Group Apollo launches Lottus online lottery; campaign on air

The Rs 2,300-crore Group Apollo has announced the launch of its online lottery brand Lottus in all lottery-playing states. Unlike other lotteries, Lottus will have multiple draws and games with the highest prize payout. The tickets are priced at Rs 10 and Rs 5, which the players can purchase from the company kiosks, and choose a combination of numbers on the touch screen of the machine installed at the kiosk.

The results would be announced every day at Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) and through an exclusive tie-up, the results would be telecast live on Prannoy Roy-promoted news channels NDTV India (Hindi) and NDTV 24X7 (English) through the day.

The advertising campaign of Lottus was rolled out yesterday. In fact, the campaign began with a series of teaser ads culminating into the main theme, which broke yesterday. The theme campaign sporting the base line ‘Touch your dreams' rolled out on the twin NDTV channels and a regional campaign was launched in a few other states. The TVC is being supported by advertisements in mainline dailies and vernaculars. For the record, while the creative duties of Lottus rest with FCB-Ulka, the AOR is with OMS.

Talking about the campaign, Vidisha Chatterjee, head, communications & PR, Apollo International Limited, says, "The campaign is different from the run-of-the-mill lottery ads which are usually upfront in their message. The ‘Touch your dreams' campaign appeals to the prospective customers at an emotional level by showing them that playing Lottus can give them a chance to realise their dreams."

"With our launch in all lottery playing states across the country we have successfully completed the phase one of our rollout plan. Lottus will revolutionise the Indian online lottery market with innovative games as well as world-class technology, never seen in the country before," says Raaja Kanwar, joint managing director, Apollo International Limited.

The new games by Lottus have been designed after extensive field surveys conducted by the Apollo team and its Australian partners. The games have been designed "to maximize the chances of winning", informs the group. "With an investment of Rs 250 crore envisaged over three years, we hope to establish a lead in the online lottery business by both exploiting and expanding the market potential," says Onkar S Kanwar, chairman, Group Apollo. "Our aim is to set the standards for transparency, ethics and compliance in the Indian online industry."

Currently the total market for lotteries in India is valued at Rs 50,000 crore. Industry analysts anticipate the overall market to grow to Rs 10,000-20,000 crore in the next three years. The growth will come largely from the conversion of the paper lottery player to online lottery riding on the benefits of greater transparency. The volumes are also expected to increase with easy accessibility of the kiosks and the credibility associated with the online lottery sector. © 2003 agencyfaqs!