Scientific Games´ Merv Huber-Calvo named 2021 ´CRM Executive of the Year´

Huber-Calvo, Director of iLottery Growth Marketing for Scientific Games, was recognized for his work on the Pennsylvania Lottery’s iLottery customer relationship management program. Additionally, Huber-Calvo’s team was nominated for “2021 CRM Team of the Year” for their work on the program.

This was the inaugural year for Optimove’s Heptagon Awards, which honor the most inspiring digital CRM campaigns, teams and marketers across hundreds of professionals and well-known brands spanning many industries. 

Huber-Calvo, who led CRM for the record-breaking Pennsylvania iLottery program and helped Scientific Games grow the Lottery’s online/mobile sales to $1 billion in less than two years, has worked in online game entertainment for 15 years. His team collaborates with seven U.S. lotteries, implementing digital marketing strategies to engage with players and responsibly grow both digital and retail lottery sales.

“There’s one thing that makes the difference between great and incredible teams: superstars. Our Individual Awards category is where Optimove singles out specific people who led measurable growth by planning, orchestrating, measuring and optimizing hundreds of personalized CRM marketing campaigns,” said Varda Tirosh, Chief Customer Officer for Optimove. “Merv continuously leads his team to test and experiment, leverage data to optimize marketing strategy, and find ways to stand out. His vast experience in CRM combined with his sharp and analytical mindset makes him an undisputed leader in the space.”

Optimove provides a CRM marketing hub that helps promotional and data-centric brands intelligently scale their CRM marketing by gaining a deeper understanding of customers and orchestrating multichannel marketing campaigns, leveraging advanced AI.

“We are so proud of Merv and his entire team for their outstanding work for our lottery customers’ digital programs. This significant recognition in global digital marketing outside our industry validates that great work and results. Merv is a dynamic and creative leader. His out-of-the-box thinking helped the Pennsylvania Lottery make iLottery history and maximize the performance of all our customers’  digital programs including loyalty and online promotions,” said Pat McHugh, EVP and Lottery Group Chief Executive for Scientific Games. 

Huber-Calvo oversees a team of CRM professionals who apply segmented multi-channel marketing campaigns and promotions to drive player engagement and retention for all Scientific Games digital programs including iLottery, loyalty and second-chance solutions. The Company’s investment in this critical discipline and team over the last several years ensures its lottery partners have the right expertise to help facilitate their growth initiatives from retail to digital.

Under Huber-Calvo’s CRM leadership his team helped grow the Pennsylvania Lottery’s online/mobile sales to nearly $1.7 billion since the launch in May 2018, increasing 72% from 2019 to 2020 and helping the Lottery return maximum proceeds to support vital state programs for older Pennsylvanians. The growth is continuing with record revenue in January 2021 at 103% higher than January 2020. 

Scientific Games launched the world’s first secure lottery retail instant game in 1974, the first digital instant game in the U.S. in 2014, and is the leading provider of lottery interactive games, mobile apps, player loyalty programs and other interactive products and services in the U.S. lottery industry.