Allwyn hits the jackpot — reducing time to conversion by 64% with Kokai

BUSINESS OBJECTIVE  

Modernising ad strategy to obtain a holistic campaign view

The National Lottery has been a fixture of British life for more than 30 years, generating over £48 billion — £30 million each week — for good causes, from grassroots sports to cultural and charitable initiatives. 

Multinational lottery operator Allwyn has run the National Lottery since 2024. As a global leader in lotteries and one that is known for its digital-first thinking, Allwyn wanted to modernise the brand’s advertising approach. Its goal: to boost website registrations and return on investment (ROI) by gaining a unified, cross-channel view of customer engagement. 

To achieve this, Allwyn partnered with its agency, Hearts & Science, to develop an omnichannel activation that utilised first-party and retail data.

SOLUTION 

Activating a data-driven omnichannel strategy on Kokai 

Allwyn and Hearts & Science launched a full-funnel omnichannel campaign for the National Lottery — spanning both Lotto and EuroMillions — on Kokai, The Trade Desk’s AI-powered media buying platform. The campaign activated premium inventory across connected TV (CTV), audio, online video (OLV), and display. 

Using an omnichannel strategy allowed Allwyn to deliver consistent, complementary messaging across channels while optimising campaign performance. Applying frequency controls across all channels helped minimise media wastage and maintain a quality user experience. 

Placing a universal pixel on Allwyn’s website enabled the platform AI to connect upper-funnel activity with lower-funnel outcomes and adjust optimisation strategies in real time. 

To reach light, infrequent, and nonplayers across the U.K., the team combined Allwyn’s first-party website data with retail data from grocery retailer Tesco to create a high-value campaign seed representing its most valued customers. This campaign seed was used to identify similar consumer behaviours and prioritise ad delivery to those most likely to convert. 

The campaign used suppression targeting to exclude individuals already entered into the draw in the seven days prior, helping focus media investment on those that have not yet converted. Prism was also leveraged to anticipate in real time which bid opportunities were the most valuable to Allwyn and which to exclude because they were less valuable. This helped the company focus on the most valuable impressions to help improve performance. 

RESULTS 

Leveraging retail data in an omnichannel strategy leads to big wins 

Allwyn’s omnichannel campaign demonstrated impressive performance. Using three media channels instead of one led to a 64% reduction in conversion time. Moreover, adding CTV and display to the media mix reduced the cost per conversion by 23%, while combining digital audio and display drove a 30% reduction. 

Activating Tesco’s retail data further enhanced campaign efficiency, delivering a 43% higher return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 30% lower cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to standard prospecting strategies. 

Moreover, applying cross-channel frequency controls through Kokai saved 8% of the campaign budget. These savings were reinvested to reach an additional 12 million unique users, representing 12% of the total campaign reach. 

These results prove that activating retail data and running an omnichannel strategy on our platform can help significantly accelerate conversions and improve cost-efficiency when reaching new consumers at scale.

Discover how you can activate a full-funnel, data-driven campaign to help drive unique reach and conversions on The Trade Desk. Contact us or reach out to your account manager today.