DVL to Sell Retailers on Tennessee Lottery

ATLANTA Dye Van Mol & Lawrence will handle public relations for the Tennessee Education Lottery, the state’s first lottery, the agency said.

The Nashville, Tenn., agency won the contract following a review against crosstown rivals the Ingram Group and Katcher Vaughn & Bailey Communications. DVL will partner with African American shop Kinnard & Associates and Caliente Consulting, a Hispanic agency.

The shop’s priority is to reach out to minority vendors, according to DVL partner Hank Dye. The state hopes to attract as many as 5,000 retailers. Scratch-off lottery ticket sales are scheduled to begin on Feb. 17, 2004.

Dye said the agency would work on brand development, logo design, and coordinate media inquiries and statewide events. Billings were undisclosed.

Dye pegged the win to national experience with client Jack Daniels and past work with one of Tennessee’s largest state-run events, Homecoming ’86. The 50-person shop also handled logo and brand support in introducing the National Hockey League’s Nasvhille Predators.

“Tennessee is really three states,” said Dye. “It’s a real challenge marketing wise and demographically.” (Tennessee runs 900 miles from Chattanooga in the East to Memphis in the West.) “Even the media opportunities are different in each section.”

The TEL recently hired Georgia’s state lottery chief, Rebecca Paul, as CEO. Paul, 54, launched the Georgia and Florida lotteries in 1993 and 1987, respectively.