38 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 Most product promotions include multiple channels, collaborations, and marketing angles, but never anything as diverse, robust, and creative as your Guy Fieri promotion. How could you afford the time and money to surround the promotion with such a rich and expansive host of promotional initiatives? D. Barden: Beyond cost efficiency and staffing, time is always a challenge. By extending the game’s promotional calendar to include pre-launch, launch and post launch, we can spread out initiatives to maximize the number of items we can reasonably accomplish. We are incredibly versed in cost-efficiency. And it’s always a team effort. But it also helps that we have a team and tools that can generate materials and content at a low cost in a short amount of time. Was AI used to reduce costs and enhance the product? Too, what other tools and methods did you use to bring down costs and bring production in-house? D. Barden: We are currently exploring the use of AI for images, storyboarding and even animation for future spots. The Guy Fieri Flavortown Fortune! Scratcher did not have any AI-based initiatives, but it certainly was a guerrilla-marketing and cost-effective initiative. For example, the song for the TV spot was written by Wendy Ahlm and Darren Geffre, NMLA IT Director. Darren sang the lyrics, played guitar, and produced the music in his own studio, further saving costs. And Wendy filmed the TV spot in her office and edited it herself. But not without help from the Customer Service team. They helped work the props so French fries jumped out of the basket. Our survey was written by the Communications Manager, Vanessa Mellone, and built on Survey Monkey, an inexpensive platform. We deployed it ourselves to our Promo Zone members and on our website and social media. And Vanessa analyzed and compiled the resulting data. Vanessa also created the social media promotions and posts and designed and managed the social content. The cookbook contest was set up on our website by Wendy Ahlm and Jessica Quintana, who manage and create all our web content. It was juried by a team of staff, and designed as a downloadable publication, to save production costs. Because of our in-house printing and distribution capabilities, Jessica Quintana, our Deputy Director of Advertising and Marketing, was able to design, build, and package all the Restaurant Codeword Promotional materials with minimal expense. And the Marketing team shared the responsibility of purchasing gift cards and delivering store signage to restaurants. Wendy has spent years developing relationships with the radio stations. She came up with the radio promotion and invited them to participate. Jessica designed the premium items for prizes. And the in-house marketing team packaged and shipped Lottery bucks and cutlery sets for station giveaways. The stations then shared the promotion with their listeners, which amplified our advertising message for just the cost of Lottery bucks and cutlery sets. Of course, staff involvement and the energy input in these winning games is contagious. Our Claim Center staff, Lori Scholl and Michelle Carey, came up with an amazing promotion for our claim center visitors. Lori sought out all the props to build the food displays and then put them together herself. Field Sales Representatives held wheel spins around the state. And New Mexico Lottery and Intralot’s staff jumped in to help with the launch event at headquarters. Going forward: How has this experience transformed your methods of production? D. Barden: Be open to new ideas, welcome fun, and occasionally take a chance with the unusual, including creating a shark mascot swimming in the desert sands. We never anticipated Cash Shark, a social ‘mascot’ we’ve created, would get involved in the cookbook, or that he would make a celebrity chef appearance. It just happened naturally and grew from an idea that the Marketing team came up with after we launched the cookbook. This led to a series of videos and a special section in the cookbook, all embracing the notion of having fun and that the New Mexico Lottery is fun. I’d also say the experience was one more lesson in welcoming change. For example, we had to pivot when the licensor realized they did not intend to approve our initial TV concept. Luckily, we had written and filmed the spot ourselves, so our expenses were minimal. However, we had to quickly create alternative scripts and produce a new TV spot. This, in turn, initiated writing our own song for the TV spot. Had we not had the experience of welcoming change, pivoting, and being open to new ideas, we would not have the experience of writing a song. You’ve now won three years in a row. How are you ever going to top it? D. Barden: Well, let’s not forget it all started with our Dia De Los Muertos ticket. It is one of my all-time favorite scratcher tickets that won Best New Instant Game a few years ago. But last year, on the night we won Best New Instant Game for ORO Scratchers, I challenged my staff to win a ‘three-peat.’ They are an extremely competitive group, and immediately set about outdoing the ORO submission. So, this year, when we won for a third year in a row, they were prepared for my request and were already working on our next big instant game. There are so many incredible lotteries, and they are creating amazing tickets with award-winning creative. We’ll just have to see what happens. No matter the outcome, I’m very honored to have such an exceptionally talented and creative team pursuing excellence for our stakeholders in New Mexico. The following five pages describe in delicious detail the campaign to produce and implement the 2024 NASPL Best New Instant Game. Please take a seat, open your menu, and enjoy the Guy Fieri Flavortown Fortune! New Mexico Lottery wins the NASPL Best New Instant Game Award — continued from page 10
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