Maryland Lottery:
Dreamers

Remember when the Powerball jackpot climbed to $1.6 billion? And not long after, the Mega Millions jackpot rose to $1.5 billion. Sales rocketed and brought jackpot fever to new heights. Thoughts of winning enough to rub shoulders with Bill Gates had the country buzzing.

But then…crickets. The jackpots that followed seemed to pale in comparison.

Working closely with the Maryland Lottery marketing team, we reframed the benefit and changed the reason to play. Qualitative research and anecdotal evidence told us that the joy of simply playing the game, the opportunity to dream that the ticket in your pocket or pocketbook was a winner, was a big part of the fun.

That’s what GKV captured and shared. Real Marylanders playing Powerball and Mega Millions and dreaming big all across the state. Rather than focus on the jackpot amount, we focused on something much more attainable — a chance to get in on the fun for just $2 a ticket regardless of the jackpot. Not everyone can win, but anyone can dream. Dreams. Just $2.

According to the IPSOS tracking study, positive opinions of the Maryland Lottery, among those who recall the advertising, skyrocketed. Not by a small amount, but over 25%! Also significant, positive reaction from players as seen through social media engagement, retailers (as reported through word of mouth) and Maryland Lottery field sales associates has helped to reverse waning interest in multi-state jackpot games.