Sizzling Strategy: New Hampshire Lottery Uses AI to Promote I Heart Bacon Scratch-and-Sniff Tickets

AI + Scent Marketing: What Marketers Can Learn From New Hampshire Lottery's "I Heart Bacon" Launch

The New Hampshire Lottery is using artificial intelligence to promote a new scratch-and-sniff ticket called "I Heart Bacon." It's a simple idea with smart execution: pair sensory novelty with AI-driven targeting to spike curiosity, retail visits, and repeat play.

For marketers, this is a useful template. Use AI to place the right creative in the right feed, near the right store, at the right moment-then let the product's hook do the heavy lifting.

Why this move makes sense

• Sensory + social proof: Scent-based products create instant talk value. AI helps amplify that word-of-mouth with precision.
• Retail adjacency: Lottery is a point-of-sale business. AI can prioritize audiences within quick distance of retailers during peak hours.
• Creative entropy: Novelty wears off fast. Machine-driven creative rotation keeps freshness without bloating production timelines.

Practical AI levers likely in play

• Audience modeling: Build lookalikes from previous scratch-ticket buyers and in-store purchasers, filtered by proximity to participating retailers.
• Dynamic creative: Test bacon-forward headlines, curiosity hooks, and sensory prompts. Let algorithms auto-shift spend to top performers.
• Geo + time targeting: Focus on areas within a short drive of retailers; throttle spend during commute windows, lunch, and early evening.
• Social listening: Track sentiment and user posts about the scent. Feed learnings back into copy and creator briefs.
• Inventory-aware ads: Suppress locations without stock; boost stores with fresh supply to reduce wasted impressions.
• Compliance safeguards: Age-gating, responsible play messaging, and exclusion lists built into segments.

A fast campaign blueprint you can copy

• 1) Hypothesis: Sensory novelty increases foot traffic and trial near retail.
• 2) Data prep: Map retailer locations; build proximity audiences; upload first-party customer lists where permitted.
• 3) Creative system: 10-20 ad variants (static, short video, UGC). Emphasize scent, humor, and the product name.
• 4) Media setup: Paid social + programmatic with radius targeting; exclude low-stock stores.
• 5) Feedback loop: Social listening + store-level sales signals to inform daily budget shifts.
• 6) Retail enablement: In-store signage, QR codes for store finder, and POS prompts aligned with ad messaging.

Creative angles that convert

• Curiosity: "Scratch. Sniff. Grin." Short, punchy, scent-forward.
• Humor: Light, self-aware jokes about bacon obsession.
• Social proof: Quick cuts of real reactions to the scent.
• Scarcity: Limited run or limited-time retail callouts (verify stock first).

Measurement that matters

• Primary: Store-level lift, sell-through velocity, and cost per incremental visit.
• Secondary: CTR by creative theme, view-through visits, sentiment shift, and share rate of UGC.
• Guardrails: Frequency caps, age-qualified reach %, and responsible-play messaging compliance.

Risk checks

• Demographic sensitivity: Strict age filters and exclusion criteria.
• Creative fatigue: Rotate variants weekly; retire anything with declining watch time or negative sentiment.
• Over-targeting: Use broader interest clusters combined with proximity to avoid narrow segments.

Tool stack snapshot

• Planning: Retailer map + audience overlap analysis.
• Activation: Platforms that support geofencing, dynamic creative, and inventory signals.
• Analytics: MMM or lightweight geo experiments, plus store traffic and sales data.
• Listening: Social monitoring to capture reaction clips and language for ad refreshes.

Your 7-day action plan

• Day 1-2: Define segments by proximity, interest, and past purchase behavior.
• Day 3: Produce rapid creative set: 6 static, 6 short videos, 2 UGC edits.
• Day 4: Launch with modest spend, strict frequency caps, and store-level geo filters.
• Day 5-7: Shift budget to top variants, pause low-stock zones, and seed UGC prompts.

If you want context on scratch-and-sniff and scent marketing, scan a primer from reputable sources such as the American Marketing Association. For basic info on the lottery itself, visit the New Hampshire Lottery.

Level up your AI playbook

If you're building AI-driven campaigns and want a structured approach, consider this resource: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists. It's practical, focused on outcomes, and helps you ship campaigns like this with less guesswork.

Bottom line: AI helps you place a memorable product in front of ready buyers, fast. Pair novelty with precise distribution, measure honestly, and keep the loop tight.