Last week the Karma team travelled to the UK to give a talk at the 2012 World Lottery Association (WLA) marketing conference. Karma's CEO Paul LeBlanc spoke on the topic of "Vital Innovation: If you don't like change, you'll like irrelevant less".
The following is a video we put together for the WLA event on the topic of innovation. Special thanks to @mhachey and @eggstudios for their amazing help.
The topic of innovation is very timely for lotteries. Entertainment is being delivered on the player’s terms with the proliferation of high-speed Internet, tablets and smartphones, but lottery products have not kept up. This phenomenon will continue to strain lotteries in the future if left unchanged. Given their mass appeal, lotteries should be mainstream in social entertainment. But the antiquated products and delivery systems have not kept pace with consumers needs and have therefore become irrelevant to a large and vital portion of the population. In order to become mainstream again, innovation is critical. Our talk at the event focused on two aspects of innovation that must be recognized:
- Embracing a culture of innovation, starting with the CEO.
- Instilling a culture of innovation and activating.
Lotteries need to ensure they have an innovation system created inside their organizations to allow for the flow of “inspiration, ideation, testing to public innovation”.
So, how will lotteries ensure they are not offering “ the best typewriters” and future-proof their value proposition? I believe part of the answer lies in digital innovation, focusing on true player value, not just prize payouts. To me, this means taking the thrill of winning money - which is a timeless human desire – to radically new gaming concepts delivered on the customer’s terms. We need to go beyond scratch, Internet poker and casino and give players the opportunity to game how they want, when they want, where they want. After all, providing a quick escape and the dream to win money is a very compelling proposition. It’s just the current products and delivery mechanisms I would argue are irrelevant for younger generations. What do you think?
