How This Canadian Lottery Company Proved That Everyone Wins When They Play
The lottery system is such an interesting concept. Sure, the odds of being the grand prize winner are low, but there’s always the knowledge that someone has to win, and that creates such a rush on the day you scramble to see if your numbers have come up lucky.
Well, that’s at least true for some people. Naturally, there are also those who are a bit more jaded. ‘Why throw away money?’ they ask as they consider the statistical probabilities of winning, and come to the conclusion that no amount of rush is going to realistically justify going up against the astronomical improbability. But that’s just it. At least in Ontario, Canada, it’s not throwing away money, and that’s what Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) explained in its newest masterbrand positioning.
Specifically, what most people don’t know is that 100% of the company’s profits are reinvested back into the province. So, every person who plays, in a sense, is a winner, as even if they don’t take home the big cash prize, the profits from play are being reinvested back into their own communities. So, to capture this, and draw attention to that fact, the organisation worked with BBDO Canada to create a longform holiday film centred around the fact that with OLG, everyone is a winner. Titled ‘Winning Pieces’, it celebrates the ways in which the lottery can bring people together, telling the story of a few friends who, while separated by distance, end up winning the grand prize, and must convene from across the country - within the span of a day - to claim it before the deadline.
So, to discuss what it took to bring this to life, why it was the right time for a new masterbrand positioning, and why the holidays were the right time to launch this, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with BBDO Canada associate creative director Nick Doerr, and OLG’s director enterprise brand marketing, communications and sustainability, Greg Dermer, for a chat.
LBB> Tell us about the new masterbrand positioning! What is it, what does it represent, and why was the holiday season the right time to debut it?
Greg> Since our first lottery launched in 1975, OLG has been giving back to the province, people, and communities of Ontario - it’s the reason we exist. One hundred percent of our profits are reinvested back into the province (in our 2022-23 fiscal year, we contributed $2.5B - yes, billion with a ‘B’ - net profit to the province).
However, the thing we consistently see is that Ontarians are simply not aware of how much their purchase with OLG contributes to the province… but when they do know, it’s the thing they like most about our organisation. We also know that the thing they dislike most about our organisation - the biggest barrier to them playing with us - is the fact that they think they are going to lose when they play. So, the positioning is grounded in these two principles: attacking what they dislike most about us, and amplifying what they like most, in order to reframe what ‘winning’ means when you engage with OLG. Every play with OLG is a winning one, because not only do you get your chance to win when you play with our products, but even if you do lose, the profits from your play go back to local communities like your own.
The reason why the holidays made sense was the natural connection OLG products have to the season; we are a stocking stuffer for many people across Ontario, and the holiday season provided the opportunity to the platform through an emotive lens.
LBB> Building on this, what was the brief, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Nick> The overall task of the brief was the type of challenge creatives jump out of bed in the morning to take on: ‘redefine what it means to win’. So, after much consideration, we landed on ‘Bring Home the Win’.
Of course, we had our fair share of ideas and ways to launch it: from province-wide activations to quick and punchy social plays, but in our hearts, we knew we wanted to create a long-form story for the holiday season. The sentiment of the season and of our brief were too interwoven to ignore.
LBB> And why was telling the story of three friends reuniting for the holidays the right way to accomplish this? Were there other considerations, or was this the story you wanted to tell from the get go?
Nick> To know the story you want to tell, you must first figure out the stories you don’t.
After developing stories from a variety of angles, we knew we had to tell a story which could truly resonate with our target of 20-30 year olds. So, we started with an insight of that age group around the holidays season. Around that age, you sense old childhood friendships are starting to drift away. No longer is everyone coming home for the holidays a foregone conclusion. We wanted our protagonist to embody that longing.
With the emotional heartbeat in place, we injected our product (a lotto ticket). Our protagonist encourages his friends to sign it with the hopes they’ll hang out soon to claim it together. But, as you know, even the best laid plans go awry…
Greg> Like I said before, our goal is to help consumers understand that every play with OLG is a winning one because 100% of profits go back to communities like their own. As such, we wondered: what if a single play also had the power to bring friends home for the holidays and be reunited? This is the story we wanted to tell!
