Nederlandse Loterij, the Dutch National Lottery, and its TOTO brand has received a Golden Effie and international recognition at the Effie Awards Europe 2020 for its ‘King TOTO’ campaign in the Media, Leisure & Entertainment category.
The goal of the campaign, developed on behalf of the game by Amsterdam-based creative agency TBWA\NEBOKO, was to both revive the brand and to broaden the target group.
The campaign revolves around a King TOTO character who challenges potential players with the slogan: ‘Do you know it better? Then come on!’ The King TOTO role has been played by Dutch football player Royston Drenthe, former professional football players Sjaak Swart, Johan Boskamp, and Dutch rapper Donnie. Andy van der Meyde is the newest King TOTO.
The most recent TOTO campaign, with Dutch football player Nathan Rutjes, focuses on gaming responsibility, sending out the message, ‘Keep calm, play consciously’.
According to the Effie jury, the results of the campaign were ‘mind-blowing’ as TOTO’s old-fashioned brand image has been radically changed.
The jury was impressed by how TOTO managed to use humour to steer the brand in a contemporary way. It stated: “Strong insight translated into strong execution. Simple and consistent. The results were outstanding and also extremely well presented.”
Lottery Daily spoke with Arno de Jong, Chief Marketing Officer at Nederlandse Loterij, to discuss how the campaign has impacted the brand.
LD: First of all, congratulations on your Golden Effie award at the Effie Awards Europe 2020 for the ‘King TOTO’ campaign in the category of ‘Best of Europe: Media, Leisure & Entertainment’. How does it feel to receive this international recognition after success in the Dutch market?
Arno: “It feels great. Last year we won two Golden Effie awards for TOTO in the Netherlands. It was the first time that one campaign received two golden awards. And now the Golden Euro-Effie. It underlines that we did something truly special with our TOTO brand.
“It was quite a challenge to explain such a culturally bound Dutch campaign to an international jury, but we succeeded.”
LD: What does the ‘King TOTO’ campaign mean to you, TOTO as a whole, and the Nederlandse Loterij?
Arno: “The purpose of the campaign was to reinvigorate the TOTO brand. Historically, TOTO was just going through the motions & wasn’t delivering on its obvious potential. Now TOTO is alive and kicking and going from strength to strength.
“The brand and also the sportsbook are unrecognizable compared to just a few years ago. The improvements made in terms of our player base & financial results are exponential.”
LD: What are the next steps for the ‘King TOTO’ campaign in 2021? Are there any further developments coming for it in the new year?
Arno: “We will continue developing the brand equity of TOTO with King TOTO. Next week a new campaign starts, again with our current King TOTO former football player Andy van der Meyde (Ajax, Everton, Internazionale).
“2021 is an exciting year for us with the European Championships and marketing opening in October this year.”
