As noted in a previous post, I suspected that it wouldn’t be long before John Foster at the Idaho Business Review put the spotlight on es/drake and their work for the Idaho Lottery.
Today he did just that.
In reading his post, it really is quite humorous, and could very well be what happens behind closed doors in the hallowed halls of the Jefferson Place Building.
The comments, however, have not been quite so lighthearted. The folks over at Blueline, while speaking highly of the creative, don’t seem to be big fans of the overall strategy.
While I respect their opinions, I can help but notice that the comments have the tone of “what you’re doing is wrong” tone. Okay, fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But what do you suggest as an alternative?
Putting the money allocated to marketing back into the schools — not realistic.
The Idaho Department of Education has an annual budget of over $1,000,000,000 (yes, that’s $1 billion — with a B). Sure, you might be able to put a half a million dollars back into the budget by doing that, but last year alone there was $11,255,042.95 distributed to school districts within Idaho as a result of the Idaho Lottery. Sure, you’ll get your earned media with some PR about putting those budget dollars back into the schools, but that’s a one shot deal. There went all of your money for 15 minutes of fame. Then what?
Okay, so you’re not a lottery player. Think you don’t benefit from the revenue that the lottery brings in? Think again. If you have a child in school, you benefit. If you’ve stepped foot on a public university in Idaho, you’ve benefited. If you’d like to know more, check out the Where The Lottery Money Goes pamphlet on the Idaho Lottery’s website.
Bottom Line: Any lottery is a game of chance. A game is a source of entertainment. The Idaho Lottery is a brand that provides a variety of games, such as Powerball and scratch tickets. As the brand providing these games, I would expect the advertising to be entertaining as well. I find the spots that es/drake has done over the years to be very entertaining. And at the same time, they also provide a reminder about additional entertainment options, namely the games that are available for purchase.
Just my $.02 worth.
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