Case Study
Building a Complete Brand Picture
overview
A state lottery needed a deeper understanding of the “path to purchase” lottery tickets and a broader understanding of their players’ behaviors and attitudes toward the lottery. To accomplish these two goals, they contacted C+R Research.
THE PROBLEM
Two Distinct but Related Research Objectives
A state lottery wanted a deeper understanding of the “path to purchase” lottery tickets, so they could map tactics for each stage and ticket type. The findings needed to cover influences to purchase a ticket and each aspect of the purchase experience.
In addition, the client wanted an Attitude & Usage study (A&U) among a broad audience of players to characterize players’ general behaviors and attitudes toward the lottery. Here, they wanted to learn about players in general, but also wanted a focused analysis for each of their six strategic segments, as well as multicultural players (in particular, African Americans and Hispanics).
OUR APPROACH
Two Objectives, Two Surveys
To meet the client’s needs, C+R conducted two robust online surveys:
- A path-to-purchase survey among recent (past month) lottery players in the state – most of whom had purchased a ticket in the prior two weeks.
- A sub-sample of people who recently considered playing, but ultimately did not play, was also included to understand specific occasion barriers.
After exploring the different games purchased and frequency, the survey focused on the most recent purchase made, asking questions about each type of ticket purchased. Participants were asked to describe what led up to the purchase occasion and the occasion itself (where/when/with whom/what else). Players were also asked to provide a rating of the overall experience and their intentions to purchase again.
- An A&U survey was conducted among state lottery players (past year) who were open to playing again. The A&U covered various “modules” of the lottery experience, from awareness and play frequency to perceptions of the lottery overall, winning and losing behaviors/attitudes, advertising, and interest in new/different ways of playing.
A robust sample size for each study enabled researchers to analyze the results on several different levels. Through the path-to-purchase study, C+R analysts were able to understand the most recent purchase of seven different game types, along with the nuances between planned and unplanned purchases of each.
In the A&U, we were able to understand players based on the games they’d purchased, their overall play frequency, and each of the six segments, as well as Black and Hispanic players.
The result
A Path (To Purchase) Rich With Opportunities
Utilizing findings from both studies, the C+R team uncovered new opportunities for the state lottery to trigger purchases – both for specific types of tickets, and for specific segments of players.
Opportunities along the path to purchase were categorized based on whether marketing efforts, retail efforts, or operational efforts could be leveraged. The team identified “emotional” messages, as well as retail signage and displays that could generate increased interest; researchers also identified measures to help ensure ticket availability at retailers.
In addition, the C+R team gave each of the client’s segments a designation for growth or maintenance, with pointers to achieve the goals. For example, some segments needed “win belief” to be reinforced, while others would benefit more from communication on additional chances to win. A separate analysis was conducted to understand how/if multicultural players’ attitudes and habits differed from the overall pool of players.
The results from both initiatives were shared with a broad audience, so that each department in the organization could take away the key insights that would impact their business function and strategies.
proven experience
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