By Shelby Alessi, Senior Marketing Manager, Arizona Lottery
As marketing continues to evolve, so do the ways that brands connect with consumers. For the Arizona Lottery, influencer partnerships have become a key strategy to engage digital-first audiences with content that promotes products in an approachable way. With 72% of American adults using at least one social platform, and usage even higher among Millennials and Gen Z (Pew Research Center, 2024), social media has become more than just a place for entertainment. It’s where people discover new products and make real purchase decisions. That’s why social influencer marketing is a critical tool used in every major Lottery campaign, helping our products show up in memorable moments with relevant and authentic messaging.
A recent example was our Loaded CASH EXPLOSION® influencer campaign, which partnered with nine content creators who had genuine connections to the Lottery. Each content creator was sent a box that, when opened, sprayed money into the air and simulated a true “cash explosion”. The result? It generated real-time, authentic reactions from our influencers and can’t-look-away moments for their viewers, generating 189,000 impressions. In addition to cash flying out of the box, the influencers also received a new Loaded CASH EXPLOSION® Scratchers ticket to scratch on camera as a product demonstration and a ticket to use in a giveaway for their followers.
The Arizona Lottery further leverages influencer content to create unexpected paid social placements. In the case of Loaded CASH EXPLOSION®, we stitched together the video reactions and put paid social support behind the post to maximize product visibility while maintaining the authenticity of the influencers. Influencers are carefully vetted based on the campaign at hand and their genuine approach to marketing the products and services they affiliate themselves with.
We’re building on this momentum through a collaboration with State Forty Eight, a popular local apparel brand. By working closely with influencers from both the Lottery and State Forty Eight networks, we're tapping into State Forty Eight’s built-in audience of passionate Arizonans to reach a broad audience and organically introduce the Lottery to individuals who may not typically engage with our brand or products.
To further support these campaigns, we send custom Media Outreach kits for each priority campaign to targeted media contacts, influencers, and community partners. Each kit includes promotional swag tied to the theme, free tickets for the featured game, and a printed press release with campaign context. The tangible experience of opening the box, seeing the product, and playing the games firsthand helps build buzz, generate earned coverage, and drive organic posts on social media. During our State Forty Eight launch, these curated mailers helped position the campaign as both a cultural moment and a consumer product drop, bringing new energy and visibility to the brand.
The results are clear: authentic storytelling and well-matched influencer partnerships lead to deeper engagement and increased awareness. As Arizona’s population continues to grow and diversify, these strategies allow us to connect with players in meaningful ways, using real voices, cultural moments, and community pride to show that the Lottery is more than a game. It’s part of the Arizona experience.
