CovidComms Awards Ireland

The Lidl Lotto delights employees

The Lidl Lotto
Lidl Ireland
Agency: Catapult
Winner: Best online internal event
CovidComms Awards Ireland

Since the first seven stores opened in 2000, Lidl Ireland has grown to more than 200 stores across the Republic and Northern Ireland. It prides itself on delivering outstanding customer service, to contributing positively to the local communities in which it operates and investing in staff.

The #WeAreLidl people strategy stresses that all colleagues are part of one united team that is underpinned by a culture driven by Lidl’s company values: Respect, Recognition, Responsibility and Trust.

With this #WeAreLidl strategy in mind, and to thank colleagues for their hard work and commitment during a difficult year, a virtual Lidl Lotto event was planned for October 2020.

Each employee received a personalised golden ticket which granted automatic inclusion into the Lidl Lotto. They also had to pre-register to join the live event, obliging Lidl Ireland’s GDPR obligations, and to confirm that they would be home on the night to participate in the Door Drop prize.

On the day of the Lidl Lotto, XX, all stores closed two hours earlier than normal, an event that was advertised to customers via in-store posters and social media. Smaller Lidl Lotto parties were planned for the warehouses.

The 90-minute live stream opened with a skit featuring Lidl Ireland’s board of directors arriving at the show, which was hosted by Irish television presenter Daithi O’Se, via vans, rickshaws, an open top bus and the star prize of the night, a brand-new car.

The show involved Generation Games style competitions, with prizes including holiday vouchers, adventure experiences and extra days’ holiday. Singer song writer Gavin James performed live from one of Lidl’s warehouses.

Two colleagues, who had been nominated for going ‘above and beyond’, were surprised at their homes by senior managers, who delivered prizes to their doors.

While every employee received a prize, ranging from €25 vouchers, six were chosen at random via a tombola draw. They were then live streamed, and the ultimate winner of the brand-new car was selected via an online spinning wheel.

Prizes worth more than €250,000 were distributed on the night to more than 5,000 winners.

The Lidl Lotto almost had a full house: 86 per cent of colleagues registered to participate, and there were 3,650 unique viewers per hour.

The judges described Lidl Lotto as ‘a great use of the measure we hold most dearly – time!’ They recognised the time and effort from senior management and that the ‘considerable investment’ in production would have required excellent planning. But, perhaps more importantly, ‘everyone’s a winner’.