The Colorado Lottery launched its eXtreme family of games (FOG) on December 30, 2019.
“We have had a lot of success with Multiplier family of games in the past couple of years,” said Todd Greco, Scratch Product Manager, Colorado Lottery. “Those games featured a big X (indicating the multiplier feature) on the tickets which also tested well in research. We looked at ways to incorporate the X on our next family, and so we emphasized it in the word eXtreme on all price points.”
In terms of sales, Greco said “the past success of multiplier themes in Colorado along with our own research showed an eXtreme family would most likely continue to build on the success of our recent family of games. We felt confident this was a good way to continue to build off our strong holiday season, and start the second half of FY20 on a strong note.”
The lottery’s eXtreme family includes $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20 price points. The payout ranges from 60% for the $1 ticket to $74.5% for the $20 ticket. This is the first time Colorado Lottery has offered a $20 price point within a family. The lottery expects sales to be consistent or surpass previous Multiplier families (adding the $20 price point will help boost overall sales compared to past families).
“We would be pleased if sales for the eXtreme family hit $27 million combined over the first 12 weeks. That would make this our most successful family of games over that time frame,” said Greco.
As to how the eXtreme family will index, Greco noted that “most games in our families are our best indexing games (well over 100), so we believe the eXtreme games will continue that trend.”
The eXtreme Family will get full advertising and marketing support. This will include a 30-second TV spot, radio, digital and POS.
The lottery’s ad agency, Cactus, is promoting awareness of the eXtreme Multiplier Scratch family of games with a TV ad starring a persistent aging hair metal band to remind viewers that there are easier ways to find fortune.
“Glam Band” recently launched throughout Colorado, and a radio component will follow. “People go to some crazy extremes to find their fortune,” said Cactus Creative Director Shea Tullos. “For the launch of these games, we highlighted the ease of winning $1 million instantly by juxtaposing eXtreme Scratch with an aging glam band still looking to catch their big break. The concept was inspired by the bright, bold ticket art and serves as a reminder for Coloradans to ‘Play On.’”