State officials believed that the California State Lottery was destined to become one of the largest entities in the world. It was, therefore, important that the introduction be of such magnitude that it would create high momentum from the start. The kickoff was one of the largest events in San Francisco’s history with lottery tickets completely selling out.
The strategy was to celebrate this new arrival. The lottery was positioned as fun for people and great for our schools. Any controversy was offset by a multitude of enthusiastic, credible spokespeople.
A San Francisco kickoff event of “finite-logistical-detail-management” was in order. Torme Lauricella worked endlessly with numerous City, State and special interest groups on issues management, spokesperson training and event orchestration. Since funds for the event were focused on staging, a creative tactic was employed to encourage media and others to participate. Media, civic groups and residents were invited to partner with us to create their own fun event within the event. University bands and choral groups, officials and sports and entertainment celebrities were highly visible in the event. The entire city was engaged with hundreds of residents spontaneously joining the parade. Numerous city characters participated, including a self-appointed grand marshal and radio personality, dubbed “Mr. Lottery.”
The kickoff created “lottery fever” with thousands of residents clamoring to witness the event – more than 10,000 in San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza alone, the most successful of all the statewide events. Baseball legend Willie Mays and entertainer John Davidson led a San Francisco Financial District parade down Market Street complete with cable cars, marching bands, glee clubs, 49er cheerleaders and Lottery, government and education officials. Event included a green-and-gold balloon drop, spectacular fireworks display, entertainment, and lottery ticket sales booths.
Within two hours, more than 48,000 tickets were sold at Justin Herman. More than twice as many tickets than projected were purchased statewide within 24 hours. Television, radio and print coverage was spectacular with 100 percent coverage in California and one network story. Especially noteworthy was the length of coverage, with many broadcast reports airing reports in excess of five minutes and numerous “above-the-banner” front-page publicity stories in major metropolitan newspapers.
Through meticulous planning, awareness building and carefully orchestrated publicity, coverage provided upbeat praise of the State’s efforts.
