Bold choices engage new lottery audiences in Italy

Federica revealed how her team discovers and prioritizes player preferences and recently applied these insights to successfully reimagine a traditional scratch-card product.

"We segment our customer base thoroughly," she explained. Segmentation allows the team to tailor product development efforts based on critical factors such as demographics, price sensitivity, preferred game mechanics, themes, and more. A well-structured, qualitative and quantitative market research process also provides them with a detailed understanding of player preferences and product value.

In creating the new Scratch and Win (Gratta e Vinci) game for Italy’s players, these insights helped the IGT team focus on one quality: entertainment. “Across our portfolio, player preferences vary, but most are looking for an entertaining moment with a scratch card,” said Federica.

She highlighted the emergence of a new generation of consumers with unique wants and expectations, who are also seeking fresh entertainment experiences. To meet these demands, the team harnessed IGT’s unique Infinity Instants™ technology, unlocking opportunities to create an engaging and colorful new lottery entertainment.

IGT’s Infinity Instants technology allows for vibrant, full-color designs both on and beneath the scratch-off coating. The technology gives lottery product managers greater flexibility and opportunities to revolutionize not only how scratch-off products look, but also how they are played.

“Instead of having a basic match with numbers or symbols, we can innovate and create entirely new game mechanics through the use of color. We can also use Infinity technology to enhance existing and popular classics,” said Federica.

In contrast to the traditional symbol-match scratch game (left, uncovered), the game created with IGT Infinity Instants (right, uncovered) is more than exciting and graphically beautiful. It also allows players to immediately recognize the symbols and intuitively understand the color-based multiplier and prizes.

“But to create a new game, we didn’t just apply the technology,” said Federica. “We also focused on the player experience to understand how best to apply it.” The IGT team in Italy invested two years testing and evaluating consumers’ reactions to various games created with Infinity Instants technology, then used the extensive player feedback to design the new product. They found that players responded most enthusiastically to the technology’s ability to make a game mechanic simpler or provide a completely new way to play.

The resulting new 5 Euro game, called POP, features a simple white face, free of typical game symbols, which stands out visually against other games in the Scratch and Win portfolio. The profusion of color that players discover beneath the scratch coating is an entertaining surprise and enhancement to the game’s symbol-match.  It also clearly communicates the multiplier features and prizes. “The color creates a more powerful and engaging ticket,” said Federica.

Making player awareness POP

The visibility of the new game at retail counters was another important consideration, given the country’s restrictions on lottery advertising outside the store.

IGT Italy supported the game’s rollout by meeting in advance with retail sales agents to present the communication plan for POP and introduce them to the features of the new product. It further supported the retailer network prior to launch by creating and sharing materials such as videos and information banners through its network portal, to help retailers manage the product differently from others in the portfolio.

Attention-getting point-of-sale materials for POP were designed for all consumer touchpoints, including voided sample tickets and an original type of poster to display at the point of sale. This new poster features a unique sliding frame, allowing players to physically move the frame back and forth to view both the covered and the uncovered versions of the ticket.

In addition, a dedicated video (shown below) was designed to run on digital signage monitors in store:

The IGT Italy team communicated with consumers about the new game through banners, messaging, and push notifications on the My Lotteries website and app. They also developed an eInstant version of POP tailored to the preferences of omnichannel and digital consumers.

“All teams responsible for the different areas worked together to support the project and make it a success,” said Federica. And their efforts succeeded, as POP generated 6% higher sales compared to the previous scratch game launched at the same price point.

“We’re connecting with an entirely new audience,” she added. “While we already have a strong customer base, it’s important to attract new players and younger adults, diversify our customer base, and modernize lottery’s image.”

Game families play a big role in the Italian market, fostering loyal and highly engaged players. “With POP’s success, we now have an exciting opportunity to expand the product into a full family of games, exploring fresh innovations at different price points,” said Federica.

Even as the lottery industry continues to explore exciting new technologies such as AI, the launch of POP illustrates that success comes from first understanding the experience that players want, then applying the technology to deliver it.

To add Infinity Instants™ game to your portfolio, contact your IGT representative.