A Good Bet: More Sponsorships on Behalf of State Lotteries
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IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT June 20, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com CATEGORY UPDATE A Good Bet: More Sponsorships On Behalf Of State Lotteries State lotteries can provide valuable marketing support through property-themed instant-win tickets. Although their budgets may have taken a hit over the past several years, state lotteries continue to expand their sponsorship portfolios. Indeed, much of the category’s recent activity has been with the NFL following the league’s decision in 2009 to loosen restrictions on team deals. But lotteries are increasingly aligning with other types of properties as well. Case in point: The Pennsylvania Lottery this year has inked new partnerships with the Wawa Welcome America 4th of July celebration in Philadelphia and the AFL Philadelphia Soul and Pittsburgh Power. The ties add to existing deals with pro sports teams, collegiate teams and community events. SIDEBAR The deals follow a slew of new ties between lotteries and NFL Tips on Selling And Working With State Lotteries teams over the past two years. Those include the Missouri Below, IEG SR offers tips on selling the lottery category: Lottery and the St. Louis Rams; the California State Lottery Provide on-site sales rights. Like other types of marketers, and the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and the San lotteries are increasingly looking for new sales outlets. As a Diego Chargers; and the Florida Lottery and the Jacksonville result, rightsholders should offer on-site real estate for lottery Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. vending machines. Where possible, properties should provide co-branded T-shirts Lotteries largely use sponsorship to accomplish three main and other merchandise to incent sales. The Kansas Lottery will objectives: gain platforms to develop instant-win tickets, leverage the June 23-26 94.5 Country Stampede presented by engage new audiences and access on-site sales rights. Verizon music festival by offering a free T-shirt to consumers that purchase $10 worth of tickets from its on-site trailer. The California Lottery activates the Oakland Raiders and other Help support community initiatives. Lotteries frequently sponsored teams by creating team-themed scratch-off tickets. use sponsorship to demonstrate community support. “The NFL has a very passionate fan base. Sponsorship gives For example, the Massachusetts State Lottery actives its long- us an opportunity to tap into that passion and reach new running sponsorship of the NBA Boston Celtics by presenting the team’s Heroes Among Us program, a 14-year-old initiative audiences,” said Alex Traverso, the lottery’s assistant deputy that recognizes military veterans and other local heroes. director of corporate communications. “We honor heroes at every game, which ties into the The lottery pays each team $450,000 and 1 percent of ticket Massachusetts State Lottery’s community initiatives. We’ve sales, he said. been doing it for a long time, and it’s been replicated by © 2011 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. 1 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT The California Lottery also uses sponsorship to access other teams,” said Ted Dalton, the Celtics’ vice president of season tickets and other inventory that can be used in corporate partnerships and business development. second-chance drawings. Lotteries also look for opportunities to support their fundraising For example, the lottery’s San Francisco 49ers ticket dangled missions. The California State Lottery leverages its sponsorship of the Ventura County Fair by presenting the fair’s season tickets, autographed merchandise, a trip to an away Read and Ride program, an initiative that supports the lottery’s game and other prizes as part of a second-chance drawing. mission of providing supplemental funding for public schools. Consumers entered the drawing at www.Calottery.com/Replay. Help promote prizes. In addition to scratch-and-win tickets, Other lotteries leverage pro sports teams to access promotional lotteries frequently use sponsorship to promote Powerball jackpots. platforms for second-chance offerings. The Ohio Lottery in May rolled out Boot for Loot, a second-chance drawing promotion As a result, properties should offer virtual signage and other around its sponsorship of the MLS Columbus Crew. The media assets to provide prize updates. For example, the promotion dangles the chance to win $10,000 by kicking a field Illinois Lottery leverages the NHL Chicago Blackhawks by goal at the team’s Sept. 10 home game. using virtual signage to promote jackpot prizes. “They can use the partnership to their advantage due to “The lottery category has turned from branding to activation the flexibility of virtual signage,” said Dave Knickerbocker, over the last ten yeas,” said Chris Previte, the Crew’s vice the Blackhawks’ senior executive director of marketing and president of corporate partnerships. business development. Be