 2010 promotion, “as exciting and rewarding at the same time”.