By Rebecca Correa
Staff writer
May 11, 2008 06:00 am By tomorrow, Aaron Denny, 32, could be a star. The Newton guitarist is a finalist in New Hampshire's Lottery Star competition. The contest gives musicians a chance to be the voice of the state's Lottery commercials and helps the Lottery expand the contacts in its database. In order to vote for the winner of the "American Idol"-style contest, voters must send their e-mail addresses to the state Lottery. With the state facing an estimated $75 million deficit this year, talks to raise revenue go beyond a proposed increase in the cigarette tax or taking 10 percent of the profit from charity gambling events — it means revamping the state-run Lottery marketing plan. The push for better marketing to maximize the amount of money the Lottery gives back to the state is coming from the top, according to Gov. John Lynch's spokesman Colin Manning. "The governor has met with the liquor commissioner and sweepstakes commissioners to discuss all ways to generate more revenue," Manning said. "And when having those discussions, yes, they've looked at the way to do business and if they can change around the business plans." For the state Lottery, that means shifting marketing money online, with less emphasis on television and radio advertisements. The Lottery is still advertising on TV and radio, but TV commercials have been sporadic at best until recently, according to Maura McCann, spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Lottery Commission. "For the most part, our media dollars don't stretch as far as they used to as television and radio costs go up," she said. "Obviously, we advertise during the holidays because tickets make great gifts, but when the (presidential) primary occurs, it limits us to when we can get on television because of high pricing, and in the summer we try to stay away because we know people are out and about." The Lottery's $3.4 million advertising budget, $200,000 more than it was last year, will be focused online. The Lottery plans to launch a more user-friendly Web site by the end of the summer, according to McCann. And it will continue to increase the number of New Hampshire Replay customers. The replay option began almost two years ago and gives customers a chance to win more prizes by entering the serial numbers of their losing Lottery tickets online, but they also have to hand over their e-mail address to the Lottery. "It's a way to interest people that may not think about Lottery that much and stay in communication with them," McCann said. "It's a different way to get their attention. And once we do have their attention, we can communicate with them one-on-one with newsletters and that sort of thing." Since New Hampshire Replay began in June 2006, about 55,000 members are consistently visiting the site and replaying tickets, according to McCann. That means they also get weekly communication from the Lottery via e-mail. The New Hampshire Lottery Star contest will only expand that database, McCann said. She said 80 different musical groups in the state submitted music videos for the contest, which began in January. The top three finalists were chosen last month and include a rock group from the North Country, a country group from the Lakes Region and the local duo of Denny and Matt Turner of Danville. Turner, a vocalist, heard about the contest, which has contestants write a melody and music to the Lottery's lyrics for a song titled "State of Excitement." Denny said it took the two friends only one night to come up with a rock version of the song they hope will hit radio and television ads later this year. If it sounds like it was easy for them, it was. "Him and I have a long history together," Denny said. "We've been playing together since grade school, when we grew up together in Hampstead, and did shows together in high school, so it's just natural for us." But in all their years playing together, Denny said, they had never entered a contest like this before. The two have checked out the competition and said they're ready to win the great exposure that goes along with first prize. Top prize winners get some studio recording time and will be heard in the background of Lottery commercials on the radio and television. "I am very confident we'll win, and I've been very confident right along," Denny said. And Lottery officials are confident, too, that their marketing plans will increase revenue and help chip away at the state's looming deficit. Things haven't picked up yet, according to McCann. The Lottery has made $223 million in sales during the first four months of this year, compared to $224.5 million during the same period last year. McCann said that's less than a 1 percent drop in sales, and they're confident new marketing strategies will change that to a gain in sales in upcoming months. "We're already really planning for next year," she said. "We're working very close with the 12 sales representatives to make sure our vendors have all the tools they need for succuss."
Help launch a star Today is the last day to vote for the New Hampshire Lottery Star competition. Visit www.nhlotterystar.com.
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