prepared to work with licensing firms.Properties Property-themed lottery tickets aren’t limited to pro sports that plan to work with NBA, NHL and MLB teams should be teams. The Kansas Lottery this year leveraged its sponsorship prepared to work with MDI Entertainment, LLC, the exclusive of the Wichita Riverfest with the Riverfest Riches! lottery ticket licensee for the three leagues. instant-win ticket. Case in point: The Chicago Blackhawks worked with the NHL and MDI to create a Stanley Cup-themed scratch-and-win ticket. In addition to the ticket’s $25,000 grand prize, the lottery offered a $40,000 second-chance prize to play up Riverfest’s “If the Illinois Lottery wants to do a Blackhawks game, it’s 40th anniversary. The lottery held the drawing at the event routed through us. We have exclusive rights with the NHL,” on June 11, the last of day of the festival, said Meg Bieberle, said Steve Saferin, president of Scientific Games properties group and chief creative officer. MDI is a subsidiary of advertising coordinator with the Kansas Lottery. Scientific Games Corp., a supplier of instant-win lottery tickets. The Riverfest Riches! ticket also dangled a free admission pin The Stanley Cup-themed scratcher sold three million tickets, as a secondary instant-win prize, said Bieberle, adding that said Knickerbocker. winners could redeem the ticket at the lottery’s on-site trailer Know time constraints. It typically takes lotteries six months for the actual pin. or less to create property-themed scratch-and-win tickets. Partnerships with state lotteries can provide valuable exposure That time period can be shorter. The Missouri Lottery for pro sports teams and other types of rightsholders. developed an NFL St. Louis Rams ticket in less than two months, said Bob Reif, the team’s executive vice president of sales and marketing and chief marketing officer. For example, the St. Louis Rams attributes a scratch-off ticket launched last year to building exposure in non-traditional “It was amazing. We met in June and launched the ticket in marketing channels. August.” Because money cannot “The ticket gave us exposure at retail outlets where we didn’t Be prepared for one-year contracts. be spent until annual budgets are approved, state lotteries have a presence. It helped start a conversation about our typically look for one-year contracts or multi-year contracts that brand,” said Bob Reif, the Rams’ executive vice president of allow the option of ending the deal after each year. sales and marketing and chief marketing officer. Sources Boston Celtics, Tel: 617/854-8000 The ticket’s second-chance drawing also has helped the Chicago Blackhawks, Tel: 312/455-7000 team gain fans, he added. The Rams last year converted two St. Louis Rams, Tel: 314/982-7267 non-fans into fans after they won a trip to fly with the team to Scientific Games Corp., Tel: 212/754-2233 © 2011 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. 2 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT Seattle for the last game of the season. “We had an opportunity to convert them into fans, and now they’re season-ticket holders.” Sources California State Lottery, Tel: 916/323-7095 Kansas Lottery, Tel: 785/296-5700 Columbus Crew, Tel: 614/447-2739 St. Louis Rams, Tel: 314/982-7267 © 2011 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. 3 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT June 20, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com ONE-ON-ONE Wheat Thins Uses Music To Support Brand Repositioning Cracker brand gains new Facebook fans and Twitter followers as a result of music festival sponsorship. In a category largely dominated by sports sponsorships, Kraft Foods Inc.’s (“Properties Win As Kraft Spends More At Corporate and Brand Levels,” 4/9/10) Wheat Thins has taken a different path. For the past two years, the cracker brand has sponsored the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. as a platform to sample product, boost consideration and engage young adult consumers through on-site activities and social media programs. Kraft also uses the sponsorship to reposition Wheat Thins as a snack for on-the-go consumers. The company activated the June 9-12 music festival with the Wheat Thins Crunch Den, an on-site area that it used to play up the cracker’s crunchiness, an attribute typically associated with potato chips and other snacks. The activation platform supports Wheat Thins’ The Crunch is Calling social media campaign that showcases consumers who Tweet about the brand. Kraft surprises the Tweeters with a visit by the Crunch is Calling crew, who deliver product to the unsuspecting consumers. The company videotapes the events, which it posts on YouTube and uses in TV ads. IEG SR spoke with Melissa Renny, Wheat Thins’ senior associate brand manager, about the brand’s effort to reach young consumers, its approach to sponsorship, how it activates Bonnaroo and other topics. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation. IEG SR: Who is Wheat Thins’ target demographic? Renny: Wheat Thins targets people who live each day to its fullest.