We’re back with Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming Season 2 Episode 5! This week, host Sharon McFarlane sat down for a chat with ActiveWin Managing Director & Partner Josh Gamble to discuss the evolving landscape of paid media in iGaming. We’ve pulled out some highlights from the conversation below.
Balancing Broad and Targeted Campaigns
No two campaigns are the same. When it comes to handling different clients, understanding when to go broad and when to go hyper-targeted is key. Client profile and KPIs influence how campaigns should be designed and delivered, and these factors can also determine what platforms are most suitable.
Josh said:
“I think it’s very much down to the platform. When we’re looking at different types of targeting, obviously from a broad target and a top of funnel perspective, that’s where Meta is great because you can build that awareness, whereas with Google you’re able to be a lot more niche when it comes to your audiences.
“It’s also about looking at the brand itself and where the brand is in terms of its journey. If it’s a well-established brand, there’s no need for these massive brand pieces to be going out. If it’s a household name, obviously it makes life a little bit easier.”
The Challenge of Responsible Gambling Messaging
Responsible gambling is something all iGaming brands need to carefully consider and, as regulations continue to tighten, ensuring that responsible gambling standards are being met will only become more important. This poses a challenge when it comes to marketing. How can brands approach creative, engaging campaigns while making sure responsible gambling messaging is being effectively delivered?
Josh explained:
“We’ve been really fortunate to work with compliance teams who understand it. Not only from a compliance perspective but also tying the commerciality into there. We want to be making sure that we’ve got those key bits across within the messaging. Obviously, integrating that safer gambling messaging, highlighting the game features and the bonuses, the community aspects, than emphasising the free bets or the free spins or the big wins.”
Working with experts who understand the compliance process is often the best approach. It can avoid any nasty surprises later down the line. When it comes to approaching campaigns, ensuring there is a balance between compliance and commerciality is key.
Adapting to Regulatory Changes
The iGaming industry is evolving rapidly. Advancements in tech and legislative changes mean brands need to be agile and ready to change their approach at a moments notice. Failure to adapt can have serious consequences, from fines and sanctions to reputational damage.
Josh said:
“Well, the biggest upcoming change is the privacy updates and the deprecation of third party cookies. One of the benefits of us becoming an extension of the clients that we work with is that we can start to have these conversations around first party data, start to put more emphasis on closely aligning with the teams internally and accessing first party data. Not only in terms of user behaviour, deposit history, session frequency and all that sort of stuff, but also all the key data points that will then allow us to build out more accurate audience segmentation as part of our campaigns.”
Josh and Sharon also discussed:
Campaign Strategy and Platform Selection (jump to 5.00)
Optimising Post-Click Experiences (jump to 20.11)
Building an Agile Marketing Team (jump to 23.34)
A huge thanks to Josh for joining us on this week’s episode. Keep your eyes peeled for episode 6!
