lotteries
WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES ARE LOTTERY ORGANIZATIONS FACING WHEN IT COMES TO REPUTATION MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? Susan Dolinski: A long-term challenge for BCLC has been
to change the public conversation about gambling in B.C., where a quarter of the population is opposed to all forms of gambling and the majority of people are indifferent. Over the last couple of years, we’ve come to see this “indifference” as an opportunity and have developed strategies that aim to make the public want to better understand our business. This year, we positioned ourselves to address this challenge by creating a campaign for BCLC’s 30th anniversary called “Play it Forward” which was a vehicle for BCLC to share positive stories about how gambling dollars benefit communities across the province.
Scott McWilliam: We’ve got to embrace complete transparency, authenticity and accountability. If we do, we will successfully navigate the social stigmas that persist about lottery. These are key to building a positive reputation, gaining social licence and engaging the community. Another challenge is accepting competition is here and players have choice. By delivering competitive experiences, we can sustain and grow that player relationship. Wendy Montgomery: In the lottery business, reputation
management strikes at the heart of what we offer customers: A fair game. Customers need to have trust in integrity in our systems and processes of purchasing and redeeming a lottery ticket. This was driven home to us in 2007 when OLG confronted issues with retailer fraud. It took one high-profile case for the Ontario public’s opinion of OLG to fall from 70% of people with a favourable opinion of OLG to below 50%. We had to act quickly to implement a number of significant changes to the process of selling and redeeming lottery tickets to ensure that we paid the right person the right prize. Not only did we improve the process by making it substantially more secure, but we also had to communicate the change to customers and the public. OLG launched a public awareness campaign to educate customers to sign their tickets; to watch the customer display video; to listen to the winning sounds; and to use the ticket checkers installed in every store. We learned hard lessons through that reputation crisis and are better positioned as a result.
Guylaine Rioux: Lottery corporations face many challenges, especially in today’s context, where the gaming industry throughout the world is experiencing a downturn. Those challenges include popular myths and beliefs regarding gaming, ever-evolving technological innovation and the variety of increasingly demanding clienteles whose entertainment budget is not very f lexible. The new tack Loto-Québec has chosen is to move towards more global
entertainment with combinations of what we do best, including lottery products, casinos, interactive gaming areas, online gaming, restaurants, show venues, accommodations and nightclubs. We also maintain a web site entirely dedicated to responsible gaming (agameshouldremainagame.com) and, in order to adapt to a constantly-evolving market, we have updated sponsorship and volunteer social programs by better aligning them to our corporate mission. Bill Robinson: Social responsibility and social licence form the cornerstone of what we do. In Alberta, everything is backstopped against a gambling program that supports charities. Last year alone, our charitable model provided well over $300 million to charities and that money goes right back into the communities for everything from school playgrounds to community development. We want to develop very strong programs, such as recently rolling our Game Sense where we really put an emphasis on the value of explaining to the player what all of the gambling systems and processes are all about, assessing what kind of gambler you are and making sure that we are not riding on the backs of those who may be experiencing difficulty with gambling.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS LOTTERIES CAN CREATE POSITIVE AWARENESS OF THEIR PRODUCT OFFERINGS IN TERMS OF THE BENEFITS OF THEIR PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS? SD: Research tells us British Columbians feel better about our industry when they understand how gambling proceeds benefit local communities. Therefore, the biggest opportunity to grow positive awareness lies in closing the information gap by educating the public. I see boundless opportunities to share stories and build brand awareness at the grassroots level in communities, on social media and also through proactive media outreach. This year, BCLC was able to educate the public through our “Play it Forward” campaign which included paid and earned media, sponsorships and outreach through social media. SM : There is always opportunity through community
involvement but community engagement is so much broader and we’ve got to get better at it. We’re comfortable “marketing” our corporate brand but we tend to be humble corporate citizens hesitating to “toot our own horns.” That has to change. We are a safe and regulated industry and we should be proud to share the benefits that go back to our communities. We’ve simply got to get better at telling your story in a way that resonates, repeatedly. But let’s not assume we know what resonates. Ask people. Be deliberate, consistent, and relentless. Canadian Gaming Business | 25