Pulse
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS RELAX GAMING, SPORTINGTECH & LADY LUCK GAMES
Understanding your target audience is always a crucial factor to the success of any marketing effort, and should be the first step before any plans are set.
It is imperative to assess brand awareness in a new market and whether a tailored approach is required, along with the extent to which specified targeting and adaptation needs to occur. Some markets require little to no tweaking in core communications as our brand is at the same stage there, whereas others need a fully revised plan. We have an exciting upcoming market entry where the latter will apply and it is an incredibly exciting project to steer.
Julian Borge Barthet: It’s always going to be a challenge entering a new market. Player preferences differ in each region and it can be a fine balance developing the right sort of content and marketing strategy to suit them. What works well in one country might not work well in another. If you get it wrong you risk alienating that player base - and it’ll take a lot of work to get them back on side. It’s imperative that studios conduct thorough, well thought out research before entering any new market.
Victoria Bonner: Tat’s where a strong relationship between commercial and marketing is key. Your commercial team needs to understand the local market and feed that back to the marketing team so it can tailor its efforts effectively. Marketing needs to understand the most effective channels in the region. A huge budget affords a “try and see” approach, but this is rarely cost effective. It is best to assess your efforts regularly and then prioritise what’s working - that initial insight will always give you a head start and make any spend yield greater results.
Do you feel the return to live events will have a greater impact on your overall marketing strategy, or has the iGaming industry’s reliance on in-person events lessened since the pandemic?
Julian Borge Barthet: Absolutely! Te buzz of in- person events is unbeatable. Tere’s no better opportunity than being able to sit and talk to someone face-to-face, talk about new products and plans and thrash out ideas and deals. Te world of iGaming is fast-paced and built on relationships; it relies on these live events.
Whilst I do think we coped well with going digital with regards to events and communications for a couple of years, the novelty has definitely worn off and we’re all ready for a bit of normality.
All in all, I feel that marketers can make a much greater impact being on the show floor at or on a stand talking to operators about our new games,
P136 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
“It’s always going to be a challenge entering a new market. Player preferences
differ in each region and it can be a fine balance developing the right sort of content and marketing strategy to suit them. What works well in one country might not work well in another. If you get it wrong you risk alienating that player base - and it’ll take a lot of work to get them back on side. It’s imperative that studios conduct thorough, well
thought out research before entering any new market.” Julian Borg-Barthet
as opposed to being on the other end of an email. Nothing can replace those personal connections you make with people when meeting in person.
Victoria Bonner: Te industry has proven that business can still happen effectively without physical events but there has been a clear and strong appetite to get back to in-person meetings and the conference scene. People do business with people, we’re a sociable industry, and you get a much better sense of who you’re potentially working with when you invest in that via exhibitions. Product demos are easier, and the natural back-and-forth to gain a good understanding of an offering is difficult to replicate. I’m not sure anyone’s event strategy ever changed with any long-term expectation, more that there was a hiatus until confidence returned. It will be interesting to see if the investment level will be the same but, ultimately, if your competitors are there, you lose ground by being absent.
Marija Hammon: Personally think that there is an undoubted sense of relief that things are ‘returning to normal’ and despite any technological solution that comes into play, nothing will ever fully replace the value of face- to-face communication and connecting to like-minded people, industry professionals and business partners. Networking is within us, and live events fulfill that. We have a number of conferences that we are sponsoring this year, some that we are exhibiting at and a large volume that we are attending - Tat wouldn’t be happening if we didn’t appreciate the value of what these gatherings offer us, as individuals and overall, as a company.
What are the biggest challenges Marketing and Communications professionals within iGaming are facing in 2022?
“It is imperative to assess brand awareness in a new
market and whether a tailored approach is required, along with the extent to which specified targeting and adaptation needs to occur. Some markets require little to no tweaking in core
communications as our brand is at the same stage there, whereas others need a fully revised plan. We have an exciting upcoming market entry where the latter will apply and it is an incredibly exciting project to steer.” Marija Hammon
Victoria Bonner: For B2B, there’s still an eye on Covid in terms of adaptability for events and travel, but most of us should now know exactly where we’ll channel any funds to ensure there are effective ongoing efforts if similar issues come up again. We understand what marketing channels saw an uplift while events were down - it’s not new anymore. In terms of the wider industry, competition is still increasing so there’s a need to positively make your mark in a young company quite early, and that takes a good budget and news to feed the machine.
Ten there’s the need to have a localised strategy as the regulatory frameworks continue to fragment; new markets open new opportunities and a one-sized approach has long since genuinely held its impact. Tis can also add costs, which no company is likely to be pleased about, so the return needs to be there. Increasingly, B2B marketeers are in demand to manage the increased competition and scope of what and where you need to be, so hiring good people isn’t getting any cheaper, either.
Marija Hammon: Standing out in a world of distractions and making it easy for people to find your information requires additional
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