Alberta Women's Health Foundation
Alberta Women's Health Foundation
Full House Home Lottery
Enter to Win
The Full House Lottery runs on a tight schedule. Unless disaster happens. Which it did.
Alberta’s Full House Lottery supports both the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation and the University Hospital Foundation.
ZGM is the marketing agency of record for the Full House Lottery, but more than that, we actually run the program as licensed lottery managers. We’ve successfully ran this for over 25 years and each year it runs like clockwork. But in March 2020 we all know what happened.
The Challenge
Last minute changes and evolving timelines
COVID-19 concerns hit their zenith in mid-March, just as we neared the countdown phase of our “Vacations for Life” bonus prize (and as international travel became synonymous with a world-wide health pandemic). The timing of this could not have been worse! Our prize package and creative supporting it were all created around an amazing international vacation package. That was now no longer possible due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. With the deadline approaching, we had to pivot quickly to make our prize and creative relevant in this new COVID-restricted reality.
The Solution
Pivot! Pivot!
We pivoted at the 11th hour and changed our bonus prize “Vacations for Life” to a cash prize. We also created a new cause-based video ad that emphasized the increased need of our two largest hospitals (our clients) during this health crisis and injected it quickly into our TV, social and digital marketing channels. Compared to our 2019 bonus countdown, we raised $1 million in additional revenue.
With ZGM’s creative bench strength, we were able to take the majority of the work our production houses handle in-house to have total control of timelines. We produced our own reworked television spot beginning to end in two days, and were back in market with completely revised creative just one week later.
success under pressure
Our strategic and creative theme for the 2020 campaign, “This is the One”, was designed to position Full House Lottery as the home lottery – the one with the best and most luxurious prizes. We also established a unified cause message for two very different hospitals, with two different public perceptions and a rotating set of sub-causes which vary year-to-year. Our cause-related message this year was, “Support the ones who support the most patients”.
It was successful because it spoke both to lottery loyalists and new ticket buyers from Gen Y, making buying a lottery ticket during a pandemic not just desirable but the right thing to do.
When there’s not a moment to lose, having a deep bench of creative talent goes a long way. With video, print, digital and social specialists (and even our own radio voice in a pinch) we can get a lot done in-house when seconds matter. A robust account team keeps the wheels moving and makes sure everything gets done.