LBB> Tell us about the writing process! How did you flesh this out, while capturing the spirit of the holidays and telling a compelling story?
Nick> Once we had our premise and our inciting incident set (our protagonist’s discovery that the ticket is going to expire the next night), we channelled our inner John Hughes. We threw obstacles at our characters, developed them with fun character beats, all while ratcheting up the tension. Will they redeem the lotto ticket in time and claim their millions?
Of course… they do. It’s a holiday story after all, so it wasn’t the time to subvert expectations too much. We wanted viewers to really want them to win, and cheer for them when they do.
LBB> And how did you integrate the idea of OLG creating winning experiences into the narrative, without overpowering the story itself?
Nick> You have to let a story like this breathe. Beating the viewer over the head with the ‘brand message’, especially when you’re channelling the sentiment of the holiday season, is not recommended.
In this case, the notion that OLG creates wins that start with you and keep going outwards to the community is best expressed with our bus driver character - a member of the community who is included in their win after he saves the day. It strikes the right balance of being clear enough to get, but not so obvious it gives the viewer nothing to ponder.
LBB> The spot was directed by James Michael Chiang. What made him the right person for the job? And what was working with him like?
Nick> James is hugely collaborative, but with a defined vision and great ideas. He was able to capture so much in such a short time that we could’ve pieced together a seven-minute version of the film. We were especially impressed by his ability to simply let the actors find themselves in the characters. And it definitely comes through with their stellar performances!
LBB> The tension of whether or not the third friend will make it after his car breaks down is palpable. How did you work with James to create a strong build up and payoff?
Nick> The benefit of a story centred around winning the lottery is that it’s a moment we’ve all imagined. So, when our third friend is stuck on the side of the road, we simply put forward to our actor, ‘you know that feeling of winning the lottery? OK, flip that. You could win the lottery… if your car didn’t break down. Channel that’.
From there, it was just a matter of pacing the edit to play out the tension and payoff. For that, we credit our editor, Raj Ramnauth, for getting us there.
LBB> The soundtrack is also perfect! How did this aspect come to life?
Nick> With Vapor Music and our music director Joey Serlin, we decided to pivot from the ‘covering a famous song’ approach. Again, channelling the holidays and John Hughes, we scored the film with live strings and choral singing to capture the feeling of the season and the tension of the story - all with a proper dollop of nostalgia.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Nick> The production realities of telling an ambitious story with a series of story beats which must be captured for any of it to make sense proved to be the most challenging. You miss one thing and your story suddenly falls apart.
So, seeing as we had three shoot days, we couldn’t waste a single moment. And that’s why we came hyper prepared. We thought through every path the edit could take, and kept some storytelling ‘get out of jail free cards’ in our back pocket in case something went awry. We also had text messages on screen, flashbacks, off camera dialogue from a news report - the whole lot of it - all to be able to propel the story forward should a plot point not land.
Ultimately, we had to tell a fully realised story in a compact few minutes, and to do that, you have to go over it over and over again with an intense attention to detail.
Greg> Undertaking a new masterbrand positioning takes a lot of looking under the hood - embracing and better understanding negative perceptions customers may have about us, as well as gaining a better understanding of what brings customers closer to us as an organisation and connects them to us on an emotive level. So, being honest with ourselves, utilising the insights we saw to better understand our challenges and opportunities, and having the difficult conversations about these topics, while difficult, were central to us being able to get to where we are now with the launch.
LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this campaign?
Greg> Collaboration emerged as the key, highlighting the importance of diverse perspectives, open communication, and dissecting insights. Additionally, being customer-centric and working to truly understand them uncovered some amazing progressions in our brand narrative.
LBB> Since launch, what has the response to the campaign been like?
Greg> We’ve seen a tremendous response from both customers and OLG employees alike. The positive sentiment we were intending to build is evident in the response thus far, and we hope when you watched the film, it pulled on your heartstrings as well!
LBB> Finally, where will you be taking this brand platform in 2024 and beyond?
Greg> For a start, we’ll continue to reframe winning with ‘Bring Home the Win’. You’ll see a number of campaigns to follow which help us articulate our purpose as an organisation, and show customers that every win with OLG is a winning one.
