Marketing the Jackpot Games – New Jersey to Wisconsin

By NASPL Insights Online

Published February 17, 2026

New Jersey Lottery

Our annual plan calls for a variety of jackpot awareness tactics, focusing on building strong awareness and driving sales for Powerball and Mega Millions by leveraging a mix of radio, social media, and out-of-home (OOH) advertising.

Ongoing Channels:

• Always-on OOH includes 13 static billboards and one digital billboard. Social Media posts, targeting New Jersey adults 18+, run continuously throughout the year to maintain broad visibility and keep jackpots top-of-mind for players.

• Paid support for Mega Millions is flighted Thursday – Friday

• Paid support for Powerball is flighted Tues – Wednesday

• Radio is always on with branding and game roll support (live reads). Messaging runs daily, featuring copy to support Mega Millions and Powerball when in threshold ($250 million or more). The always-on approach allows us to continue with the flexibility of running any message to support various initiatives throughout the year

Triggered Channels:

• Cable TV and YouTube support activates dynamically, based on jackpot thresholds.

• Jackpot rolls are triggered and activated at $100 million for each game (Mega Millions: Thursday/ Friday

• Powerball: Wednesday/Friday/ Saturday). A jackpot roll consists of approximately 180 15-second commercials per cable system, with approximately 25 cable networks.

In New Jersey, the news media usually picks up the story when we get over $800 million or so. If we feel sales are not accelerating as we’d like, we add digital billboards and more dollars behind our social posts.

We are also working towards animations on our digital vending machines to activate when the jackpots get even higher.

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New Mexico Lottery

Because we produce our own ad content, we can customize and build ads inexpensively and quickly. We created a generic “Always a Big Jackpot” spot that we regularly schedule on TV and radio. We air this message frequently to remind players that the jackpots are huge, and ALWAYS in the millions. We use five-second Jackpot Alerts year-round for Powerball and Mega Millions as part of one of our TV media buys. For these spots, we provide a graphic shell for the TV station, and they update the jackpot amount.

Typically, Lotto America and Roadrunner Cash are promoted with POS in the field. But we recently created generic spots to promote these games at any jackpot amount, focusing on the specific benefits of each game. This way, we can promote them on TV, radio, DOOH and digital media at will.

We don’t have a set jackpot level where we begin, especially since the “oh that’s interesting” needle keeps getting higher. However, we keep an eye on the jackpots and begin promoting them first on digital billboards after they reach $500 million, depending on what else is scheduled. We also monitor Google Trends to see if it’s on anyone’s radar – locally or nationally.

We buy our media in annual banks, so we can change spots quickly and run two campaigns in rotation. This helps us maintain current campaign messages. However, when the jackpot nears a billion, it takes over our media messaging. This year, we added a YouTube advertising buy to our media mix to help promote our messages. The best part? We can see the view counts on our channel.

Our communications manager posts jackpot alerts around $800 million on social (Facebook and Instagram). She also keeps our jackpot game messages top of mind by frequently posting draw game winners. We also leverage algorithms with jackpot runups. These nationwide and global trends can boost social media content and help increase the reach of even non-jackpot-related content. And our press releases begin around $800 million and post with nearly every draw until the jackpot gets hit.

We also try to offer coupon promotions for our draw games. This includes the national Powerball NASCAR promotion.

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New York Lottery

To support Powerball and Mega Millions across New York State, New York Lottery leans into evergreen media including statewide static billboards and Gas Station TV, along with street-level kiosks in NYC, tapping into NY Lottery’s API feed to consistently display the most accurate amount.

Additionally, we have recently rolled out a new media strategy, activating different channels and tactics against different audiences based on frequency of play and motivations to play. While media is always on, we introduce new audiences and tactics at the $150 million level, and again at the $400 million level, reaching a broader audience as the jackpots continue to roll and garner broader appeal. These additional channels are easy to activate against and include social media, digital display, newspaper cover strips and radio live reads.

