Gambling is much like sex.
It seems to be a fundamental human compulsion.
And it doesn’t require any justification other than its inherent excitement.
The thing is, sex is well-exploited in marketing. Gambling, I haven’t seen as much.
But it can be done.
Here’s one example, from marketing and copywriting legend Joe Sugarman.
In his “HOT” magazine ad, Joe was promoting a membership club called Consumers Hero. Members of the club would get the opportunity to buy refurbished goods at a steep discount.
Most of the stuff wasn’t too impressive — clock radios, microwaves, electric can openers.
But occasionally, Consumers Hero had a really great deal — like a TV for only $39.95 — which was only available in small numbers.
In this case, a segment of Consumers Hero members would be selected in a kind of lottery. These chosen members would be the only ones who got the mailing inviting them to buy the great deal.
My guess is that if anybody got a mailing saying “YOU’VE BEEN CHOSEN TO BUY THIS TV AT A GREAT DISCOUNT,” they would be much more likely to actually buy, just by virtue of knowing they’d “won” the opportunity.
Which is all well and good — if your product inherently allows you to turn it into a lottery.
But what if you’re not in that position?
Fear not. Playing on your customers’ compulsion to gamble can still increase sales.
Here’s another Joe Sugarman story:
Joe once wrote an ad promoting a computer. He ran it around the time of the SuperBowl.
The ad basically said, if the Bears win the SuperBowl, you get this computer at 50% off. If they lose, the price stays as it is. And here’s the outcome, in Joe’s own words:
“There was a lineup of people — we had a retail store — there was a literally a lineup of people all the way around the block waiting to pick up their computer that they were getting for 50% off. The funny part about it was that we were making a nice profit on that as well.”
And there you have it.
Even if you’re not selling collectibles or trading cards or something that has a lottery aspect to it, you can still use gambling simply as a way to run a sale. The fact that the sale might actually not happen will only drive up interest.
The reason why that happens is another topic, for another time.
For now, if you need help writing those ads that announce a lottery-like sale, you might like to take a chance on the following offer: