From Buffalo to Long Island, New York City to Binghamton, drummers were placed in front of delis, convenience stores, and other lottery vendors to perform a 12-hour long non-stop drumroll that lasted up until the moment the Powerball numbers were drawn. Usually state lotteries talk about the impact of winning a massive amount of money, but we decided to celebrate the moment of play. This epic drumroll helped make the moment a person buys a lottery ticket feel special and historic.

This entire project was thought of and completed all within 72 hours. The tight timeline was due to the fact that the Powerball jackpot had rolled up to $1.5 billion on a Wednesday night and was drawing on a Saturday. Therefore, we needed to source a number of skilled drummers and place them in various locations around the state of New York. This of course had to be pulled off in the cold of January. The project was conducted entirely in-agency as we didn’t have time to utilize a production company.

This low budget project resulted in high returns for the New York Lottery brand. Overall, their social community grew by 16.5K followers. We generated 7.1 million impressions across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Overall, the Jackpot Drumroll led to $4.5 million in earned media and helped lead to the biggest sales day in New York Lottery Powerball history. They also called it “our most successful statewide event, ever.”