While our own LOTTO is a small portion of the portfolio, New York Lottery does put paid media support behind it across street-level kiosks in New York City once it hits $10 million (considered the high threshold), to build excitement for the state-specific game. Ultimately, the strategy has been successful in tapping into players’ motivations and showcasing the jackpots in real time, resulting in improved metrics for all three games.

Ohio Lottery

Jackpot excitement isn’t what it used to be, especially in the $20 million to $300 million range. The numbers are big, but the reaction isn’t. That’s why we shifted to a tiered paid media plan in 2023, so we only spend when people are paying attention. We activate at the following tiers: social at $400 million, digital VDX at $450 million, and radio at $500 million.

As jackpots grow, our paid support ramps up, and once the buzz gets big enough for earned media to take over, we let that coverage do the work. While we have historically promoted high jackpots with day-of media pushes even at record levels, there have been occasional instances where we reduced, though not eliminated, paid spending at $1 billion+, including the most recent runup. In that case, holiday timing, strong press coverage, and responsible budget stewardship drove the decision. Context around each jackpot streak also plays a role.

Our DOOH billboards are always on, but they switch to full rotation on draw days once jackpots pass $125 million.

Organic communication is a big part of the mix too. Players get automated jackpot notifications through our players club, MyLotto Rewards, and many check the app or website where we have banners and pop-ups with jackpot alerts. We also use social to increase jackpot awareness with story posts and in-feed content.

Engagement and sales dip after a jackpot resets, so we use achievements and email to remind players that $20 million to $40 million is still a big prize. Achievements award extra MyLotto Rewards points for actions like entering a set number of tickets or hitting a milestone. The feature is still relatively new as of June 2025, but other jurisdictions and industries are using similar tactics to drive customers back to retail and reach younger audiences. Our Mega Millions and Powerball post-reset achievement gives players 15 extra points for buying tickets after a jackpot hits, helping keep the games top of mind during lower-jackpot periods.

Our in-state jackpot games follow a similar approach. Achievements reward Classic Lotto and Rolling Cash 5 play, and Rolling Cash 5 gets additional support through flighted TV and radio. Email and social giveaways highlight the perks of “Ohio’s own” games, helping them stay strong alongside the multi-state jackpot games.

We continue to optimize this strategy, find new ways to reward and motivate players, and build more personalized offers that reach the right people at the right time.

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Oregon Lottery

The Oregon Lottery makes a substantial investment in digital billboards, both out of home and in store. As jackpot amounts drive sales, strategically placed digital signage has proven to be our most effective marketing strategy for these games. Additionally, we leverage our other owned assets, including our app, Lottery vending machines, and Keno monitors to drive jackpot awareness. We routinely promote winner stories on social media and feature both large and small jackpot game winners.

Oregon was in the spotlight in 2024, when Charlie Saephan and two others shared a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot. His story touched many people and generated media interest across Oregon and beyond. This news was followed by another Powerball jackpot win at the start of 2025, with a prize worth $328.5 million. Storytelling around real people who win these prizes has helped drive earned media coverage statewide.   

Pennsylvania Lottery

The overall strategy for our jackpot campaigns is to lean into the momentum of jackpots, and drive impact directly tied to jackpots with a triggered media approach based on jackpot levels. We always have a few high impact permanent OOH boards throughout the state that show all jackpot levels.

At $100 million, we launch a focused social campaign to a younger adult audience through paid ads and boosted posts. At this level, we typically see some increased engagement from that demographic. Starting at $300 million, we implement a full integrated plan that includes paid search, display, online video and paid conversion and awareness ads that focus specifically on our Play Online product. High jackpots consistently deliver our most efficient cost per first-time deposits. At $500 million, we add television to the mix. At $1 billion, we discontinue paid social efforts, as organic conversation and engagement begin to grow significantly outside of lottery channels.

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South Dakota Lottery

We try to make jackpot amounts and winning numbers easily available to our players, so we publish jackpot amounts on social media through both standard posts and stories. We try to make these fun by using social media trends or seasonal graphics. As the jackpot grows, we amplify these posts even more by making them either reoccurring or by using paid media.

