In August 2016, in a first of its kind interactive advertisement, the New York Lottery launched the popular game of Tic-tac-toe throughout New York City subway stations, leveraging the MTA On the Go (OTG) digital touch-screens located on platforms inside stations. For the first time, customers could play with each other digitally across stations, or versus a computer, in real-time. Through the innovative use of technology, waiting for the train turned into an activity that connected commuters across New York City while underground.

Due to the kiosks’ Local Area Network capabilities, Tic-tac-toe was able to run on 118 OTG kiosks simultaneously, throughout 25 stations in New York City for two weeks. Players were able to battle other players or a computer, in real-time, in the same or different station. On the front-end, players interacted with the kiosks’ interface to place their X or O, while the back-end seamlessly matched live players up between stations, passed game information between kiosks, and kept track of which station was winning with a leaderboard.

The New York Lottery campaign was a record-setting interactive advertisement for the On the Go kiosks in the MTA network. Over a two week period, 74,918,354 impressions were delivered from the kiosks. Riders played Tic-tac-toe more than 90,000 times, with 67,294 Rider vs. Rider interactions, and 23,186 Computer Selected Opponent interactions. Additionally, 49,646 people opted in to Play Again after their first go. This was the first interactive ad campaign, at this scale, for the MTA New York City transit network, and a newly developed interaction on the OTG kiosks for customers riding the subway.

Quick Draw is the New York Lottery’s most social game: it draws people together in a fun way. The New York Lottery created an interactive out of home unit to show New Yorkers just how fun, social, and simple Quick Draw can be by allowing subway riders to play Tic-tac-toe with each other virtually. As a first ever multi-player game on the MTA network in NYC, the campaign increased brand awareness while acting as a fun distraction to a commuter waiting for the train.

In order to reach a large number of people throughout their daily commute, the campaign targeted 25 subway stations with OTG kiosks, reaching more than two million riders a day. The OTG kiosks provide free services such as wayfinding, maps, and real-time train arrival, and are paid for by advertising on the kiosks’ dynamic, contextually relevant ad platform to offer advertisers programmatic, place-based video, transactional, and interactive capabilities. Tic-tac-toe, a fun, easy to play, and fast game, was the natural fit to integrate into the kiosks and draw in residents and visitors as they waited for their ride underground. In doing so, New Yorkers were reminded that Quick Draw, like Tic-tac-toe, is a great way to get drawn together in a fun way.

The New York Lottery wanted to celebrate Quick Draw’s 20th anniversary, the most social game in its portfolio, with an innovative advertising relaunch. The campaign aimed to show consumers how Quick Draw draws New Yorkers together in a fun way. The main objective was to increase brand engagement in a natural environment for New Yorkers, and enable millions of daily commuters riding the NYC subway to enjoy their commute just a little bit more as they wait for the train.