How A Podcast Helped A European Lottery Spark Its Biggest Buzz in Over a Decade.

The transnational European EuroMillions lottery last fall faced a problem most brands would envy: the jackpots were bigger than ever, but the excitement just wasn’t landing like it used to. That changed almost overnight. And audio ads were the solution.

Following the launch of a new podcast campaign, EuroMillions saw a 10% year-over-year jump in sales during its biggest draw week since 2013. Brand consideration rose 11%, and even lapsed players took notice, driving a 5% lift in ad awareness. The podcast itself surged to number two on the UK’s branded podcast charts, with listeners clocking over 6.2 million minutes of audio time and 3.4 million more on YouTube.

So how did a lottery become one of the most buzzed-about audio campaigns of the year?

It all started with a simple truth: most people don’t play to win—they play to dream.

According to research by Differentology and The National Lottery, 72% of EuroMillions players play just to imagine what winning would feel like. That insight became the spark for a campaign not about odds or numbers, but about daydreams. And it tapped into a viral cultural meme already flooding TikTok and Instagram: “If I won the jackpot, I wouldn’t tell anyone… but there would be signs.”

To bring that fantasy to life, EuroMillions partnered with Acast and the marketing agency Hearts & Science to create Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams, a branded podcast that turned wild hypotheticals into full-blown escapist storytelling. Hosted by TikTok creator Sarel, each episode invited a well-known guest to imagine their post-jackpot lives. The responses? Llama farms, moon parties, teleportation devices, and more.

The show was recorded in a surreal, purpose-built studio decked out with giant lottery balls, faux tigers, and showers of confetti, turning each recording into a visual spectacle. To cut through the noise, the team built a full content ecosystem around the series — publishing episodes on EuroMillions’ main feed and through each guest’s personal podcast channels using Acast’s integrations.

That multi-feed strategy helped tap into each guest’s fanbase, driving instant discoverability. From there, the content spilled across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram with behind-the-scenes moments and short, shareable clips. Everything pointed back to one message: this is what dreaming with EuroMillions looks like.

Ben Brown, Head of Media at National Lottery operator Allwyn, credits the bold creative approach for the breakthrough impact:

“Hearts & Science and Acast boldly challenged EuroMillions’ once-conservative media strategy with a social-first idea that delivered both cultural cut-through with a younger, diverse audience, but also moved the needle on brand metrics and sales,” he says.

The results speak for themselves. With listen-through rates averaging 84% and listeners staying tuned for more than 20 minutes per episode, the campaign didn’t just reignite belief in the possibility of winning — it made dreaming cool again. And it showed how the intimate nature of podcasts can motivate listeners into action.