This story appears in the February/March 2016 issue of strategy.
Bronze: Sustained Success
Situation Analysis:
The growth of online gambling sites, particularly poker, bought new competitive pressures to Loto-Québec, which needed to draw a new and younger target: male and multi-ethnic. Mise-o-jeu, Loto-Québec’s sports betting product, had traditionally been advertised to niche bettors with targeted online advertising, but, with awareness and sales falling, a wider market needed to be engaged to hit the 2013-2014 10% sales increase target.
Insight & Strategy:
For sports fans, betting on sports is about much more than the lure of easy gain. It is about the excitement of preparing one’s bets, the satisfaction in knowing the sport and putting that knowledge to work. While deeply engaging, it is also about the camaraderie and the friendly competition between sports fans, as summed up in the campaign tagline, “Sport is more intense with Mise-o-jeu. Wanna Bet?”
Execution:
Launched in April 2013 with a budget of $2 to $3 million for the province of Quebec, the multi-platform campaign, using a sitcom format featuring three Quebec stand-up comedians, showed that Mise-o-jeu is simply fun for regular guys to play. It launched with a 90-second initial television spot, followed up by 30-second executions, radio, web banners and search, social, OOH and print. In year two, experiential was added to the mix.
Results:
In the first year of the campaign, sales increased from $49.8 million to $55.2 million, an 11% rise and above the initial target. With a 50% reduction in advertising spend in year two, sales declined only slightly to $54.2 million. During the same two years, total Loto-Québec sales declined 2.7% and 5.1% respectively.
Cause & Effect:
Three-quarters of male sports fans aged 18-to-49 years saw at least one ad of the campaign (77%) exceeding the 45% norm. Interactions and CTR were above average and Mise-o-jeu website visits increased 85%.
Credits:
Client: Loto-Québec
Director, advertising and business communication: Lynda Zuliani
Director, sports betting: Louis Beaudet
Acting director, advertising and business communication: Marie-Claudel Lalonde
Project manager and media specialist: Sylvie Chartré
Agency: Saint-Jacques Vallée Y&R
VP, account services: Élyse Boulet
Account director: Ariane-Andrée Beaudet
Account managers: Étienne Lebeau-Payette, Alex Lefebvre
Account executive: David Serra
VP, ECD: Pierre Nolin
CD, CW: Patrick Michaud
CW: Sébastien Maheu
ADs: Jean-François Leblanc, Mathieu Lacombe
Producer: Emilie Trudeau-Rabinovitz
Digital strategy: TP1
Media planning agency: MEC Montreal
Media buying agency: Cossette Media
Production house: Soma
Sound design: Boogie Studio
