LOTTOTECH : GETTING ROUND THE BAN

The challenge
Incorporated in April 2008 Lottotech is the largest operator of lotteries and of other related activities within the gaming industry on behalf of the Government of Mauritius.
Lottotech launched its first game – Loto – in October 2009 and introduced instant games (scratch cards) in the following month of December as well as the very popular “Le Millionnaire” in 2010, a scratch card game coupled with a TV show.

Thriteen years after its creation,Lottotech operates three different games : Loto, Loto Vert (a variant of traditional loto) and The Football Pools engaged essentially in football bettings.
Less than five years after the launch of Loto and scratch card games, the brand achieved tremendous success and popularity until the government decided unexpectedly in 2015 to ban (a) the sale of scratch cards and (b) all advertising on gaming and gambling.

This decision announced in the budget speech has been a hard blow to Lottotech’s financial stability.

The solution
In reaction, a new strategy was developed fairly rapidly to (i) reduce advertising costs (ii) get more closer to Lottotech’s targets and (iii) remain very visible.

Immediate actions taken were as follows :

-Move to digital – specially Facebook, not concerned by the ban.
-Replace advertising by Communiques – not concerned by the ban. They were designed to be very attractive on both printed and audio-visual media. Only jackpot amounts before the draw, and the results the next day, were communicated, nothing else.
-Strategic placements to maintain a right balance between digital and traditional ATL media.
-Media were convinced to treat jackpot amounts and draw results as news items

The outcome : five weeks after the ban, sales picked up again and stabilized at comfortable levels

In the meantime, Lottotech decided to go for a second weekly draw on Wednesdays.

– An unusual campaign around Wednesdays was run essentially on digital media.

The story : a group of anonymous hackers wished to give back to Wednesdays what they called their “real value”. They argued that Wednesdays suffered from an unfair discrimination (as dull and useless days) and that an end should be put to it.
Videos and radio spots – scripted, staged and edited as the original Anonymous videos – rapidly attracted attention and created so much buzz that the press to run news about this “strange” movement.

Simultaneously, the Loto’s draw show (broadcasted on TV) was fitted inside the very popular local “Who Wants to be a Millionnaire?” TV show that took place on Wednesday evenings.
-We moved gradually the Wednesday and Saturday draw shows to Facebook, with cross posting on two very popular media’s websites.

From Lottery to Loto

Then came “Loterie Vert”, a dying 75 years-old outdated government-owned old-fashioned lottery that was handed over to Lottotech just before it was about to close down.
The brand – later renamed “Loto Vert” with a new game mechanism and prize structure – was rejuvenated by an extreme makeover process in terms of concept, visual identity, targeting and positioning. (A younger audience than the Loto one).

Actions taken

Loterie Vert was promoted essentially through :
-road shows / activations in malls etc
-short 5 s audio clips inside the metro trains
– outdoor digital billboards installed et every metro station
-communique-type communication beautifully art directed and animated on radio and on digital screens
-At point of sales (posters)

The outcome : Loto Vert became an attractive and generous easy-t0-win Friday draw game that had no jackpot roll overs and life changing payouts, but that paid very attractive sums to many winners at a time every Friday.

The Football Pools
2019 : Lottotech buys PJM, a local company that had been selling football pools for six decades.

The brand is rejuvenated, pushed into the digital world through an appealing app to target a much younger target much more conversant with betting on-line on their smartphones than the former one.

Actions
-A lot of advertising on digital media to promote primarily the App
-Communiques and results on radio mainly
-Road shows and activations