We also leverage our Players Club for jackpot information through both emails and push notifications. Our players may opt in to receive nightly emails that show winning numbers and future jackpot amounts. If the jackpot exceeds $500 million, we also send recurring push notifications through our mobile app to remind players of the jackpot. Last but not least, we use all of these channels to celebrate our winners!

We typically utilize paid media in the form of billboards when Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots reach $500 million. This is something that we are flexible with depending on other campaigns that we have in our rotation. We also utilize paid social media if we reach the $700 million threshold. As the jackpots increase, we continue to build excitement through an increase in the use of push notifications, social media and Players Club emails.

When jackpots reset, it can be a difficult task to encourage play, but we try to remind our players that lower jackpot amounts are still life-changing prizes.

We have one in-state lotto game, Dakota Cash, which plays a part in our overall strategy. We use many of the same strategies for Dakota Cash that we use for our other draw games. With smaller jackpots, we have also found there to be more opportunities to showcase our winners. We’ve had more players agree to advertising and interviews with Dakota Cash than our other draw games, which ultimately helps us with our winner awareness efforts.

During large jackpot runs, we are also cognizant of the increased need for responsible gambling messaging. This includes reminders in our posts that it only takes one ticket to win, as well as stand alone responsible gambling posts.

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Tennessee Education Lottery

Jackpot-driven games are always popular with players, and the Tennessee Education Lottery raises awareness about the top prizes in a variety of ways:

• “Jackpot Fridays” is a weekly social media post that lists jackpots of in-state and multi-state games, no matter the size.

• Radio reads/advertising always include the largest jackpot amount at the time.

• Ticket messages frequently feature the highest jackpot amounts.

Paid advertising begins at $400 million and typically ends around $900 million. Once jackpots reach certain levels, a “threshold campaign” launches, featuring social media posts, e-alerts, push notifications to those who have downloaded the mobile app, web banners, radio advertising, ticket messages and the following:

• Our CEO is featured in radio interviews either the day before or day of the drawing to promote the jackpot amount and responsible play.

• Sales reps begin posting high-jackpot signage at point-of-purchase using pre-printed templates and wearing/distributing jackpot stickers.

• The pre-printed templates are also available on the Lottery’s website for retailers to print.

• Winner press releases feature jackpot amounts with Play Responsibly reminders.

When the Powerball jackpot resets to $20 million, Powerball “On a Roll” begins. The second-chance prize starts at $1,000 and rolls every drawing until the jackpot is won (it is not an always-on second-chance drawing. The goal is to create anticipation for the next On a Roll and maintain interest and excitement about Powerball even after the jackpot is won. On a Roll is marketed through web banners, push notifications, email blasts and on social media.

Texas Lottery

The Texas Lottery promotes jackpot games statewide through retailer monitors, self-service vending machines, and the Texas Lottery App and website. All of these display current jackpot amounts for multi-state and in-state games. Additionally, 64 billboards across the state display current Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot amounts. 

As jackpots start climbing, especially around the $150-200-million-mark, social media activity increases to share current amounts, draw dates and timely updates. Engagement naturally grows during these periods, especially on weekends, as interest in the jackpots build. When jackpots reach historic levels, social media becomes a real-time tool to ensure players have the most current information and know exactly when the next drawing occurs. Note that we do not do jackpot-level paid advertising.

Additionally, the Texas Lottery maximizes earned media coverage by issuing periodic “jackpot alert” news releases as jackpots grow to help generate additional earned media coverage and maintain momentum. These releases alert media to relevant historical context, heightened sales activity and recent lower-tier wins. The timing and frequency of these releases vary based on jackpot size, growth between drawings, public interest and activity across other jackpot games.

