Technology Pays

Students get $200K Scholarship from Bill Express for Animation Creation

Northern Caribbean University student Dwayne Carridice and his teammate O’Neil Daley will not have to worry about tuition fees for the next semester. They are the winners of the recently concluded Bill Express BBM Animation challenge. "We set out to spark creativity in young people”, explained Patria-Kaye Aarons, Sponsorship and Communications Manager of the bill payment agency. “The world of technology is fast moving and so much a part of everyday life. We wanted to find a way to connect Bill Express with our customers in a way that was techy and fun”.

Bill Express has been very novel in its approach to communication. Social media and personal interactions have been a big part of the brands’ marketing strategy. “We recognize the merit in being where our customers are” adds Aarons. “Convenience is king today. Not only our services, but also our advertising need to be readily accessible; be it on facebook or in the streets or as is this case, on blackberry.”

“They say time is money and we want to ensure Bill Express customers save both”, continues Aarons.  “We provide customers with the convenience of a one stop multiple payment agency and that saves them both time and money. That message really came out in many of the entries…and in a humorous way”.

Humor was the overwhelming theme throughout the submissions. This too is aligned with the Bill Express way. “People don’t like paying bills. It is a dreaded activity at the end of every month, but it is necessary. Bill Express attempts to take the pain out of that process as much as possible. That’s why we provide the ease of 250 locations island-wide and the convenience of being able to pay over 40 bills in one spot. We also are strategic with the sponsorships we select. We always set out to lighten the mood.”

The winners were selected from entries submitted from students of the University of the West Indies, University of Technology and Northern Caribbean University; all universities for which Bill Express collects.  The judging criteria included:-

-       Use of the Bill Express logo

-       Facebook votes

-       Viral potential

-       Emotional impact

-       Complexity

Chief Judge, Norval West commented on the reasons for the selection of the winner by the judging panel. “The entries were all good. However, some of the teams went the extra mile to really engage viewers imaginations, like "lights out" and "dancing head."”. As a Technology expert at GraceKennedy Money Services himself, West has good advise for the young entrants. “You have to love what you do, and be really good at it. Consider identifying the areas in IT that your are genuinely interested in and create a plan of how you can make a career of getting there.  Also, you may not get to work in the area of interest initially, but a lot of IT skills are transferrable. Approach every job, with the mindset that you're going to be the best, so that you will establish a reputation of excellence.”

The top 6 finalists all walked away with blackberry Curve 9320 handsets courtesy of the mobile makers.