New Hampshire Lottery Issues Public Relations & Marketing RFP

The New Hampshire Lottery Commission has issued a marketing & advertising RFP. The mission of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission is to raise revenue to maximize contributions to education for the State of New Hampshire through the sale of lottery tickets/products. This is accomplished by providing entertaining games through a dynamic business enterprise built upon honesty, integrity, innovation and teamwork. Lottery ticket/product sales began in March, 1964. Since then, the NHLC has contributed more than $1.7 billion to education and has grown fiscal year sales to greater than $300 million, making it one of the most successful sales and marketing organizations in the State.

Specifically, the NHLC is issuing this RFP for a full range of integrated marketing and public relation services pertaining to existing and new traditional Lottery products to further NHLC’s overall business plan for sale of Lottery games to generate revenue for public education.

GOALS OF THE CONTRACT

The Lottery desires to develop a business partnership with an advertising/marketing Service Provider to provide effective and efficient product advertising services and related commodities and services to the New Hampshire market in order to sell Lottery games to raise revenue for public education.

To do this job effectively, NHLC must communicate with a number of different audiences at all times:

• Players and prospective players for all Lottery games
• Lottery retailers
• Other audiences such as government leadership, the education community, other state agencies, trade associations, retail establishments and the general public.

The NHLC business programs need to address these audiences with an integrated advertising and marketing communications platform delivering a consistent message to achieve these results.

In creating and executing advertising, the Contractor must be committed to the marketing business objectives as defined by the Lottery:

• Increase sales and awareness of the Lottery brand and games portfolio by expanding participation among current Lottery players, lapsed players and potential players;
• Identifying new player segments introducing new games and promotions as part of the on-going fun and excitement of playing Lottery games.
• Improve Lottery retailer’s participation and understanding of NHLC products, promotions, and advocacy
• Improve signage and product presentation at Lottery retail locations
• Increase the general public awareness, understanding and appreciation of NHLC products, promotions and mission to raise revenue for public education
• Provide players with the knowledge on how to play Lottery games, and to purchase and play Lottery games in a responsible manner
• Maintain an active awareness of comparator offerings, particularly in the Digital space, and be able to plan, advise and react effectively

These goals are to be achieved within the framework of an advertising and marketing communications budget of $17.5 million for a five-year period (the award which results from this RFP is one 3-year contract and one 2-year extension). The NHLC may increase or decrease this budget at any time during the contract period. Each contract year is dependent upon approved funding by the New Hampshire State Legislature.

There are two entities that fund the New Hampshire Lottery marketing and advertising budget: the Tri State Lotto Commission and the NHLC. The Tri-State products are: Megabucks, Gimme 5, Pick 3, Pick 4, Fast Play as well as an occasional Tri-State scratch ticket. The budget for Tri-State products is approximately $1.5 million annually. The other games offered by the NHLC are Powerball, Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, Lucky For Life and the majority of the instant scratch tickets.  The budget for New Hampshire products is approximately $2 million annually.

Dollars from each budget, for the most part, support those products with the understanding that the mission of the NHLC is to maximize revenue for public education.

SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES EXPECTED

Specific services the Contractor awarded this contract will be expected to provide are:

• Creation, production and placement of an advertising program
• Involvement in the NHLC business development, specifically games, promotions, special events, retail display and field communications, to ensure integration of marketing program goals and concepts across communication platforms
• Research and development for continual refinement of the Lottery player segments and identifying new segments
• Strategic planning of annual media calendar and new communication channels
• Identify and recommend cost savings/efficiencies in all areas of the business
• Creation and production of POS and promotional materials
• Media negotiating for achieving maximum statewide competitive rates for traditional/non-traditional media and sponsorships
• Media planning, buying and execution, maintaining on-going cost database tracking and post-buy performance/efficiency analysis on a seven-day-a-week, 52-week basis
• Identify and cultivate potential strategic corporate alliances
• Advertising effectiveness analysis/optimization based on key performance indicators (KPI’s)
• Promotion development and management oversight to handle a variety of projects including media-driven promotions, retail sweepstakes/contests and local on-site events
• Dedicated creative and production staff focused specifically on the Lottery account, properly resourced to provide expedient turnaround on projects and customer requests
• Dedicated daily account management team with in-depth attention to organizing, planning, supervising and reviewing all NHLC projects and budgets
• Participate in a quarterly planning and budget review meetings with NHLC to ensure direction and budget adherence
• Development of specific reports that may include Weekly Status, Budget Updates, POS Status, etc.
• Annual Budget planning and projections
• Full-service strategic planning communications, brand protection and public relations support

Proposal due by December 29, 2016:

Candy Burke, Purchasing Agent New Hampshire Lottery Commission
14 Integra Drive Concord, New Hampshire 03301
Telephone:  (603) 271-7116
candy.burke@lottery.nh.gov