December 2006 Cover GTECHDIRECT®
 
Question & Answer page3 News You Can Use “Set for Life!” Increases Sales in Illinois page1 Customer Success The Value of Strategic Partnerships Coming Together Partnerships: The Key to Business Innovation & Success page 2
 
 
Seeing Both Sides
GTECHDIRECT: To date, what has been the single most gratifying experience since you began working in the Lottery industry?
Connie Laverty O’Connor: It’s the people that make this industry so great. On both sides of the business – we work with absolutely wonderful people. Because the lottery is a universally translatable business – it’s all about human behavior and public perception. People all around the world share a commonality. They play the lottery for a chance to win money and have some fun. My single most gratifying professional experience was the “Hottest Ticket in Town” promotion we ran with the New York Lottery. Instant games were performing poorly at the time due to low prize payouts. Our intent was to change instant games in NY – soup to nuts. We changed the price, the prize structure, the marketing strategy, the merchandising, the branding – but most importantly, we adjusted our attitude towards our own retailers. We took on a service mindset – we listened better and visited the field more than we ever had in the past. For the first time ever universal validation was in the state of New York. Players could now buy a ticket from one retailer and redeem their winnings at another. We realized that our efforts and all of our teamwork – was paying off. We grew the instant ticket business 800% in a ten year span and gave instant tickets in NY a whole new beginning.
GD: What, in your opinion, makes for an effective Sales & Marketing Team?
CLO: Success revolves around teamwork. Our business is built on relationships. The team needs to go above and beyond – they need to listen to their customers & retailers, understand their needs and deliver a clear plan – one that provides them with direction and a means to their goals. Sharing worldwide Best Practices with our customers so they can share them with their customers is a must. We can’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Everyone needs to be able to have a point of view – and we need to motivate people to be creative and aggressive. Enthusiasm is infectious. Failure is only when you haven’t tried.
GD: What are the key elements a Lottery looks for when choosing a Vendor?
CLO: It’s what you look for in any relationship – trust, honesty, accountability, understanding, flexibility, following through on guarantees, and of course a commitment to create innovative, new content. If a relationship is built on those characteristics and you work together – you’re bound to be successful.
GD: What do you see in the future for GTECH & Lottomatica?
CLO: It’s a great partnership. We now have the combined resources to better serve our customers. The combination of two industry powerhouses will give us a better sense of the market on a global level. The partnership will give us a stronger understanding of where the retail environment is headed – and we will be twice as responsive to our customers’ needs. We will now be able to offer an unmatched combination of technology, services and game design solutions and guarantee to help our customers grow their business.
GD: What are your plans to help build the online game category?
CLO: We are going to develop more games, create more excitement, enhance visual imagery, and dramatize our new games across all channels. We’ll use ES MultiMedia™ and other signature tools in retail locations. We have plans to better package our new games. Pick ‘n Play™ is only the beginning of a much larger plan. Instant tickets are a whole new world for GTECH and with the recent acquisition of Creative Games International we plan to do great things. We have a new flexibility with play slips and new brand imagery that will bring additional success to GTECH in the coming years.
GD: Do you have any messages you’d like to share with customers?
CLO: Don’t be afraid to push. Don’t be afraid to challenge. Ask a lot from your vendor. Never, ever accept anything but the best.
 
Connie Laverty O’Connor: 
The Lottery and Vendor Perspective
As Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of GTECH Corporation, Cornelia “Connie” Laverty O’Connor helps to drive the overall strategic direction of the Company while providing strong leadership and direction to the marketing function. Prior to joining GTECH in April 2006, Laverty O’Connor served as Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Prior to that, she spent more than 30 years with the New York Lottery; her final 14 years there were spent as Director of Marketing and Sales. Laverty O’Connor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology from Empire State College in Albany, New York, and a Master of Arts degree in English and Psychology from State University of New York at Albany.
“Success revolves around teamwork. Our business is built on relationships. The team needs to go above and beyond – they need to listen to their customers & retailers, understand their needs and deliver a clear plan – one that provides them with direction and a means to their goals.”
Connie Laverty O’Connor
Senior Vice President and
Chief Marketing Officer
of GTECH Corporation