Public Gaming International Gaming July/August 2021

28 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2021 But traditional sales at retail far exceeded any of our early expectations. One of our great learnings was that we can use online to increase revenue but also to drive people into the stores. To the earlier point, this omni-channel relationship provides us with incredible opportunities to build our player base and reach players in different locations, both at home and in retail. We are excited about the opportunities presented by both these channels working together.” BUILDING LOYALTY One area of growth in the lottery industry has been Players Club, and the pandemic only accelerated their popularity. Rebecca asked her panel to explore how the player experience is enhanced through brand loyalty and players clubs and posed the question, “How important is it that we implement players clubs in the ‘new world?’” “VIP clubs are not just important to players but also to lotteries,” said Doug. “Players are trading their data, information about their preferences and play-styles, for chances to win money and other prizes. It is then up to the lottery to use that data to further enhance value to the players and to otherwise move the business forward. For iLottery states, starting with a database of players is critical to the success of an online program. You need to offer fun, engaging and entertaining activities for players to do when they enter the players club. Once they are members, they provide a valuable foundation for your future efforts.” As the director of a lottery that has benefited from a players club pre- dating iLottery, Drew agreed with Doug. “We have collected reams of data and the challenge is applying it in the best possible manner,” he said. “The data helps strengthen our relationships with players through more personalized communication that incents players to go into the retail locations and to our iLottery site. We have almost 1.5 million members in our VIP Club and those relationships are critical to our success throughout all the sales channels.” Lottery loyalty programs lag behind the loyalty programs of other consumer brands in terms of their broad adoption and relative sophistication. This presents an opportunity for Lotteries to consider leveraging existing loyalty programs. “There is intense competition for market share between national chain retailers, and their loyalty programs play an important role in this battle,” said Paul. “In our discussions with national chain retailers, they have expressed a strong desire to incorporate lottery sales into their loyalty programs. This provides a more consistent experience for their consumer, allows the retailer to get a more holistic view of their consumer, and most importantly would allow for cross-promotions and the ability to incentivize players to buy lottery and other products in the stores. That data is the lifeblood for retailers as it informs most of the consumer marketing decisions they make. For lotteries, there is lots of potential to improve in the practice of capturing, organizing, and applying player data. “Data is probably one of the most underuti- lized tools in our industry,” said Sam. “Some states have done it well, while others have barely scratched the surface. At Scientific Games, we’re focused on providing as much actionable data as we can about consumers and lottery sales because our customers’ retailer networks are asking for this infor- mation to support their marketing efforts. When you look at other industries, lottery is lagging and needs to advance.” In Europe, Stephane sees similar op- portunities for lotteries to develop more and better loyalty programs and turn a negative into a positive. “We feel we need to work together with our regulators to create loyalty programs that can use data to develop more efficient responsible gaming actions,” she said. “We will know our players better and be able to create programs that are designed for their individual needs. We can also identify when there might be issues for certain players. From a marketing standpoint, it makes total sense to learn about your customers, enhance products and messaging, and offer incentives that appeal to players.” THE WORKPLACE HAS CHANGED The panel wrapped with a discussion of workplace changes or, more specifically, the morphing of our homes into offices. The big question: What will stay with us and what will go away with the pandemic? Paul Riley pointed out the new couch he added to his at-home “office”. “Like companies across all industry sectors, we’ll certainly be looking at real estate and how the shift to remote – temporary for some, permanent for others – will impact our office space needs,” he said. From IGT’s corporate perspective, there’s recognition that a completely remote workspace is particularly difficult on new employees in establishing the personal relationships that can help them be successful moving forward in their careers – another important reason to be back in the office. “I know most of my co-workers share the desire to get back out and see our lottery customers and re-engage in person with our friends at other companies,” he said. “We definitely miss tradeshows where we can meet and exchange ideas and provide the benefits of actually seeing, touching and interacting with products. Hopefully over the next six months or so, we’ll see a return to normalcy.” Sam concurred with the need to see people in person and added that he thinks some aspects of remote working could be here to stay. “As far as the physical office, there may be a percentage of workforce who never return,” he said. “I think most companies including lotteries have made efficient use of The Big Picture continued from page 12 Continued on page 38 “ One of our great learnings was that we can use online to increase revenue but also to drive people into the stores.