Lotto brief sparks agency scramble

<p>TAIPEI: Taipei Bank is putting its NT$300 million (about </p><p>US$8.7 million) National Lotto account up for pitch ahead of the </p><p>launch of the island's most sophisticated lottery and gaming brand next </p><p>January. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Taipei Bank, which recently beat out four competitors to win a five-year </p><p>government contract to run the lottery, will begin setting up 8,500 </p><p>computerised betting centres across Taiwan from next month. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>By late January, it hopes to have the entire system up and running, </p><p>accompanied by the launch of a major branding and awareness </p><p>campaign. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, word that the bank is on the lookout for an advertising agency </p><p>has triggered a scramble among recession-starved agencies for the </p><p>business. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With the Taiwan economy reportedly in its worst shape in three decades, </p><p>at least four agencies have already started pitching for the business, </p><p>with several others joining the queue, sources close to the pitch </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One agency brought a 20-man team and turned what was supposed to be a </p><p>credentials presentation into a full-blown creative and strategic </p><p>presentation, the sources added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Until now, the island has what some Taiwanese have nicknamed as the </p><p>'earthquake lottery', which was set up and run by the Bank of Taiwan to </p><p>help victims recover from the 1999 earthquake. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the licence for this lottery is set to expire and Taipei Bank </p><p>was recently awarded a new permit. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While the National Lotto has no competitor on the island, it has to </p><p>compete with online gambling, which is difficult to legislate </p><p>against. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One of the tasks which the winning agency will have to work on is how to </p><p>enhance the local offering and highlight the fact that a significant </p><p>proportion of the expected US$3.6 billion in annual ticket sales </p><p>will go to Taiwan's National Pension Fund, the National Health Insurance </p><p>and other public initiatives. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>