AUGUSTA - "Kwikies"
has bit the dust. The Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery
Operations has jettisoned the name synonymous with a brief, sexual encounter
after receiving negative
feedback from convenience store operators and other retailers that sell
lottery tickets, the Banger Daily News reports.
Gerry Reid, director of
the bureau, said the search for a new name for the scratch-off tickets will
continue. "Part of the branding dilemma we have is that everyone calls them
something different," said Reid. "In the instant or scratch game side of the
business, we have 30 or 40 games out there and they change frequently. If you
want to do a promotion or advertising, which are the usual tools used to market
a business, if you don??t have a known identity it??s hard to do any advertising
or marketing. You have to have something to market. The brand has value."
Timothy Poulin, deputy
director of the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery, said the
lottery is also trying to increase sales and bring in younger customers. "Some
people just want the latest crossword or bingo game and that??s unique for that
player base," said Poulin. "Everyone in any business in the world wants to get
to the young demographic. It??s the strongest demographic of growth potential
that everyone sees, that 18 to 35 age group."
Scratch tickets accounted
for more than 60% of Maine??s lottery sales in 2012, a bump of 5.2% from 2011.
"The priority at the moment is to get this branding thing right," said Reid.
"Keeping those games fresh and interesting is much of what we??re trying to do
all the time. Once we have that bridge crossed it??s a matter of having people
interested."