California Lottery(R) Promotes New Star Wars(TM) Scratchers(R) With Licensed Collectible Coins

Monday May 9, 8:23 pm ET


IRVINE, Calif., May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In an innovative move to build excitement for their new Star Wars Scratchers? game premiering this month, California Lottery? is offering a series of collectible, limited-edition coins as a value-added offer to consumers. The coins feature six different Stars Wars characters -- Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Yoda, C-3PO and R2-D2 -- and are available at participating retailers for $1.00 with a Scratchers purchase.

The promotion was created by Alcone Marketing Group to celebrate the May 19 launch of Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. "We were looking for a concept that would uniquely connect the fun of Scratchers with the tremendous fan base linked to Star Wars," said Denise Kimes, SVP Group Account Director at Alcone. "We found the perfect solution in a film-based collectible that also serves as scratching device for the Lottery game."

The collectible coins are the first continuity promotion for a California Lottery Scratchers game. Developing the program was no easy feat given a tight four-month window to complete overseas manufacturing of the coins, rigorous approvals with Lucasfilm Ltd., as well as sell-in of a new program with Lottery retailers. "Although the timing seemed impossible, we were so excited about the idea that we were committed to making it happen," said Tricia Metzger, Sales Director for the California Lottery. "We were able to sell the program to over 3000 retailers in a record ten days, thanks to the dedication of the sales team and the appeal of the offer."

All aspects of the promotion are handled by Alcone Marketing Group including concept development, design and manufacturing of the exclusive coins, point-of-sale communications and program fulfillment.