New Hampshire Lottery Commission Conference Call
July 26, 2007
Meeting Minutes:
NEW HAMPSHIRE LOTTERY®COMMISSION
14 INTEGRA DRIVE, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03301
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
HELD BY TELECONFERENCE CALL
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2007
PRESENT:
Richard J. Campbell, Jr. Chairperson
Paul J. Holloway, Commissioner
Arthur P. Klemm, Jr. Commissioner
Rick Wisler, Executive Director
Diane Campbell, Administrative Assistant I
Maura McCann, Programs Information Officer
Patrick Griffin, Griffin, York & Krause, Inc.
Travis York, Griffin, York & Krause, Inc.
Rose Longo-White, Griffin, York & Krause, Inc.
Rob Grimmett, Griffin, York & Krause, Inc.
Commissioner Campbell called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
1. STAFF RECOMMENDATION OF ADVERTISING BUDGET:
Commissioner Campbell stated the Lottery's budget listed within the State's budget was $2,463,527. Director Wisler provided an explanation of the distribution of funds within the advertising budget, including purse money to the tracks, promotional activities support and other services agreed upon in the advertising contract.
Director Wisler stated a discussion had been held with the Lottery's advertising agency regarding the three major initiatives being the jackpot alerts, NH Lottery Star Program and the website program. All three are critical to help support the sales initiatives for this fiscal year. One minor change to the jackpot alerts was to not use the jackpot alerts on desktop or laptop computers, but rather through email and text messaging to allow a player to establish which level of jackpot they want to receive notification of. Director Wisler expected this method would be less costly and technically easier to implement as a result of any programming needs and anticipated fewer problems when players try to download and install the jackpot alerts program on their desktops.
Director Wisler recommended to proceed with the NH Lottery Star Program for launch as soon as possible after the television show begins in late January, 2008. Director Wisler recommended accepting Option 2 to reprogram a significant part of the website which will provide the special programming necessary to launch the NH Lottery Star Program and to meet the other initiatives. Director Wisler recommended the website be redesigned and
launched prior to the end of Fiscal Year 2008 (June 30, 2008). Travis York indicated the advertising agency's goal would be to have this accomplished by June 30, 2008. The NH Lottery Star and jackpot alert programs will be built into the infrastructure of the Replay website to encourage more players to join in the Replay program and increase sales.
Director Wisler indicated the production costs for instant ticket advertising was included in the $320,000 total production costs.
A brief discussion was held on proposed advertising costs for the launch of the $30 instant ticket. Rose Longo-White stated two weeks of media was scheduled in October and one week of television for a total media cost of $80,000. A question was raised whether the $80,000 would be adequate. A review will be done to determine advertising costs and schedule for the launch of the $20 instant ticket.
The Commission expressed the importance for the Lottery to make all efforts to reach the Governor's revenue goals. The Commission also stated a top priority would be the success of the $30 instant ticket.
Rose Longo-White indicated she would review the proposed advertising budget once again to determine the possibilities for readjusting advertising dollars to ensure adequate coverage for the $30 ticket. The original initiatives for Fiscal Year 2008 will be revisited and adjusted accordingly to enable additional funds to be used for promoting the $30 instant ticket.
Director Wisler stated the projected launch for the raffle game was November 1st and mid October for $30 instant ticket.
A discussion was held on the advertising value of the billboards used to advertise Powerball jackpots along the highways. The Commission commented on the high visibility of these billboards when driving by. Patrick Griffin stated unfortunately there was no method to measure the sales success of the billboard advertising, but he would provide a copy of the billboard contract to the Commission, Director Wisler and Maura McCann for review.
Appropriations for the advertising budget were discussed. Director Wisler stated he needed direction from the Commission to move ahead with the proposed advertising budget, with the understanding that the Fiscal year initiatives will be reviewed once again by the advertising agency, in an effort to reallocate more advertising dollars for the $30 instant ticket.
2. OTHER BUSINESS:
Guidelines are in development to allow retailers to sell lottery tickets for a short period of time at mobile stands during special events such as fairs. Director Wisler asked for Commission direction to proceed with these guidelines to allow for the possibility of selling lottery tickets at the Lancaster Fair. Also a brief discussion was held on the possibility of retailers selling lottery tickets at kiosks in "big box" stores.
Director Wisler discussed the messaging for advertising the New Hampshire National Guard on the lottery's on-line tickets. The proposed language was developed by the advertising agency and will be presented to the Governor's office for final approval.
No commission action was taken during the meeting. The conference call concluded at 9:35 a.m.