Lottery advertising contracts and reports

Dear Todd Feathers:
This message acknowledges receipt of your request. Your request was received in this office on 4/17/2024 and given the reference number R000069-041724 for tracking purposes.
Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) All contracts and statements of work since Jan. 1, 2023 between the commission and the below-listed advertising platforms regarding advertising campaigns for and paid promotions of lottery games.

- Meta Platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads)
- Google (including Youtube)
- Bytedance Inc. (TikTok)
- Twitter/X

2) Documentation of the targeting parameters selected by the commission for all lottery advertising campaigns and paid promotions on the above-listed platforms since Jan. 1, 2023. Specifically, this should include documentation of the demographic (age, gender, etc.), location-based (geofencing, marketing regions, points of interest, etc.), behavioral (consumer categories, interests, etc.), and contextual (keywords, channels, pages, etc.) characteristics the commission targeted with or excluded from its advertising campaigns and paid promotions for lottery games. To aid with your search, I have provided instructions from the relevant platforms explaining how to access and export this targeting information from within advertising accounts.

Meta ads breakdown reports: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/264160060861852
Google Ads reports: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6201327?hl=en
- Google Ads matched locations report: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7492954?hl=en
- Google Ads demographics report: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7072127?hl=en
TikTok ads reporting: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/create-manage-reports?lang=en
Twitter/X campaign dashboard: https://business.x.com/en/help/campaign-measurement-and-analytics/campaign-dashboard.html
- Twitter/X targeting options: https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/twitter-ads-api/campaign-management/overview/targeting

I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to used the requested records to publish articles in the public interest and not for any commercial purpose.

If you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employee involved and an explanation of the employee hours required to fulfill the request.

If you choose to reject this request or redact portions of responsive documents, I ask that you provide a detailed breakdown of the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each/any portions from public review.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
We will provide you with a status update on or before 5/16/2024.
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed.

NYS Gaming Commission

--- Please respond above this line ---
May 13, 2024 RE: FOIL Request R000069-041724 Dear Mr. Feathers, I am writing regarding your Freedom of Information Law request, number R000069-041724, received on April 17, 2024. You requested: "1) All contracts and statements of work since Jan. 1, 2023 between the commission and the below-listed advertising platforms regarding advertising campaigns for and paid promotions of lottery games.
- Meta Platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads)
- Google (including Youtube)
- Bytedance Inc. (TikTok)
- Twitter/X
2) Documentation of the targeting parameters selected by the commission for all lottery advertising campaigns and paid promotions on the above-listed platforms since Jan. 1, 2023. Specifically, this should include documentation of the demographic (age, gender, etc.), location-based (geofencing, marketing regions, points of interest, etc.), behavioral (consumer categories, interests, etc.), and contextual (keywords, channels, pages, etc.) characteristics the commission targeted with or excluded from its advertising campaigns and paid promotions for lottery games. To aid with your search, I have provided instructions from the relevant platforms explaining how to access and export this targeting information from within advertising accounts.
Meta ads breakdown reports: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/264160060861852
Google Ads reports: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6201327?hl=en
- Google Ads matched locations report: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7492954?hl=en
- Google Ads demographics report: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7072127?hl=en
TikTok ads reporting: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/create-manage-reports?lang=en
Twitter/X campaign dashboard: https://business.x.com/en/help/campaign-measurement-and-analytics/campaign-dashboard.html
- Twitter/X targeting options: https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/twitter-ads-api/campaign-management/overview/targeting" In response to the first portion of your request, seeking all contracts and statements of work between the Commission and the listed advertising platforms, the Commission has no records responsive to this request. Lottery advertising is provided by McCann-Erickson USA. The relevant contracts and statements of work can be accessed online via the following link: https://www.gaming.ny.gov/about/procurement_contract.inc.php In response to the second portion of your request, seeking documentation of the targeting parameters for all Lottery advertising campaigns and paid promotions on the listed platforms, the requested records are exempt from disclosure per Public Officers Law § 87(2)(d), having been determined to be trade secrets which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise. This completes our fulfillment of your request. You may submit an appeal of this decision within thirty (30) days, per Public Officers Law § 89(4)(a). You may direct any appeal to: Gaming Commission FOIL Appeals Officer
PO Box 7500
Schenectady, NY 12301-7500
FOIL.Requests@gaming.ny.gov Sincerely, Siobhan Buskey Assistant Public Information Officer