The California Lottery expects the holidays will be sweet for players thanks to a special Scratchers® lineup.
“Our $5 holiday ticket Peppermint Payout will be the California Lottery’s first scratch ‘n sniff product, and we expect it will provide new appeal and attract a mix of players,” explained Whitney Alderson, Assistant Deputy Director, Marketing, California Lottery. “In consumer research, Californians loved the retro design of the ticket and found the game highly giftable, Instagram-friendly, and they were excited about ways to package the ticket and feature it in their holiday celebrations.”
Players can also purchase $1 (Holiday Magic), a $10 (Merry & Bright) and a $20 (2021) holiday Scratchers. “Following a successful strategy in years past, we are launching a suite of four Holiday games this year with a mix of themes and price points,” said Alderson.
“Give Joy” is the lottery’s holiday slogan. “In what has been an extremely difficult year for so many, our Holiday marketing campaign aims to inspire small moments of happiness and encourage players to celebrate the often-overlooked people who make a difference in their daily lives,” said Alderson. “This year, our marketing is anchored by the simple but powerful line ‘Give Joy’ which celebrates the cheer of the season through gifts of gratitude. This continues our multi-year strategy of establishing Scratchers® as meaningful gifts and promoting ‘Give the Gift of Scratchers® for too often-overlooked but important people—from the delivery driver to the neighborhood coffee barista to teachers who are going above and beyond. The pandemic has only increased the resonance of this message and the appeal of sharing joy, in the form of Scratchers, with those we appreciate.”
The lottery will also be making substantial changes to how it markets holiday Scratchers® as a result of COVID. “As one of the first states to close down during in the pandemic, Californians have been navigating substantial changes to their lives, including how they shop, interact with brands, consume media, and evaluate their purchases. We have taken those changes in consumer behavior into account for our advertising and media planning for the Holidays. We are shifting more dollars into vehicles like streaming video environments, moving away from rush hour traffic radio buys that rely on heavy commuter volume, and eliminating event-based activations and experiential marketing,” said Alderson.
“Additionally, this year we opted to forego a TV commercial production shoot and instead leveraged existing footage from past campaigns to produce a new holiday montage spot that feels reflective of the moment. In the field, our sales reps have recently resumed in-store visits and are providing limited services only, including inventory management and POS by drop-off only. One thing that hasn’t changed this year is our dedication to our mission to provide supplemental funding to California public schools, kindergarten through college,” she added.
The lottery is emphasizing virtual outreach for the 2020 holiday season as consumers are limiting trips to retail establishments. “The California Lottery was already focusing greater attention on digital and social media marketing prior to COVID, but the changes in the marketplace have certainly accelerated that pace,” said Alderson. “We leaned in heavily to digital and social channels to boost excitement for our recent Pac-Man Scratchers campaign, which led to record-setting sales, and we are applying those learnings to our holiday campaign. For our holiday campaign, we’ll continue to leverage digital and social media to bring the community together virtually, with efforts ranging from influencer partnerships to Spotify playlists. Our holiday influencer program will create entertaining, relatable content across Instagram and YouTube, including holiday gifting ‘How-to’s,’ DIY crafting videos, and a virtual ‘Pass the Joy’ challenge on Instagram Reels.”