Proforma’s client, Bally Technologies, a leading supplier of gaming products, was looking to promote their new “Hot Shot” slot machines. The new machines were progressive; they link to the same model in casinos across the country allowing the jackpot to grow almost exponentially, so the campaign needed to have a national reach.

To promote the new machine, Proforma suggested using the Hot Shot slot machine’s prominent flame theme to link all of the elements together. The Hot Shot campaign was two-tiered. The promotion had to convince casino decision-makers to put the machines in their casinos and drive consumer traffic to the machines. To reach the decision-maker at the casino, Proforma used a private label bottle of hot sauce packaged in a firecracker tube. A few days after the promotion was sent, Bally Tech’s sales representatives followed up with the recipients. To drive the consumer market, the Hot Shot machines were introduced in several ways. Consumers were invited to casino nights where they tried out the new machines. Other promotions included the creation of more than 100,000 mini hot sauce bottles with the same custom-designed labels featured on the decision-maker’s giveaway, 60,000 t-shirts, and 100,000 custom boxes of red hot mints.