As jackpots reach higher levels (over $1 billion), the Texas Lottery increases the frequency and visibility of updates across social media, the website, mobile app, retailer messaging, and player-specific emails and push notifications to ensure the public has timely information on current amounts and draw dates. At key jackpot thresholds, additional website banners, app messaging and retailer monitor slides are activated to highlight the growing prize. When jackpots reset, the focus shifts to promoting other jackpot games and in-state draw games. Social media and video content are used to keep those Texas Lottery games top-of-mind for players year-round.

Following major jackpot wins, we also use social media to share relevant information about the win, such as facts about the historic run, number of second-tier wins during the jackpot run, and the retailer that sold the winning ticket. This information keeps our users engaged and aware of the historic win.

Every fiscal year, the Texas Lottery designates quarterly focus periods for draw games that are supported through social media, statewide promotions, retailer events and other outreach efforts. Social media posting cadence on draw days for both in-state and national games is adjusted based on jackpot levels, ensuring Texas Two Step, Lotto Texas, Powerball and Mega Millions all receive visibility when player interest is elevated. Additionally, smaller prize wins from in-state games are regularly shared on social media to maintain consistent awareness and engagement beyond major jackpot wins.

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Virginia Lottery

The Virginia Lottery has daily support of the jackpot games, and specific methods to increase awareness using primarily owned support. On a daily basis, we have OOH billboards across Virginia that display the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots, along with jackpot information on digital retail signage (such as on vending machines) that keep players aware of the jackpot value. We are currently in the process of procuring new digital jackpot signs to increase the awareness. We also consistently use owned and paid social media marketing for jackpot games that highlight the jackpot for awareness.

When the Powerball jackpot reaches $800 million or the Mega Millions jackpot reaches $1 billion, we increase owned support by promoting it heavily on our website, mobile app, and social media to guide players that are interested in purchasing a ticket online. We will also shift our digital focus to primarily feature the high jackpot. Additionally, we increase the number of promotional offers through our iLottery program and the number of communications that we send out to remind players of the high jackpot. 

Once the jackpot is hit, we immediately shift our focus to maintain engagement with players that just registered to purchase a ticket through our iLottery program, and we continue to support the jackpot through any winner awareness that is available.

The Virginia Lottery offers a five-digit cash jackpot game, Cash 5 with EZ Match. We frequently perform the same activities for Cash 5 once it reaches a $1 million jackpot, but it is usually quicker given that the drawing is daily.

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Washington's Lottery

For major jackpots, our “Clover Alert” playbook activates a focused PR and social media push, while we consistently highlight smaller wins ($1,000+) on those same channels when jackpots are high and after most draws, ensuring players are consistently seeing local wins even if it’s not the big jackpot.

We have eight billboards throughout the state that constantly display current jackpot amounts, including five for our national jackpot games Powerball and Mega Millions and three for our state-specific jackpot games Hit 5 and Lotto. Jackpot amounts are also featured prominently on the homepage of our website, walottery.com.

Currently, our core Clover Alert strategy primarily guides our PR and organic social media efforts, kicking in at specific jackpot thresholds (e.g., Mega Millions/Powerball combined at $500 million, Lotto at $5 million, and Hit 5 [social only] at $500,000). At these levels, we activate press releases, web banners, and dedicated social posts to capitalize on the excitement, letting this free media lead the charge.

For paid advertising, beyond our permanent OOH billboards that continuously display live jackpot amounts, we do not currently have a defined, tiered paid plan that automatically kicks in at specific jackpot levels. However, we are in the midst of finalizing our updated Clover Alert social strategy. This new plan will introduce specific, tiered thresholds for each jackpot game where paid social media campaigns will activate, amplifying our messaging significantly. These paid social efforts will then conclude once the jackpot resets, allowing our organic efforts and permanent OOH to continue driving awareness. This upcoming strategy will ensure more targeted and impactful paid amplification at key jackpot moments.

Beyond our consistent advertising via permanent OOH billboards, on the website, evergreen Mega Millions creative at Tacoma Mall, and gas station TV spots, we currently rely on PR and organic social media for jackpot alerts.

