Allwyn UK, the incoming operator of The National Lottery, announced the appointment of Heart & Science as its preferred media partner for the upcoming Fourth National Lottery Licence, which starts in February 2024.
The appointment follows a competitive pitch process, and Hearts & Science – which is part of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) – will be working with immediate effect preparing for the National Lottery Licence handover early next year.
Allwyn’s Global Head of Media, Ross Sergeant, said: “Hearts & Science has been able to provide a unique perspective paired with innovative approaches to strategy, planning and buying. I believe this is a new kind of media agency – an agency rooted in the science, which is truly pursuing the creative and innovative opportunities that media brings us today.”
Garrett O’Reilly, CEO of Hearts & Science, said: “We’re hugely excited to have been appointed by Allwyn to assist in ushering The National Lottery into a new era – helping to reach and connect consumers with this amazing force for good. Allwyn’s digital innovation and creativity ambitions speak to our own values; as does its stance on social value, with Allwyn committed to, among other things, taking on a leadership role in developing responsible practices within media, as well as creating a new standard for protecting players.
“As they look to transform and futureproof the brand, our mandate is to deliver modern media solutions – powered by the Omni marketing orchestration system – that will accelerate that journey and build connections with players that go beyond the point of purchase. By selecting Hearts, Allwyn is making a statement of intent to the industry – demonstrating it really does want to do things differently and bring transformational thinking to The National Lottery.”
Ross Sergeant added: “We were particularly impressed by the Hearts & Science team’s logical and clear approach toward finding and testing innovations in this space. We have complete confidence that Hearts & Science brings the scale and operational capability – as well as industry-leading trading and commercial practices – needed as we look to evolve The National Lottery over the next decade. We very much look forward to building our partnership with them.”
