Public Gaming International Gaming July/August 2021

20 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2021 one-sided – it involves two or more parties. For example, if we send an offer to someone and they don’t open it or they do and then don’t act on it, the offer didn’t resonate with them, and that could be for various reasons. If the offer is received and acted upon, that starts the engagement process. We now know at least one thing about this player – that they liked the offer they acted on. Thus begins a process of interaction and learning more about what the player likes and does not like. That’s one example. Engagement can happen though social media sites, survey responses, feedback on our site, or other player communication channels.” Sina from Pollard continued with this line of thought. “Any interaction with players will result in engagement, whether that’s through an email, the website, an app or in a loyalty program,” she said. “We know that our players are in the digital space now so that is where we have to be. If it’s not through an iLottery program, then we need to provide entertain- ment value through the extension of a retail ticket or utility through an app.” Amy said that engagement takes many different forms. At Scientific Games she works to ensure lotteries’ digital programs are engaging as many players as possible to extend the entertainment experience. “Given the restrictions many lotteries face, we need to focus on what they can do to drive digital engagement and loyalty,” she said. “I’m very passionate about loyalty programs because they offer a lot of benefits for lotteries. When all tickets are eligible all the time, you are engaging all your players. Then you mix in second chance promo- tions for even greater reach. So lotteries can be very strategic with a new product line that they want to feature and really help drive game performance.” For lotteries without advanced digital offerings, engagement can be as simple as an email. In Texas, which does not have iLottery, the lottery looks to the “blocking and tackling” of player outreach. “A simple email or digital signage in a store can be meaningful interaction with our brand,” said Ryan. “But your web site provides a link to your players that enables you to build on those interactions. Your app, whether or not you’re selling on it, provides meaningful interaction that promotes positive brand associations that help reinforce and build your relationships going forward.” Jay was the long-time marketing director in Oklahoma before being named director, so he is intimately familiar with techniques for reaching players. “The key to successful engagement is offering multiple touchpoints for players,” he said. “Loyalty is the perfect platform as there is so much you can do with one ticket. The player can enter one ticket or a group of tickets, and can then decide which promotions she wants to participate in. And then there might be smaller prizes and drawings for a large prize that will attract players. Along the way we can customize offers to the players. There are so many levels of engagement available that do not include iLottery.” While players clearly enjoy many benefits from digital interaction (from quick information access to prizes), lotteries are the recipients of a very valuable commodity – data. And player data is worth all the hard work it takes to launch and maintain digital programs. Sina said the data collected from Pollard’s various platforms helps direct their outreach to players. “Data is the crown jewel of our platforms,” she said, “because it really informs absolutely everything we do. The campaigns we undertake, the customization of content relative to a specific player – the whole design process must be informed by information about the players and what works and what does not work, it’s all driven by the data. For example, if we know a player enjoys our crossword games, a banner will come up on their carousel with crossword messaging. And their rewards might be crossword coupons versus just a generic buy one-get one type of coupon. Data is what enables us to deliver the messaging and promos that are relevant to the player’s preferences. The data might show us that we have a really engaged instant player so why not introduce them to draw-based games with an offer for double the points for entering draw game tickets into their account. In this way, data is helping us enrich the player’s individual experience.” Amy said that when Scientific Games digital specialists talk with lotteries about enhancing their digital programs, they often start with data. “We know who plays instant or draw games and how often they play,” she said. “We also use the data to power our couponing programs. Couponing has been huge, and data shows that players play a lot of different games and are more willing to try new things if they have a coupon in their cart. Data is empowering CRM (Customer Relationship Management) with more sophisticated capabilities. The data provides us with the information we need to shape and enhance the whole player experience.” Gregg steered the conversation towards results. Digital platforms cost money and to justify that expense, lotteries have to show that their initiatives will bring in players who will buy products. “But when you’re looking at player engagement, it is something that is hard to quantify,” said Gregg. “We’re very metric driven in Arizona and we use metrics to define how we can improve what we’re doing. But how do you define and measure ROI and impact?” Kelley-Jaye described how New Hampshire quantifies its digital programs, with the key being achievement of their identified goals. “Initially, the results you want include R O U N D TA B L E D I S C U S S I O N “ Given the restrictions many lotteries face, we need to focus on what they can do to drive digital engagement and loyalty