What on earth is going on with Beni-Los?

 
Gambling: The Zurich-based advertising agency Bluespirit is promoting the new «Benissimo» lottery ticket.
We all know that feeling when you buy a «Benissimo» ticket: that tingling sensation in your stomach. Even if the ticket turns out to be a loser, it doesn’t matter. While there’s no instant prize ranging from 10 to 250,000 francs, the chances of winning the grand prize are still intact for all ’Benissimo« entry tickets. Forty percent of all tickets qualify for participation in the »Benissimo« TV show on Swiss television. If you’re selected, the odds of winning aren’t half bad. Yet the »Benissimo« ticket has lost favor with buyers in recent years. Although it remains one of the most popular games of chance in Switzerland alongside Swiss Lotto, the market has stagnated. EuroMillions is very popular, partly because the prize amounts are significantly higher. The national lottery operator Swisslos has now launched a comprehensive campaign aimed at raising awareness of the »Benissimo« ticket. In addition to the chance to win instant prizes and the top prize of one million francs, there’s now even a new bonus prize of 350,000 francs up for grabs. The Zurich-based advertising agency Bluespirit captures this lucky twist with a simple idea. In two TV commercials, »Benissimo’ ticket buyers are given a task: If you want to win more, you have to carry more.
In its strategic planning for the campaign, Bluespirit drew on the psychological insights of communication researchers John Rossiter and Larry Percy. In short, the two psychologists« theory posits that behavior is strongly driven by the positive or negative experience one might expect. The lottery ticket is a special case in this regard. As Alban Haas of Bluespirit explains, the positive motivation to buy outweighs the negative one. »The buyer is willing to accept a negative outcome. A losing ticket has no negative impact on the buyer’s behavior,” says Haas.
Together with the Viennese marketing and advertising psychologists at Resiæ Psychology, Bluespirit has further refined the underlying factors and triggers for both initial and repeat purchases of lottery tickets. Based on the theory and data provided by the specialists from Vienna, the company decided to avoid certain stereotypes. Messages such as «You’ll get cars and houses if you hit the jackpot» or «No more early mornings if you hit the jackpot» were omitted. Alban Haas: «With Benissimo, visualizing winnings is less effective because the EuroMillions prize amounts are higher. Highlighting emotions is more likely to lead to success.»
The surprising presentation of oversized tickets is intended to highlight the now-higher prize amount. The ticket format is a central element of the campaign and is consistently implemented across all channels, from TV and print to over 6,000 point-of-sale locations. In addition to the campaign, Bluespirit has also given the tickets a new design. The TV commercials were produced by Plan B and directed by Chris Niemeyer. The campaign launched immediately following the 79th episode of ’Benissimo« on January 19.
Christian Lüscher
Ratings Hit with «Benissimo» Flops
You can still become a millionaire. And you can do it on Swiss TV’s Saturday night show «Benissimo.» All you have to do is mail in your entry form. Seven winning tickets are drawn during each episode. Host Beni Thurnherr calls the lucky winners directly from the set. The surprise, the thrill, and ultimately the joy of the winners on the phone are among the show’s main attractions. The entertainment show «Benissimo» reaches about one million viewers (60 percent market share) and has thus been SF’s most successful ratings hit since 1992. One million Swiss francs are raffled off five times a year. (cl)