Australia’s biggest lottery firm, The Lottery Corporation (TLC), has named award-winning creative leader Joe Hawkins as its new Head of Creative Strategy.
Hawkins joins the team at Group Brand, TLC’s internal creative and production agency. He brings over two-and-a-half decades of experience in the creative and copywriting industries, having worked for international brands across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Working out of Brisbane, Hawkins joins TLC after senior creative stints at Engine Brisbane, JWT/WundermanThompson Sydney and Perth, McCann Sydney, DDB Aoteroa and R/GA Singapore.
Hawkins’ work has been recognised globally with leading creative awards such as Cannes L, D&AD, The One Show, the Effie Awards, Western Australia’s first Digital Lion, and multiple Siren Awards.
Taking on the new challenge, Hawkins will lead TLC’s business and brand strategy and translate it into a distinctive creative platform with ideas and experiences tailored exclusively for TLC’s portfolio.
He said: “Roles like this, to join an iconic and beloved brand like this, don’t come around too often.The opportunity to join The Lottery Corporation at this stage of its evolution was incredibly compelling – a brand that’s part of Australian culture, with a huge amount of creative potential and passion.
“I’m excited to work with the team to build ideas that are strategically sharp, creatively ambitious and genuinely entertaining. Let’s roll!”
TLC continues leadership restructuring
The appointment comes just weeks after TLC revealed its 2025/26 financial results, where revenue dropped slightly to AU $3.8bn (£2bn).
An “especially favourable period for jackpots” damaged the company’s bottom lines as EBITDA also fell marginally, though that still came in at a hefty AU $736m.
The ASX-listed firm is clearly going through somewhat of a leadership revamp, having recently appointed James Bickford as General Manager of Group Brand, Sarah Taraporewalla as Chief Technology Officer of Digital, and Andrew Lang as General Manager Commercial of Lotteries.
Bickford himself praised Hawkins’ appointment, in which his remit will span strategy, concept development and creative excellence, supporting major brand platforms, campaigns and customer experiences.
“Joe brings a rare combination of strategic thinking and genuine creative firepower. He understands how to take a business or brand challenge, find the human truth inside it and turn that into an idea people actually want to engage with,” Bickford said.
“As we continue to evolve The Lottery Corporation and our brands, we want creativity to play a much bigger role in how we earn attention, create entertainment and connect with Australians. Joe will be an important part of making that ambition real.”