For low jackpots or after a reset, both our current and proposed strategies focus on showing consistent winnability. We feature monthly winner stories in our social media editorial calendar and highlight local winner counts from draws, reinforcing that winning is always happening and connects playing to supporting Washington.

Our own Lotto game integrates into our marketing plans through a combination of dedicated promotions and consistent evergreen visibility. For the past two years, our key promotional effort has been a partnership with the Seattle Kraken. From October through January, players who buy a $5 Lotto ticket receive a trailing voucher they can mail in for a chance to win an epic Seattle Kraken game day experience. Beyond this high-profile promotion, Lotto benefits from regular visibility via our dedicated billboard placements, focused PR efforts when its jackpot is growing, and consistent promotion across our social media channels.

West Virginia Lottery

We utilize an always-on paid digital media strategy for draw games that includes a dynamic API feed that displays the current jackpot amount. When jackpot levels are lower, our efforts are promoted at a baseline level/effort, and we focus and utilize the retention and loyalty marketing teams to activate the following:

• Bonus Play & Second-Chance Offers: Encourage continued participation by giving players bonuses, extra entries into drawings or loyalty rewards with purchases.

• In-State Game Cross-Promotion: Highlight smaller, achievable jackpots to maintain engagement when national jackpots are low.

• Loyalty Program Integration: Use points, tiered rewards, or exclusive offers to reinforce regular play.

• Targeted Reminders: SMS, app notifications, and email reminders about upcoming draws, using dynamic jackpot creative even at smaller amounts to maintain relevance.

The focus here is the always-on awareness, across search and paid social, creating consistency and habit-building messaging with online lottery (iPLAY) being less than two years old.

When jackpots exceed $200 million, this is the threshold level that ignites other efforts (especially during headline-level runs) and these stay in activation mode until the jackpot is hit:

• Targeted Web Layers on wvlottery.com: We use dynamic, segment-specific web layers to deliver relevant messaging and promotions to different player groups throughout the jackpot lifecycle. This ensures every player receives the right offer at the right time, maximizing engagement and conversion.

• Tiered Bonus Incentives: Offer loyalty points multipliers, bonuses, and/or "buy x get y" tied to jackpot milestones to reinforce continued play.

• Omnichannel Messaging: Coordinate acquisition, retention and loyalty-based marketing efforts that include welcome offers, exclusive offers for existing players that sustain excitement between draws.

• Loyalty Communications: Personalized reminders and high-value offers to frequent players to retain high-value segments during peak jackpot interest.

• Cross-Sell Opportunities: Introduce in-state games or other iNSTANTS or scratch-off games to capitalize on traffic while keeping overall engagement high, even if players focus on the big jackpot.

This high-jackpot retention strategy ensures players remain engaged and continue interacting across channels, rather than only playing during a “spike” in excitement.

For paid digital media, in-state lotto games are included in the overall marketing plans as well as for awareness that these games are available in-store and online. We also use all games to cross-promote.

Traditional media, television, radio and out-of-home advertising. Currently TV is not running, as new spots are in the development phase. Typically, TV advertising starts when the jackpot reaches $300 million for Powerball and Mega Millions and $7 million for Lotto America, but once jackpots reach a level where national media starts talking about them, we reduce the advertising spend.

For radio, through current contracts and buys, live reads and promo spots are bonused by stations and once the above thresholds are met for Powerball, Mega Millions and Lotto America, any live reads that are part of a contract switch solely to jackpot-alert focused reads.

For OOH, several static jackpot boards across the state display the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots and are on-going. As for digital boards, our strategy is a non-stationary approach and locations vary across the state based on available inventory. This allows us to target different areas based off of monthly retail and iLottery sales data. These boards rotate Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lotto America jackpots.

At retail, terminal monitors and vending machines display banner shows which always include jackpot slides.

