33 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2024 their big events, our emerging leaders join theirs on development programs, and we strive to understand issues from their perspective. Forming these connections has also helped them appreciate Lottery’s value proposition as a way of generating foot traffic and in-store incremental income. We’ve seen retailers’ attitudes change on the acceptance of self-service vending kiosks while still leaving tickets on the counter. We’ve seen greater acceptance for testing digital display boards. And, we’ve been able to do customized retailer-specific prize promotions. You can see the approach of leading with gratitude has been successful with our retail partners because sales figures don’t lie, and our partners are on track for another record for commission in fiscal year 2024. Have any other factors helped to drive that success with retailers? M. Strawn: An outstanding factor has been becoming a significantly more datadriven organization, especially because we’ve equipped our field reps and regional sales managers with actionable data that helps to manage pushback. For example, over 80% of Iowa Lottery retailers took our $50 scratch ticket at launch, which I believe was an industry high at the time. That happened, in part, because we had the data to show them this model would perform the best. But even the best data is useless if you’ve not built trust. Without demonstrating respect for your partners’ issues, you won’t even get an opportunity to share your insights and numbers. It’s about understanding how we can both meet our objectives together. Exactly. But what about within your own organization, how does leading with gratitude help to build trust there? M. Strawn: When I joined the Iowa Lottery, I was fortunate to come into a high-performing organization with a tremendously dedicated group of Iowans who were setting records every year. I came from outside of lottery world, however, so I had to build trust. Meanwhile, we faced external challenges related to the rise of sports betting and a challenging economic environment. We had to think about how to evolve. Aspects of that evolution were not without some initial internal skepticism, such as whether our retailers would accept more self-service machines and whether player demand existed for a $50 scratch ticket. There were also hesitations around bringing lottery to Walmart stores in our market. I started from a position of gratitude and appreciation for those in-house lottery experts, and with that, we developed trust. At that point, they were prepared to look at other states’ data and industry research and say, “Okay, let’s give this new approach a try.” When that worked on one new initiative, it became, “Okay, let’s try another one.” The foundation for all of that was gratitude. Like every industry, lottery faces challenges in retaining talent. Can leading with gratitude help to address that? M. Strawn: Yes, it can be a vital part of an organization’s toolkit. It’s a philosophy that works for both your seasoned staff who deserve to be respected and for your younger staff who want to know the organization’s values and feel personally seen and heard. Leading with gratitude also means being prepared to share more and democratize information across the organization, which helps inspire and empower your team. And I’m proud to say that my team’s performance metrics demonstrate how they are responding to this approach by generating record sales that support good causes. Absolutely, you had a record-breaking FY 2023, and I believe you’re on course to beat that? M. Strawn: From FY 2022 to 2023, sales were up 11.3%, and I’m proud we’re continuing on a growth trajectory. For the first six months of this fiscal year, we’re up 5.5% year over year, so we’re even ahead of last year’s growth. Instants are up a little over 9% year over year. And even in the Lotto category, we’re still about 1.5% ahead of last year. Adding the Powerball double play has helped incrementally lift sales. Has anything else contributed to your great results? M. Strawn: There’s a continuing evolution of the Lottery’s product portfolio. We recently completed a comprehensive thirdparty study of our entire product portfolio and prize structure value proposition. That data will drive where we’re going when it comes to the future optimal mix of all our products. We continue to see maturation in other sales areas. We’re now in year two in 51 Walmart Supercenters but we’re already seeing tremendous growth. During the next two years, we will again nearly double the footprint of self-serve vending kiosks in our marketplace, particularly in the convenience store space. I am hopeful, by Q2 of 2024, we will go to market with Abacus-system-enabled Powerball and Mega Millions tickets sold in-lane in at Iowa grocery stores. And how did you respond to the introduction of sports betting in Iowa? M. Strawn: We made a philosophical shift in our marketing by pivoting to experiential prizes with an Iowa tie. We significantly invested in relationships with the Iowa State Fair, in-state collegiate sports, and major concert or entertainment venues. Effectively, if there is a major cultural event happening in Iowa, your Lottery is going to give you a VIP experience that money can’t buy and no one else can deliver. That has really enhanced our value proposition vis-à-vis other options in the state’s crowded gaming market. When you enlist the action-focused power of enthusiasm, with the often unexpected, yet powerful impact of gratitude, everything is possible. Who doesn’t love that? Leading with Gratitude — continued from page 12 Continued on page 39
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTg4MTM=