21 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2022 also comes opportunities. “As our budget has been cut, we’ve had to get more agile and quick to market, and learn how to optimize social media and digital channels,” he said. “One thing that has happened over the past two-plus years is that we’ve witnessed firsthand how many of our players see lottery as entertainment versus gambling. We all believed this to be the case but our pandemic sales have shown this to be true. There were a lot more eyes on us during the pandemic when we were the only gambling option. Fortunately, a large number of those new players have stayed, and so our ongoing sales numbers have been positively impacted.” In Nebraska, Brian Rockey said they try to balance their traditional game advertising and promotions with communications and brand messaging centered on beneficiaries. “We’ve always put a fair amount of effort into advertising our beneficiaries, but we stepped it up in the last couple of years, doing a dedicated outdoor campaign and some direct mail,” said Brian. “I also think it’s critical to communicate the positive impact of Lottery to our beneficiaries. We do beneficiary briefings every fall where we sit down and explain our business decisions and explain what we do to maximize our profits. The response to these briefings has been very positive. They understand how the revenue flows and why we make certain decisions. We now have strong beneficiary partners who help spread our message.” Stephen Durrell said that in Kansas, they have seen both sides of the beneficiary message. The result has been to offer a variety of branding messages. “We have many different beneficiaries, so to communicate to all of them would be problematic,” he said. “We used to offer beneficiary-specific tickets but players thought the payouts were lower on those tickets and sales lagged. So now we use social media to get out our beneficiary messages and that has worked well and kept our social media director busy. The great thing about active social media channels is that you can get your message directly to players and answer questions quickly. And in terms of branding, we can offer quick-to-market promotions that engage and retain players. Our promotions with the University of Kansas and Kansas State University have been incredibly popular, where winners can fly with the teams to road games or win great seats at home games. These types of promotions help spread the word that the lottery brand is fun and relevant.” As someone whose company and products have evolved over the past ten years, Brad said it is critical to stay tethered to both players and lottery colleagues. “I try to focus on where our lottery players are migrating to – is it themed games, sports betting, casino games, etc.,” he said. “When you put your feet in the shoes of players, it makes it easier to craft content they want. You have then created a brand and brand-related content that answers their needs. At the same time, business moves forward more effectively when you also stay connected with colleagues who are experiencing the same pressures as you. If we can be less transactional about our work and more collaborative, I think we can all move forward with our own particular business agendas. In the end, this will best serve our players and all Lottery stakeholders.” PORTFOLIOS ARE KEY Much of the popularity of lottery lies in the diversity of its game portfolios, the mix of huge jackpot draw games with games that create lots of winners, and instant games with a wide range of prize options. Wellknown brands like Powerball have helped propel the lottery industry into the same top-of-mind status as companies like Coke and Apple. Keeping that status, preserving that brand value, is key to the future of lottery. “From the Powerball level, as we look at marketing, promotions, and brand development, we need to use the power of our brand to control the lottery narrative,” said Gregg. “When you sell 2.2 billion tickets across the country, that is incredible reach. How are we using this reach to positively impact the other games in the portfolio and the other components to the brand? Is there a ‘halo effect’ that can lift other games?” Ryan said that for the Texas Lottery, they are always looking for opportunities to tweak games and provide players with engaging games and promotions. “The change to three-days-a-week for Powerball was well received by our players and so we also changed our Lotto Texas to three days,” he said. “Increasing the time these games are in the market has been a huge success for both these games. And on the scratch ticket side, it’s all about the higher price points. Our best-selling price point is $10. We now offer a $100 scratch ticket with a $20 million top prize. Players have asked for these higher price point tickets and our sales show that they support this move. When you listen to your players, they typically reward you with increased revenue.” Nebraska is keeping it local as they spread the word on lottery to attract new players. “From a brand perspective, we increased the number of partnerships we undertake with the state to spread the lottery word as widely as possible,” he said. “Last year was the 100th anniversary of our state park system so we sponsored a scratch game with them and gave away ‘glamping’ trips. It was very popular, one of our best-selling $5 games ever, so we’re going to do another one in the coming year. We support the tourism industry. We’re doing a companion program this year with the Nebraska History Foundation. And then we’re making plans for a promotion with the statewide blood bank to promote Lucky for Life. Working with our beneficiaries to understand Focusing on the Brand continued from page 12 “Let’s reach out to engage these mega-brands in mutually supportive collaborations.” Continued on page 39
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