Loyalty programs are a familiar concept across industries. The average consumer is part of approximately 17 loyalty programs. Their ubiquity is because they excel at providing insights on customers, nurturing brand loyalty, and driving revenue. For state lotteries, which have largely been in the dark about their players’ habits, the benefits for implementing a good program are nothing short of exponential.
Yet, it’s essential to recognize that these programs transcend mere perks and benefits, forging a profound emotional connection between brands and customers. This connection serves as the driving force behind customers returning time and time again. In fact, as Forbes reports, “78% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand with a loyalty program,” highlighting the significant transformative potential of such programs for state lotteries.
They also empower lotteries with invaluable insights into player behavior through shopping basket and purchase data, illuminating purchasing preferences and patterns. Furthermore, they enhance customer engagement and responsiveness, cultivating a customer-centric organizational culture. This strategic shift brings efficiency through direct, ongoing interactions with players, facilitated by tools such as comprehensive surveys and analytics.
The Alchemy3 Difference: Collect ‘N Win™
Enter Alchemy3’s Collect ‘N Win™ (CNW)—a loyalty solution that’s redefining player engagement through their proprietary blend of gaming, interactive content, perks, and tier-based prizing. Where traditional loyalty initiatives require significant resources, manpower, budget allocation, and time, CNW is a cost-effective, flexible, and agile alternative that can seamlessly incorporate most lottery products, including fast play, scratch-offs, and draw games.
Flexible Architecture
Flexibility and scalability define CNW, making it a versatile solution that caters to the unique needs of each lottery, irrespective of their size or market reach.
It accommodates all traditional lottery game types, from multi-state big lotto and regional draw games to daily numbers games, instant scratch-offs, and fast play. It can integrate into any of the major lottery systems as well, including ESA (IGT), LOTOS (INTRALOT), and Scientific Games’ barcodes for third parties.
A compelling demonstration of CNW’s versatility, Alchemy3 highlights how it excels in distinct gaming environments through a comparison of two Florida Lottery promotions: the Daily Bonus and XTRA Bonus Play. The Daily Bonus promotion, featuring games like Cash Pop and Pick Daily, drew in 35,183 participants. Meanwhile, the XTRA Bonus Play promotion, encompassing games like the Family X and The Cash, engaged 82,040 players. Both promotions exhibit strong player engagement individually, but when combined, generate even more remarkable results.
Not only does it excel across varying game types, but also navigates any market. The West Virginia Lottery uses CNW for stand-alone promotions, usually occurring once or twice a year. On the other hand, the New York Lottery has a continuous, ‘always on’ approach. They also use more Alchemy3 services, including program development, player services, support services, analytics, and customer service augmentation. CNW can also be used for multi-jurisdictional promotions like PowerCruise and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
Michael Thaxton, Traditional Lottery Marketing Supervisor at West Virginia Lottery, underscores this point, stating, “We at the West Virginia Lottery enjoy our partnership with Alchemy3 using their Collect ‘N Win program. We use it regularly in our promotions. We appreciate the program’s design and flexibility to tailor it to our needs.”
Data-Driven Insights
The program also goes beyond ticket entry by offering a comprehensive, front-end analytics dashboard to provide critical insights to product managers. It can show total players, entries, total coupons awarded, top games played, and more. Then it can synthesize that data into easy-to-interpret graphs and maps using the Tableau Dashboard.
In addition to its comprehensive front-end analytics, CNW extends its functionality with robust survey capabilities, serving as a direct line of communication between lotteries and players. They provide valuable insights into player preferences and behaviors, enabling lotteries to tailor offerings effectively. Questions range from the appeal of combined scratch-off games and draw game promotions to where players primarily discover new offers. Additionally, lotteries can gauge participation in past promotions and reasons for non-participation. The surveys also inquire about trip prizes, non-cash rewards, and more, helping lotteries fine-tune their strategies based on player feedback, thus maximizing player engagement, as well as overall gaming experience.
Kristen Connelly, Manager of Strategy & Planning with Northstar New Jersey Lottery, emphasizes, “The New Jersey Collect ‘N Win program has become an integral piece to our Player Engagement Strategy. The online dashboards and analytics have become a great tool as we continue to plan our monthly promotions. These results give us great insight into player behavior.” This data-driven approach helps lotteries fine-tune strategies and maximize player engagement.
The Fun Factor
In contrast to other programs, CNW injects dynamism into player engagement by offering interactive experiences and opportunities to win exciting prizes, far removed from the static nature of traditional programs. Players collect symbols on virtual play cards, strategically earning entries into various drawings. This encourages repeat engagement and molds player habits as it relates to ticket purchases, influencing player behavior positively.
Lotteries can also leverage the Alchemy3 portfolio of licensed brands to theme CNW promotions, making it versatile for any promotion type or time of the year. But they are not limited to those alone; it can also be tailored for other vendor-licensed brands. West Virginia Lottery’s Victory Lap CNW, part of Powerball’s NASCAR promotion, was not Alchemy3’s property. Yet, it was one of the most successful CNW promotions this year.
“Alchemy3 learns our business needs and actively participates in how we shape our goals and objectives for every game and promotion within Collect ‘N Win. Each new initiative is a customized, collaborative process from start to finish,” Carolyn Cabell, Chief Operating Officer, New Mexico Lottery.
Alchemy3 takes player engagement a step further by extending collectibles to frontline sales forces. This incentivizes players to explore higher price point tickets, boosting retailer engagement and sales, as well as incentivizes players to move up the price point ladder by buying higher priced tickets for more entries and bigger rewards. The program not only benefits players but also strengthens the relationship between lotteries and retailers.
Turnkey Solution
Implementing and managing a loyalty program can be resource-intensive, complex, and time-consuming. Alchemy3 takes the hassle out of the equation. They handle customer service for both lotteries and players, ensuring a seamless and satisfying experience. With dedicated communication channels, personalized support, player surveys, and regular updates, lotteries can focus on what they do best, while CNW takes care of the rest.
“One of the main reasons we like the program is the turnkey ease of setup and use. Players know what to expect with the consistency and ease of use,” Thaxton said.
In addition to the convenience of a turnkey solution, lotteries also benefit from the ability to customize services based on their specific needs, as illustrated in the graphic depicting various lotteries’ utilization of the Collect ‘N Win loyalty program. This flexibility empowers lotteries to optimize their engagement strategies and maximize program benefits.
Innovation for the Future
As the lottery landscape continues to evolve, Alchemy3 continues to improve CNW. Plans include introducing more interactive “Play for Fun” games, instant rewards, and enhanced community participation. The concept of the Shared Play Card is also something they are working on. “We envision the Shared Play Card will foster a sense of community and camaraderie among players, as they collaborate to pursue rare, high-value prizes together. This not only makes the lottery experience more social and enjoyable but also keeps players coming back for more, solidifying their loyalty to the game,” says Paul Guziel, Chief Executive Officer at Alchemy3.
CNW is a game-changing solution. Its flexibility, data-driven analytics, gamification elements, and turnkey solutions make it a solid choice for lotteries looking to elevate player engagement. As the industry evolves, Alchemy3’s Collect ‘N Win Loyalty Program continues to deliver lasting benefits to both players and lotteries.
Diane Recoy, Senior Product Manager at the Florida Lottery, emphasizes that point, stating, “The support, services and collaboration to which the Florida Lottery can trust and rely on Alchemy3, is a huge part of our success. Alchemy3 continuously proves to be the type of business and people it is a privilege to work with, and know.”