Wall Street Embraces Celebrity Star Power to Drive Business

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Sep 26, 2017, 08:35 ET

NEW YORK, September 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The power of celebrity endorsements is something many companies have leveraged with great success over the years. Web-based lottery messenger company LottoGopher Holdings, Inc. (OTC: LTTGF) (CSE: LOTO) (FRA: 2LG) (LTTGF Profile) is preparing to be named among them with the debut of a celebrity spokesman who previously helped The Priceline Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) soar to great heights of notoriety and profit. Other companies that have seen remarkable success thanks to the involvement of A-list celebrities include Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO).

LottoGopher Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: LTTGF) (CSE: LOTO) (FRA: 2LG) recently announced that actor, director, author and singer William Shatner has signed on to become its spokesman and to assist the company in marketing its disruptive, web-based lottery ticket messenger service, which enables users to purchase and manage lottery tickets online.

"We are beyond thrilled that William Shatner has agreed to collaborate with us to accelerate awareness of the brand as our spokesperson," LottoGopher president and CEO James Morel stated, as quoted in a recent press release (http://nnw.fm/2fEu9). "His association and endorsement of LottoGopher will open up a huge audience base for our online lottery messenger service. He is one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world. We are very honored to be working with him and look forward to using his light-hearted brand of humor in our marketing."

LottoGopher is touted as the first social lottery website to allow users to easily order their lottery tickets online. This pioneering lottery messenger service lets individuals choose their lottery numbers, order their tickets using debit and credit cards-with bitcoin and Ethereum soon to follow-and manage their tickets through an online platform.

Users can purchase and manage state lottery tickets online and can play alone with a single ticket or join online groups, both public and private, to pool winnings from lotteries that include Powerball, Mega Millions and Super Lotto Plus. Through LottoGopher.com, users can keep track of their winnings while taking part in multiple lotteries using multiple tickets. Members are also privy to exclusive lottery news, lucky number pickers and jackpot alerts.

LottoGopher is fully compliant with lottery laws and regulations, and users pay the same price for their lottery tickets on the site as they would at a brick-and-mortar location. First-time players are given one gratis ticket purchase to try out the service, and, thereafter, they can purchase one-day, one-month or one-year passes to the site. For a full editorial discussing LottoGopher's subscription-based model, visit http://nnw.fm/0P9jS.

LottoGopher is currently only available to California lottery players, but the company has identified 22 additional states that it plans to enter at a future point. The company is first building a solid community in California, where more than $6 billion in lottery ticket purchases are made each year, while it prepares for an upcoming expansion phase.

Statistically, a staggering $2 billion in winnings go unclaimed every year in the United States. LottoGopher aims to help remedy that by giving lotto players a convenient and user-friendly means of keeping track of their tickets and winnings.

"I am very happy to be joining the LottoGopher team," said Shatner. "Much like Netflix disrupted the movie rental business and Uber hailing a cab, LottoGopher is disrupting the lottery industry for Americans. Consumers nowadays demand exceptional service, competitive pricing, and the convenience of buying products online. LottoGopher offers a simple, cost-effective way to order lottery tickets online and I look forward to helping their customers dream big!"

Shatner, best known for his role as Captain Kirk in the original "Star Trek" television series and subsequent films, served as a spokesman for The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) from 1997-2012 and has since made cameo appearances and done voiceover work for Priceline.com advertisements.

At its IPO in 1999-two years after Shatner joined up to make those famous commercials in the guise of The Negotiator-Priceline's NASDAQ-listed stock debuted at $16 and has since skyrocketed to $1,866, as of September 21, with a current market cap of US$90 billion. Priceline's stock broke the $2,000 mark during the summer of 2017. Shatner's portrayal of the well-known Priceline spokesman is greatly credited for the company's early establishment as a powerhouse player in online travel booking.

Other celebrity spokespeople have similarly helped their host companies enjoy substantial market valuation boosts. After years of declines, Weight Watchers International's (NYSE: WTW) share price enjoyed a steady upward climb after media mogul and queen of television Oprah Winfrey became associated with the brand in 2015. Winfrey purchased about 10 percent of the company's shares in 2015 and has since starred in successful ad campaigns for Weight Watchers. In December 2016, for instance, Weight Watchers shares jumped 17 percent following the unveiling of a new ad campaign featuring Winfrey.^[1]

Jennifer Aniston, darling of television and film, has done similar things for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and The Coca-Cola Company, serving as a spokesperson for their Aveeno lotion and Glaceau smartwater products, respectively. She landed the Aveeno gig in 2013, and Aniston, who has lent her famous face to smartwater ads in the past, was featured again in an ad campaign for the enhanced water beverage in spring 2017-reportedly a move on Coca-Cola's part to keep its smartwater brand in the bestselling position among premium-priced bottled water brands.

Another celebrity endorsement success story relates to Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO), an alcoholic beverage company that struck a deal with Forbes' 2017 top ranking highest-paid celebrity, Sean "Diddy" Combs, relating to Diageo's Ciroc vodka line. Combs inked a 50/50 joint venture agreement with Diageo in 2007 and took the company's 50,000-cases-per-year vodka brand to annual sales of almost two million cases as of 2014, at which time Combs signed a new beverage deal with Diageo to purchase its DeLeón tequila brand.^[²^] Incidentally, Diageo's stock has climbed from $91.75 in November 2007 (shortly after the original deal with Combs was signed) to $132.18 as of September 25, 2017.

For businesses in today's marketplace, few things can bring big results like a strategically placed celebrity endorsement. The mentioned companies have been very savvy in partnering with celebs to put their products in the public spotlight-a move that leaves an indelible impression on consumers and helps effectively build brand awareness and loyalty.

(1): CNN Money: http://nnw.fm/3N0kS

(2): Forbes: http://nnw.fm/Jv41s

For more information on LottoGopher, visit: LottoGopher Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: LTTGF) (CSE: LOTO) (FRA: 2LG)

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