WARNING – This commercial contains a song that is extremely addictive. In a recent study, 9 out of 10 participants that viewed this commercial experienced side effects of humming, singing (badly), and mumbling this song. These symptoms typically last for a few days.
The song is by a new band named “Fatty Gets A Sylist”. Their self-named debut album is scheduled to be released on July 1, 2011. You can check them out on their website or on their Facebook page.
The feature story of the January/February 2011 issue of the California Lottery’s retailer newsletter, “Retailer Makeover Boosts Sales for South Grove Liquor” reminds us (for those that need reminding) of the effects that great retail execution can have on lottery sales. South Grove Liquor, a liquor and convenience store located in Orange County, was one of 9 stores throughout the state that was selected for a retailer makeover. The Lottery worked with the store’s owners to transform the store into an inviting space for players to come buy and play California Lottery games. The transformation included new eye-catching outdoor signage, wrapping the counter with beautiful clean Lottery branding, the addition of winner awareness above the counter, and converting an unappealing entranceway into a Hot Spot play area by adding a table and three chairs.
The end result of this effort was a whopping 66% increase in sales! No, that is not a typo. That 66% translates into an additional $10,000 of sales per week!
The article also contains several before and after photos; I encourage you to read it. I’d also encourage you to review the entire newsletter as I believe you’ll find it to be a well crafted communication tool. It is well written, concise, informative, engaging, and eye-catching. You can browse their other editions by clicking here.
Please don’t try this at home….
The Kansas Lottery debuted the Lottery News Show on YouTube this week.
The Iowa Lottery wants players to know that the Lottery is in the process of upgrading the terminals throughout the state as well as adding ticket checkers and eye-catching dual jackpot signs. It is using a combination of new media via its blog, Twitter, YouTube and old media to get the message out.
With two casinos in operation and more on the way, Maryland has increased its efforts to protect its citizens by creating the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Gambling (http://mdgamblinghelp.org). The Alliance is comprised of the Maryland Lottery Agency, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Maryland State Senate, Maryland House of Representatives, Maryland Council on Problem Gambling, along with a member representing the local casinos. Maryland Lottery Director Stephen Martino is the Alliance’s inaugural chairperson.
The Alliance offers a toll-free help line with trained counselors, a website, and an “opt-out” program that allows self-identified addicts to ban themselves from casinos. Anyone on the list caught on the gambling floor will be charged with trespassing and any winnings will be confiscated.
You can learn more about the Alliance by reading this Baltimore Sun article, or by viewing the video below, which was posted to Maryland Lottery’s YouTube account.
The Ohio Lottery is using social media to build its Keno business. Its Kenotes Blog is used to communicate specifically with current and future Keno retailers and discusses the value of being a Keno retailer and offers tips to improve their business. It also includes some retailer case studies and video interviews like the one below.
As discussed in our previous Box Office Charts and Lottery Tickets blog post, we all know how important it is for retailers to immediately activate and display new scratch games. Virginia Lottery is putting their money where their mouth is with their retailer Double Commission promotion. It’s simple: “retailers that activate at least one pack of every new scratch game within the first three (3) days of sales will earn double commission on the first pack of each new game for that month.” You can read more about it in Virginia Lottery’s May Playbook, the official publication for Virginia Lottery retailers.
If you’ve ever wondered if winner awareness really increases sales, just ask Texas Lottery retailer Ramzan Hirani who sold a $1 million dollar winning ticket of Texas Lottery Black Series recently. “It’s a lot of excitement for us,” Hirani said. “It’s definitely increased our business, especially for people buying lottery tickets.” (read the full article)
OrderPad for Lotteries alerts sales reps to big winners in their territories and empowers them to quickly and easily print their own eye-catching winner awareness signage so that it can be placed at the retail location immediately to increase sales.
Winner awareness is just one of the many topics being discussed at Lottery Answers. Lottery Answers is a private question and answer site open to only employees of U.S. and Canadian lotteries. If you aren’t a member yet, we hope you’ll join us.
Simon Cowell is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but still plays the lottery.
