OLG is continuing to evolve the marketing for its Pro-Line brand, this time by focusing on the pre-game.

The organization released a new Pro-Line mobile app at the end of August, serving essentially as a digital ticket builder for fans, says Caspar Yue, integrated marketing communications manager at OLG.

The purchasing process for Pro-Line has been pretty “arduous and old school” up until now, he says. Consumers have to pick up their selection sheets in-store, make their picks, then have it scanned back at retail to get their ticket. The app aims to simplify that by letting users make their picks from home and have their phones scanned at retail to get their ticket.

To promote the app, Yue says OLG saw an opportunity in the pre-game ritual, using that as the jumping off point for creative, led by Toronto agency The Hive. The new spots feature Pro-Line enthusiasts making the app part of their existing pre-game rituals, from handshakes to dances.

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Pro-Line has been shifting more to digital to resonate with its under 29 target, who tend to be involved in things like fantasy sports, he says. With that, its creative approach has evolved past being game-featured and comedic to being more authentic and emotional in tone to capture passionate sports fans’ attention.

That began with last year’s “Hold Me Back” campaign, which Yue says tested well and has continued with the new creative. “It’s almost like Pro-line is all grown up now,” Yue says.

The campaign is being supported with TV, digital pre-roll, social media, radio and in-store POS, with PHD overseeing media. Pro-Line will also be using its dedicated Twitter account, launched last year, to drive more downloads, Yue says.

Outside of Pro-Line, OLG has just launched a second flight to its ongoing lottery-focused campaign. Also led by The Hive, that campaign centres on interviews with real winners across the province, OLG’s first campaign of this scale to shed the spotlight on those lucky people.

“Winners Around Every Corner,” which will have a total of four flights and has an “always-on” social strategy, was born out of the insight that Ontarians often don’t hear about or see winners, so they don’t think they can win lottery prizes, says Anita Kapustin, integrated marketing communications manager at OLG. In truth, they can (last year alone, OLG paid out over $2 billion in prizes on over 128 million redeemed tickets) but they obviously need to buy tickets first.

“We really want to get personal and have the winners themselves speak,” she says.

The campaign, targeted broadly, encompasses various OLG lottery brands including national and regional lotteries and instant tickets, such as Cash for Life, to show a diverse range of winners, she adds.

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