Our whole acquisition strategy is dynamic and data-driven, ensuring we capture demand throughout the entire jackpot lifecycle – from baseline levels to headline-making jackpots. Throughout a jackpot run, acquisition efforts are actively monitored and optimized to ensure demand is captured. Paid media investment level scales when the $200 million jackpot thresholds are met or if sales performance indicates additional reach is needed.

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Wisconsin Lottery

We keep Powerball and Mega Millions front and center through a multi-channel strategy. On social media, we maintain a steady rhythm with Powerball updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Mega Millions takes the spotlight on Tuesdays and Fridays. These posts – and our daily Players Club emails to over 60,000 members – highlight current jackpot totals, upcoming draw times, and celebrate our big winners.

Beyond these efforts, we drive visibility across Wisconsin by utilizing the following:

• Retail Impact: Real-time jackpot updates reach over 3,700 retailers via our digital point-of-sale screens, while wilottery.com features both games and their jackpots prominently on the homepage.

• Earned Media: We issue strategic press releases to share winner stories or generate buzz around massive jackpots. We often lean into creative angles, like “Lucky Friday the 13th” to keep the conversation fresh. However, citing the city or town name in the headline is key to getting local or regional coverage.

• Paid Media: Our year-round presence includes 21 high-traffic digital outdoor billboards statewide. We dynamically shift the creative message to favor whichever game currently boasts the higher jackpot, ensuring maximum impact for every dollar.

Wisconsin players tend to be even more jackpot-sensitive than most other states. When jackpots surge, we amplify our prize coverage to capitalize on the natural rise in social engagement and media interest. One key driver of this buzz is our weekly Moola Minute giveaway on social media, where players answer simple questions for a chance to win. By featuring Powerball and Mega Millions in these high-engagement giveaways – regardless of jackpot size – we keep both games consistently top-of-mind.

Additionally, to ensure a unified message, we scale our internal communications as prizes grow by utilizing:

• Talking Points: Once a jackpot reaches $500 million, we distribute national talking points (customized with Wisconsin-specific details) to all staff. This empowers our field marketing and validations teams to market the games effectively through word-of-mouth.

• Winner Readiness: While a local Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot win is rare, we maintain a regularly updated comprehensive response plan. This protocol mobilizes nearly the entire staff to manage everything from the initial social media announcement to press conferences and media inquiries.

• Reset Strategy: If the jackpot is won outside of Wisconsin, our social media post celebrates the win with a playful tone, highlighting where the lucky ticket was sold to keep the excitement alive for the next drawing.

For our own games, we market across social media, email, and lottery screens, much like national games. While games like Megabucks, All or Nothing, and SuperCash! see fewer impressions, frequent winners of Badger 5 and Fast Play drive significantly more organic content and social engagement. For these games, we provide tiered billboard support. Megabucks, with a starting jackpot of $1 million, receives dedicated billboard placement once the jackpot hits $5 million. Fast Play billboards are activated when their Progressive Jackpot (starting at $10,000) reaches $500,000. This strategic approach ensures our marketing dollars are always behind the biggest and most exciting prizes.

In addition to these paid billboard triggers, we deploy various strategic marketing tactics to boost engagement and sales:

Limited Time Offers: We utilize multiple Limited Time Offers (LTO) throughout the year. For example, throughout February 2026, we are running an LTO for All or Nothing called All or Nothing Bonus Days. Players buying a $2 ticket have a 1-in-7 chance to win a bonus ticket for the next midday draw. This campaign is amplified by statewide TV, gas station pump video, digital outdoor billboards, and printed pieces like fact cards and feature boards available at retail locations. In addition to furthering the Lottery brand, the expectation for this LTO is to increase sales for the game itself while also increasing traffic in retailer locations, hopefully increasing overall lottery sales through the halo effect (i.e., pick up a few other tickets while they purchase All or Nothing for a chance at the bonus ticket).

Winner Awareness: We integrate real winner quotes into our social content. Using the hashtag #WordsfromWinners, we celebrate both past and recent victories across both state and national games. We also celebrate winners through press releases, posters at retail locations, and on our Big Winner page on our website.

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