16 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2022 from the pandemic. All CEOs agreed that their lotteries have become faster in their operations, more flexible, efficient, and motivated. Company culture has also become more important, for example with employees learning to work in different ways, retailers adapting to the new situation and internal communications evolving. Regarding the growth of online play, this was not seen as an unnatural change, and it is agreed that additional players recruited to online play during the pandemic would stay. Although there will be players (generally older) who will revert back to their usual ‘’habits’’ for example returning to their usual retail outlines, online play will continue to grow in the post-pandemic era. Ray Bates concluded the discussion with how retail “omnichannel” can be criticised as a term, but digitalisation of retail is a reality and would continue to expand. The panel agreed that lotteries must provide more interesting support at retail, and responsible gaming would remain high on the agenda. Moderated by Rebecca Paul as WLA President, the panel with Suppliers’ Executives including Jay Gendron, Chief Operation Officer Lottery, IGT, USA; Patrick McHugh, Executive Vice President & Group Chief Executive Lottery, Scientific Games, USA; and Doug Pollard, Chief Executive Officer, Pollard Banknote, Canada, discussed actions being taken to ensure a sustainable industry that protects the environment and grows business responsibly, such as receiving WLA certification, adhering to the UN Global Compact, working on social programmes with employees and customers worldwide, and taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was agreed that collaboration between suppliers and lotteries to consistently advocate the industry’s responsible operations and support of countless good causes around the world will help regulators differentiate lotteries from other gaming operations when legislating, and strengthen the fight against illegal betting operators present in many jurisdictions globally. With the overall trend of digitalisation and the shift from broadcast advertising to one-to-one messaging, the panel highlighted the need for lotteries to engage closely and effectively with players to deliver the products players want and gain their loyalty. They noted the need to maintain point of sale advertising for retail, which is still very important, given the significant growth of instant ticket sales in many markets. They also reminded that they could help lotteries solve issues. The development of innovative solutions, such as an app for cashless payment of winnings, speeding up payments and addressing the issue that retailers have less cash on hand than in the past. FROM TV DRAWS, DIGITAL MARKETING TO RETAIL AND THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY The event brought together diverse and inspiring marketing campaigns to share with participants. During the three consecutive sessions, lottery professionals and experts from different national markets around the world, reflected on important marketing themes such as TV game shows and live draws, advertising, sustainability, and digitalisation as well as looking ahead to future marketing trends, challenges, and opportunities. El Gordo, the traditional annual Christmas draw by SELAE in Spain since 1815, tells a story all about the values of (Spanish) society – humanity, solidarity, and generosity. Presented by María Núñez, Journalist & Press and Communications Secretary at SELAE, El Gordo conveys heart-felt beauty to help us understand the underlying dynamics that make the game so powerful and uniquely important. The marketing is extremely clever as it focuses on the importance of sharing as the essence of the ‘’brand’’ as well as the power of emotion, family, friends, togetherness, hope, and love. Imme Rog, Chief Marketing Officer, Novamedia/Postcode Lotteries highlighted the importance of television to reach players. As the Postcode Lottery is 100 percent subscriptionbased (without points of sale) a sense of ‘’disruption’’ in the marketing strategy is often felt. Television is one of the most visible and fun ways to reach out to players, reinforced by the well know hosts and ambassadors. Regarding retail, Roger Soleim, Head of Omnichannel distribution at Norsk Tipping, focused on the state of play in Norway. Due to a rapid change in the market, there has been an increasing trend from retail to mobile. 90 percent of customers are already registered through digital channels which means Norsk Tipping digitalises the customer onboarding journey in retail as well. Concepts are tailored to different audiences and for different ‘’arenas’’. For example, the retailer receives a commission for a short time period if the customer plays through the digital platforms after registering with the RAY BATES ARJAN VAN’T VEER LUCA ESPOSITO REBECCA PAUL HANSJÖRG HÖLTKEMEIER Continued on page 51
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTg4MTM=