Lotto chief tries for a winner

By SIMON HENDERY

Lotto is likely to undergo its second transformation in 12 months by the end of the year, as its new boss works to reverse a four-year slide in Lotteries Commission revenue.

Career marketing man Trevor Hall, who took over as commission chief executive in February, wants to simplify the game.

It was revamped last December with an altered prize pool and a second bonus ball.

But Hall says Lotto has become too complicated.

"We've let some people down with those changes and we're looking again at that," he says.

Hall's version of the game should be on sale near the end of the year.

It is not yet finalised, but he is promising it will be "much more down the line of a traditional Lotto game".

Sales of Lotteries Commission products which include Lotto, Daily Keno and Instant Kiwi scratch tickets peaked in 1999 at $644 million.

That dropped to $625 million in 2000, $606 million in 2001 and $561 million in the year to last June.

The amount of money given to the Lottery Grants Board has fallen from a peak of $130 million to $105 million this year.

Hall says that this year, the commission is on track to meet its target of another $105 million for the board.

He aims to lift this figure, and says one way of doing that will be to look at the way Lotto is sold.

"We can now shop 18 hours a day - the lottery-type products are now much more a convenience purchase than a planned purchase.

"We've got growth opportunities to have more games on more days of the week through more locations.

"That, in a nutshell, is the direction we'll need to open up towards."

He also wants to more strongly push the message that Lotteries Commission money goes back into the community.

"Our sole requirement is to get as much money as possible back into the community.

"And we're only going to do that by having good games, new games and lots of ideas and innovation.

"I think we have been very remiss in not reminding the New Zealand public about the amount of benefit Lotto provides to the community every single day. It's been a big hole in our communication message."

He is also promising a better "partnership" with Lotto's franchised retailers.

This will include a soon-to-be-started "retail revitalisation", part of which will relax the minimum floor space requirements for outlets.

"That will enable us to have growth, for example, in areas like Queen St and Newmarket and high-foot traffic areas."

The planned introduction of new lottery-style games on days other than Saturday will also help keep retailers busy on days other than Friday and Saturday and help the commission in its battle for the discretionary dollar.

"If you walk into a dairy and you've got a choice of buying a Moro bar or a $1 Instant Kiwi ... it's the same discretionary dollar that we're both fighting for.

"Which is why, like any consumer goods organisation, we've got to increase our offering and increase our visibility."

Trevor Hall's CV

* 1986-1992: Marketing and sales for Mount Cook, focusing on the company's ski assets.

* 1992-1994: European regional marketing role with the New Zealand Tourism Board.

* 1995-2000: Chief executive of Totally Wellington. Oversaw the introduction of the "Send yourself to Wellington" campaign.

* 2000-2003: Executive director of two technology companies, based in Perth.

* 2003: Appointed chief executive of the Lotteries Commission.