By Byron LaFleur, CEO & Editor
Vanessa Theoret, Senior Director, Retail Sales & Account Management at OLG, still laughs about the WLA Vancouver show in 2022. Wandering the tradeshow floor, she saw a 15.6” LINQ tablet bolted to a plastic terminal shroud or “Backer Shield.” It was a perfect solution to her problem of getting more screens at retail without a fight for counter space.
All 10,000 OLG retailers have a shroud to hide the terminal wires. “We literally dragged the Carmanah rep over to the Somerville rep and said, ‘You two figure out how to bolt that screen onto our shrouds,’” Theoret chuckles. That impromptu huddle has become a core part of OLG’s retail revolution.
Her elation, in part, stemmed from even finding a new product. The Lottery had been overhauling its retail footprint with best-in-class retail technology for years. First, OLG deployed multiple assets utilizing Carmanah’s retail technology. OLG launched Digital Menu Boards (DMBs or “Attract Screens”) in 2018, followed by Digital Playstands in 2023, and Digital Backer Shields (DBSs) in 2024. They also introduced Self-Service Terminals (SSTs) in 2024.
OLG now fields 440 Menu Boards, 1,300 Playstands, 500 SSTs, and 340 DBSs. “The DMBs were really what we started with, and they’ve been successful. We still have 440 of them in Circle K and Walmart stores,” Theoret says. “For us, the Playstand is what made digital more accessible.
The last number you had was 400 (in December 2023); we’re now at 1,300. We were able to scale because of how we redesigned the unit.” Each asset targets a different point in the customer journey. Menu Boards and Backer Shields drive consideration. Playstands assist play and support other areas of the journey. SSTs promise convenience and privacy.
OLG is meticulous in its approach, measuring its performance with pilots. During the Backer Shield pilot, the team rotated videos for scratch tickets and regional draw games across 120 screens. Instant products with video support resulted in an 8% to 10% sales increase. The Scratch Watch and Win tickets performed even better, exceeding a 10% lift. Even regional draw game spots increased by 3.6%. “We started small, and the retailers loved it. The returns were awesome, and then we kept growing on it.”
These numbers are essential in convincing more retailers to participate. When OLG first began its revolution, retailers were hesitant to buy in. “We would have to negotiate with the retailer to remove packs of gum or lighters,” she says. Now, armed with figures that prove this will help the bottom line, retailers were eager to relinquish more of their counter space. “We just leveraged the data,” she says.
Retail Manifesto
For those interested in following OLG’s footsteps, their strategy offers some important lessons:
First, screens alone do not sell more tickets. Fresh content is essential. “You have to put the resources behind the content if you want to maximize your ROI,” Theoret says. “You need to make sure it’s part of your day-to-day process. You must have people who continuously improve the content and the strategy.”
Second, prepare for the future. For instance, SSTs capitalize on the growing trend of self-serve technologies in Canada. “Enhancing ease and convenience for our players was one of our objectives when launching our SSTs. These units also allow us to cater to evolving customer preferences and the needs of our target future players,” Theoret says.
Finally, when testing different promotions, breaking even is perfectly acceptable if you can learn from it. That’s especially true with a large promotion, as it dilutes results. “We did a massive target-based incentive to all of our 10,000 retailers, and we broke even,” Theoret explains. “The retailers sold more, but we ended up giving them the rewards. But it gave us great lessons, which helped us refine the next promotion, and for me, that was a win.”
Viva La Retail
Three years after Vancouver, it should come as no surprise that OLG’s retail hardware is poised to dominate the NASPL tradeshow again. The proof is in the data: double-digit lifts confirm their investment has paid off. Yet, Theoret is not easing up.
“Building on our successes, we will continue to expand in the coming years,” she says. “It remains imperative for OLG to drive player-obsessed innovation in experiences and technologies. So, vendors, be ready for an ad hoc meeting in Niagara Falls. Another light-bulb moment from Theoret could spark the next retail revolution.