Smirnoff Dream Weekend brings cool technology

SMS provides services for parties with a difference

Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer

The Negril Smirnoff Dream Weekend is a premium all-inclusive event, complete with parties created by a group of promoters known as the Dream Team.  Aimed at revolutionising the independence weekend, the Dream Team has been a part of the Jamaican entertainment calendar for the last eight years.

Equipped with a cadre of sponsors, including The Gleaner, the event promises to be the most-talked-about party weekend in the country.

Dream Weekend is also sponsored by SMS, who take care of the group's technology issues.

But, what exactly does it mean to be a technology sponsor? What does SMS have to offer to Dream Weekend patrons?

According to Dane Spencer, managing director of SMS, being a sponsor of Dream Weekend means his company will be exposed to a wide cross-section of people.

"It is a premier event and I see it growing as a major tourist attraction and we think that it provides us with a great opportunity to be aligned to a premium entertainment brand."

What will SMS offer? Spencer further explained.

"We are a communication platform for the Dream Weekend, so we will be providing information through blogs, streaming everything to Facebook and twitter. We will also be doing Blackberry giveaways, through a see-and-win competition. We will allow a very interactive way for patrons to win prizes." Also excited about another aspect of the promotion, Spencer explained that at the redemption centre, where you get arm bands, SMS will also be introducing the dry pack, which protects phones and other devices from water and sand.

SMS is banking on exposure from being a sponsor of the Dream Weekend to cement itself as being the go-to people when it comes to mobile technology.

Spencer ended by saying he was extremely excited about the weekend, because what SMS was doing at the party was a first.

Kamal Bankey, member of dream team and promoter of Extreme Wet N' Wild, in a phone interview with The Sunday Gleaner, said SMS had not only done a tremendous job on the dream website, but would also be providing information and technology management in "a cool way".

"They will also be providing free telephone accessories," Bankay re-emphasised.