Page 68 - Public Gaming International September/October 2017

Wendy Montgomery what level of engagement they want to allow. “Gamification” is no longer the buzzword du
Continued from page 26 It is okay if they choose the lower level of jour. But isn’t that what we need to apply to
engagement because that is the stepping the customer journey?
strategy over a broad cross-section of games stone to moving to the higher levels.
and we are not coordinating the promotions Everyone looks for ways to make their
to optimize synergy and overall impact. There must be a good reason for the customer consumer product more interesting, more
There is an opportunity to implement to provide information about themselves. fun, to “gamify” the business of marketing
second-chance promotions across an entire They won’t register without receiving a bene- and promotion. Think about how compa-
portfolio of games. However, it’s not easy fit they care about. But this dial moves: the nies like McDonalds and Coca Cola create
to do well. Part of the answer is that the more tech-connected the customer, the more games to engage their customer base. It is
limited resources we all have tend to gravi- likely it is they want to engage that way. ironic that our product is games and we
tate towards the new and different. It can need to focus more on gamifying the player
be easier to launch a new product. Our business and products lend them- journey. Coca Cola isn’t selling sugar water,
selves perfectly to the world of marketing they’re selling world peace and harmony.
Is CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and promotion. We leverage its appeal in Likewise, we need to tap into a broader set
going to be a decisive competitive differentiator advertising and promotion to drive sales. of buyer motives that engage the players far
in the future? beyond the moment when they scratch the
ticket or check the winning numbers.
Wendy Montgomery:
Absolutely. The best marketers are develop- “And our games have OLG launched its ticket-checking app in early
ing personalized and interactive relationship May. What are the results, are players using it?
with the customer. Amazon’s recent acquisi- far more lifetime
tion of Whole Foods is a big neon sign for value than any other Wendy Montgomery:
what the future will be like. Amazon is all We had 300,000 downloads in the first 2 1/2
about CRM. Now they will be applying game in history. We months. Our 12-month goal was 350,000
those CRM assets to retailing. I think we just need to harvest and we will have achieved that in three
can expect the impact to be transformational, months. This was the number one trend-
and likely to happen sooner than we think. it all to better effect.” ing downloaded app in the lifestyle section
on the Apple Store within the first three days.
Lottery’s current player base is mostly anon- So clearly, the demand for this simple form
ymous. Thankfully, our product involves of content, the winning numbers, is huge.
many stages of interaction—from awareness We need to apply some of that creative
to desire to play and then to learning how to thinking to drive registrations. The low- The measurable results of many of our initia-
play, to thinking about the various gaming hanging-fruit is the players’ desire to know tives will be much more evident by the end
options and then buying a ticket, to checking the winning numbers. All players need to of the year. For instance, we just installed
the winning numbers and thinking about know the winning numbers and there is no 50 digital menu boards and will be install-
which game to try next. Much more than easier, faster, more convenient way to get ing another 150 before the end of the year.
other products, lottery engages the customer the winning numbers than online, via the And we are proto-typing digital play-stations
in a multi-step, multi-faceted relationship OLG app. that deliver quite a new and different player
that really does need to be managed. This experience.
represents a perfect foundation for building OLG’s base of online traffic is already
a dynamic and active CRM-based relation- huge. We just need to give players a reason
ship with our customers. to register. Making it faster and easier to Corporate Social Responsibility has become an
access the winning numbers is one simple important theme for companies in the commer-
Isn’t player registration a prerequisite for way. Second-chance promotions are another. cial sector. Why does Lottery have a hard time
CRM? How can we entice more people to convincing consumers to care about the fact
register? As we said, CRM is going to be a deci- that all the profits support charitable causes?
sive competitive differentiator in the future.
Wendy Montgomery: And getting our players to register is the first Wendy Montgomery:
There are different levels of registration and step towards building that interactive and Corporate Social Responsibility has become
the CRM that goes along with each level. engaged relationship that will separate the an important focus for many companies in
The consumer can download the app to winners from the losers in the competitive the private sector—it helps increase their
receive the winning ticket numbers or our gaming marketplace. OLG’s is blessed with appeal as employers and to customers. It’s a
newsletter or text notifications or announce- many natural advantages that other organi- part of profit making, but not the purpose
ments without actually registering to play. zations would love to have. We can work of it.
This is as it should be. We need to have a harder to leverage those advantages to their
system that enables the consumer to decide full potential.

68 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2017