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// Public Gaming International // March/April 2015
entire network of communication me-
dia, e-mail, Facebook etc. It is identi-
cal to having our home computer with
us at all times. In fact, young people are
coming to rely on their smart-phone for
absolutely everything and not even use
a computer at all. This means that our
thoughts and decision-making processes
are never without constant informational
input. Ever. That is an amazing thing and
it influences the path to purchase.
So I’m in the store now. Well, do I buy
this thing? I don’t know. Let me scan
this QR code to go to price-comparison
websites to see if I can get it cheaper else-
where. What’s it cost at Amazon, Costco,
Walmart? It takes a few seconds to find
out. Let me see what all the competitors
have while I’m standing here in front of
it. That’s where the term ‘showrooming’
came from. In summary, the path to pur-
chase for the modern consumer is no lon-
ger linear or predictable. The inability to
control and direct the information-flow
makes it much more difficult to influence
the buying decision, and this is no less
true for the land-based retailer than it is
for the online retailer.
The consumer has control of the path. So
merchants need to think carefully about the
directional cues that the consumer encounters
on her path to purchase. But for the sophisti-
cated consumer with finely-tuned filters, it is
more vital than ever that signage and messag-
ing be customizable, and that the next step
will be to engage and delight the consumer
with fully Interactive channels.
R. Young:
Lottery is focused on the
messaging at the checkout counter. Of
course, that is the ultimate spot for POS
messaging. But it is not the only point
where the decision to buy or not buy is
being made, or being influenced. Lottery
should think about the expanded sphere
of influence it can command in a store
environment. How can it convey its mes-
sage and influence consumer behavior in
ways that do not require the product to be
on the counter at check-out? That space
is limited and everyone is fighting for it.
By all means, Lottery should continue to
fight for it because it’s the best place in
the store. But Lottery should think more
about the expanded visual space that sur-
rounds the consumer as she walks through
the store. That’s what Carmanah does
with all its Research dollars - Our mission
is to convert that wealth of under-utilized
visual space into exciting lottery-selling
engines of growth!
And, of course, all merchants and
brands need to create that online Mobile
connection with the consumer. It doesn’t
matter if the mobile connection to the
customer is transaction-enabled. A Lot-
tery brand’s mobile opportunity today is
to influence the path to purchase in the
land-based retail environment more than
it is to directly generate sales. As impor-
tant as the counter-top at checkout is, we
want to make better use of all that time
that the consumer spends walking the
aisles of the store before they even get to
the check-out counter.
Carmanah is now a division of Stratacache.
Stratacache supplies all the digital menu
boards for McDonalds, and other signage
and messaging as well for McDonalds. I
would think that McDonalds is just about as
good as anyone at using visual cues, signage,
and media to influence consumer behavior.
R. Young:
The one thing that Mc-
Donalds discovered is that if you are not
accomplishing the results you want in a
particular test, that does not mean that the
idea doesn’t work. There are two aspects to
their basic theory. One is that there is no
better ROI than to find the best ways to
use all the ambient space to optimize the
whole consumer experience. Just like in an
Apple store, every detail about the whole
physical environment is considered to be
critical. So it is not a question of whether
you should have signage or invest in the
newest Interactive medium. It’s not even
a question of how much to invest. Their
only objective is to find the best ways to
use all the space for optimal impact.
Second, they know that while testing
is certainly a useful and necessary step,
it does not tell an important part of the
story. The impact of a test can sometimes
bear little resemblance to the effect it has
once the consumer has learned to expect
it and look for it, whether it be messag-
ing on a sign or an LTO (limited time of-
fer). That does not mean that everything
which under-performs in a test will prove
out when it is rolled out in a big way. It
does mean, though, that good ideas that
end up being hugely successful often
times do not test well because they were
not given time to build traction and con-
sumer awareness. A new concept doesn’t
really penetrate the hearts and minds un-
til it becomes ubiquitous and we learn to
look for it.
McDonalds sells food, not games. Yet
they use games to engage the consumer,
maximize “dwell time” in their stores. Lot-
tery is in the gaming business. Maybe we
could do a better job of engaging the play-
ers at the store, getting them to play games
at Play Stations and such.
We build digital-play games for Mc-
Donalds restaurants now. McDonalds
has all kinds of entertainment options
for their guests. Lottery could certainly
use in-store video monitors to enable the
shoppers to play games right there in the
store. Perhaps include some non-money
games and also provide tutorials on how
the games are played. Insofar as messaging
is becoming interactive, the lines of dis-
tinction between signage and the gaming
product will blur. As we discussed, Car-
manah already has products that appeal
to the consumer on many different levels.
And Retailers, Lotteries and Carmanah
are working together now to continue to
develop creative new ways to evolve the
tools we use to connect with the consum-
er. The possibilities are limited only by
our imagination!
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