Public Gaming Magazine November-December 2015

// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // November/December 2015

The day that Bill Behm, a Scientific Games founder and

active consultant, walked into my office and handed

me the inaugural issue of

The Lottery Journal

, I had two

thoughts. One – I was flattered Bill was bestowing a piece

of his nostalgic paraphernalia upon me. Two – that 29

years later we were all still having the same conversations

about lottery players.

How do we develop games that attract new players?

How do we offer products for Millennials (or Gen Xers,

as we called the younger generation back in 1984)? How

do we stay relevant for generations to come? These are

headlines that circulate endlessly throughout industry

discussions, events, articles and strategy sessions.

If this conversation continues, in 2020 we will substitute

Gen Z (the current name for the cohort following

Millennial), and we could be sitting in the same place…

or worse. We’ve found successful global companies have

learned that generational-based product development

and marketing is limiting and typically results in designs

for everyone and no one at the same time. Success more

often comes from products that are developed based

on consumers’ motivations and needs, regardless of the

intended user’s age.

With the global convergence of lottery, gaming, retail,

mobile and many other aspects of daily life, a consumer’s

world is almost seamlessly integrated. It’s no surprise

then that our industry is mirroring life and blending

knowledge, products and assets. But the

act

of merging

alone will not make a difference to our customers’

bottom lines. It’s the

action

we take that will deliver

results. Because of this, Scientific Games invested in a

solid innovation foundation for one consumer across one

wallet.

At Scientific Games, we know that our mandate is to

deliver bottom line profits to our customers through

innovation and partnership. We know that this mission

means we must be leaders in changing the conversation.

We also know that change will happen as we approach

the market as groups of consumers, who desire different

experiences from the products we develop. So where do

we start?

FULL MARKET SEGMENTATION

Research methodologies are a

means

to an end, not the

end itself; for Scientific Games, that end is commercial

insight, which can only be reached by using a technique

that is tried and true, valid and reliable, and then

applying the results in novel ways. To meet this goal,

we engaged in a full-market segmentation study.

Segmentation research is not new or revolutionary, nor

is it one methodology or approach. The term covers a

broad range of tools for defining meaningful customer

The

(N)

EVER Changing

Conversation

“If early results are any indication, 1984 will be remembered as a year in which a

newmarket - a young adult market - started playing the state lotteries.”

The Lottery Journal, Volume 1 Number 1, 1984

Jennifer Welshons

–

Vice President,

Lottery Insights for

Scientific Games

day that Bill Behm, a Scientific Games founder and

ive consultant, walked into my office and handed

the inaugural issue of

The Lottery Journal

, I had two

ughts. One – I was flattered Bill was bestowing a piece

is nostalgic paraphernalia upon me. Two – that 29

rs later we were all still having the same conversations

ut lottery players.

do we d velop games that attract new players?

do we offer produ ts for Millennials (or Gen Xers,

e called the younger generation back in 1984)? How

we stay releva t for ge erations to come? These are

dlines that circulate endlessly thr ug out industry

ussions, events, articles and strategy sessions.

is conversation continues, in 2020 we will substitute

Z (the current name for the cohort following

lennial), and we could be sitting in the same pla e…

orse. We’ve f und successful global compani s have

ned that ge erational-based product evelopm nt

marketing is limiting and typically results in designs

everyone and no one at the same time. Success more

n comes from products that are developed based

consumers’ motivations and needs, regardless of the

With the global convergence of l tter , gaming, retail,

mobile and many oth r aspects of daily life, a cons mer’s