Iconic New Zealand Brand ‘Instant Kiwi’ Turns 20

Media Release
Embargoed until 13 September 2009

Iconic New Zealand Brand ‘Instant Kiwi’ Turns 20

NZ Lotteries’ instant scratch ticket brand, ‘Instant Kiwi’, turns 20 this month, and we’re celebrating the birthday by announcing the luckiest Instant Kiwi regions and stores in New Zealand, says NZ Lotteries’ Chief Executive Todd McLeay.

“We’ve crunched the numbers to find out which region in New Zealand has the most Instant Kiwi Top Prize winners (per head of population), and we’re pleased to announce that Southland District has came up trumps,” says Mr McLeay.

“In second place was the New Plymouth, South Taranaki, Wanganui and Rangitikei Districts and in third place was the Napier, Central Hawkes Bay and Gisborne region,” says Mr McLeay.

“Over the past twenty years, Instant Kiwi has become a Kiwi icon, and we are delighted that we can share our birthday celebrations with all of New Zealand,” says NZ Lotteries’ Chief Executive Todd McLeay.

“In order to celebrate our birthday, we have designed two special tickets, a collector’s edition Kiwi Treasures $1 ticket, and a gold foil $3 Crossword. We are also bringing back one of New Zealand’s most favourite TV adverts – the bungy jumping fisherman.

“Whilst this commercial last screened in the early 1990s, it is consistently talked about as a great piece of Kiwi advertising – so we are bringing it back this month, but with a special twist! With the wonders of technology we have now included a cameo from ‘Mexican Doug’, who is a very popular star of our current Instant Kiwi campaign.

“Since Instant Kiwi was launched in September 1989, New Zealanders have won over one billion in prizes and there have been more than 303 million winners. Instant Kiwi’s total sales from September 1989 to September 2009 are over $2.3 billion.

“In total over this time, Instant Kiwi and other NZ Lotteries’ products, such as Lotto, have contributed more than $2.7 billion back to the community through the NZ Lottery Grants Board,” says Mr McLeay.

Instant Kiwi has had some iconic tickets over the past two decades that have reflected major events in New Zealand’s history – ranging from the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, to the Whitbread Round the World yacht races, Rugby World Cups and even the opening of Te Papa Museum in Wellington. (Refer to ticket timeline attached).

There are now 12 tickets in the Instant Kiwi product range, ranging from $1 to $10 in price and offering top prizes from $10,000 up to $500,000.

The store that has sold the most Instant Kiwi Top Prizes over the last 20 years is Hornby Mall Lotto in Christchurch. With 43 top prizes sold, Hornby Mall Lotto edges out another Christchurch local store, Countdown Eastgate Lotto into second place. The third luckiest Instant Kiwi store in New Zealand is Bayfair Lotto in Mount Maunganui.

Background

The first Instant Kiwi was launched on 14 September 1989. The new scratch product replaced the Golden Kiwi lottery, which had declined in favour with the New Zealand public. The launch of Instant Kiwi was a huge hit with customers, with three months of stock selling out in just two and a half weeks, generating sales of $26.1 million.

Top Stores Nationwide for Most Top Prize Instant Kiwi
(winning tickets sold)

Retail Outlets/City/Winners
Hornby Mall Lotto/CHRISTCHURCH/43
Countdown Eastgate Lotto/CHRISTCHURCH/41
Bayfair Lotto/MT MAUNGANUI/39
Manukau City Lotto West/MANUKAU/36
Levin Mall Lotto/LEVIN/33
Coastlands Lotto/PARAPARAUMU/33
WestCity Lotto/WAITAKERE/31
Trafalgar Lotto/WANGANUI/29
Pak’n’Save Riccarton Lotto/CHRISTCHURCH/28
Radius Pharmacy, Peter Dunkerleys/HASTINGS/27

Top Regions Nationwide for Most Top Prize Instant Kiwi
(per capita approx)

/Region/Winners per head of population
1/Southland, Invercargill, Gore and Chatham Islands Territory/1 Top Prize for every 417 people
2/New Plymouth, Stratford and South Taranaki, Wanganui and Rangitikei Districts/1 Top Prize for every 465 people
3/Napier City, Hastings and Central Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and Wairoa Districts/1 Top Prize for every 482 people
4/Rotorua, Otorohanga, Waitomo and Ruapehu and Taupo Districts/1 Top Prize for every 547 people
5/Manawatu, Palmerston North, Horowhenua, Tararua, Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa/1 Top Prize for every 550 people
6/Christchurch and Banks Peninsula/1 Top Prize for every 561 people
7/Buller Grey and Westlands District/1 Top Prize for every 564 people
7/Dunedin City, Clutha, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes District/1 Top Prize for every 564 people
8/Marlborough, Tasman, Nelson, Kaikoura and Hurunui Districts/1 Top Prize for every 566 people
9/Kapiti Coast, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Porirua and Wellington City/1 Top Prize for every 592 people
10/Hamilton Waikato, Matamata-Piako, and South Waikato District/1 Top Prize for every 647 people

Instant Kiwi Facts
• 73% of people aged 18 and over have tried Instant Kiwi at some point
• 55% of all IK players are female (45% are male)
• 42% are over 50 years (58% are under 50)
• 50% of players are with someone else (partner/friends) when they play Instant Kiwi
• 52% of players buy their Instant Kiwi tickets at the supermarket
• Instant Kiwi is NZ Lotteries’ only age restricted game and purchasers must be aged 18 or older
• Crosswords are by far the most favourite Instant Kiwi game. 37% of all Instant Kiwi players say that this is their favourite game
• Combined $3 and $5 crossword sales account for an average 36% of total IK sales
• Numbers games are the second most loved Instant Kiwi games
• On average, $1 million is won on Instant Kiwi prizes each week
• NZ Lotteries sells, on average, 910,000 tickets per week and approx 47 million tickets a year
• Recent NZ Lotteries’ research shows that Instant Kiwi players have a positive outlook on life, are more optimistic and spontaneous
• The current advertising campaign’s ‘Get a Perm’ phrase was named the most memorable Kiwi one-liner – ahead of Bugger!
• Many Instant Kiwi purchases are spontaneous buys - when players say they are feeling happy, lucky or when they feel like they deserve a treat
• Most Instant Kiwi players like to create an occasion to scratch their ticket to heighten the pleasure and savour the moment.

ENDS

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