After a fantastic few days at iGB Live, we’re back with Season 2, Episode 8 of Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming. We’re delighted to welcome Vegas Kings Marketing Director Catie Di Stefano to this week’s episode. Catie and Digital Footprints Managing Director Sharon McFarlane sat down for a chat about the importance of relationships in B2B, successful iGaming marketing strategies, measuring success in iGaming and more.
The Importance of Relationships in B2B
For B2B iGaming companies, brand building and marketing require a different approach when compared to B2C. Building and maintaining relationships is incredibly important, especially in an industry as small and interconnected as gambling.
Catie explains:
“In B2B, because our industry is so small, it’s more about building relationships. I’ve noticed over the last decade that people actually hire people, not companies. Even for me, you’re going to come to Vegas Kings more likely because you know me and you trust me, rather than because you know a lot about the brand.
“In B2C, it’s a lot faster. You’re testing creative bonuses, onboarding flows. It’s about what keeps the player engaged.”
There’s a seemingly endless number of iGaming conferences every year. While conference fatigue is real, these events are perfect relationship-building opportunities and can prove incredibly valuable for big and small brands alike.
Successful iGaming Marketing Strategies
Marketing is constantly evolving. What works once might not again in the future, and marketers need to be ready to adapt approaches and techniques to meet shifting behaviour and preferences. Nowhere is this more apparent than in marketing for iGaming.
Catie explains key iGaming marketing strategies and how these can be situation-dependent:
“Visual storytelling is really important, but it depends on the goal. If it’s a branding campaign, then yes, visual storytelling is key. If you want to create something that is eye-catching but still recognisable, you also need to create trust.
“For acquisition, it’s all about conversion. I think messaging needs to be short, sharp, and laser-focused on the CTA, because I believe that clarity is more important than creativity when clicks and sign-ups are the goals, because you need to simplify everything. People today aren’t going to go through a hundred million steps just to get to the goal. It needs to be as simple as possible.”
Measuring Success in iGaming
What KPIs should be used to measure success? This is an open-ended question, the answer to which depends on countless variables. However, being able to accurately interpret data is key, regardless of what the ultimate goal is.
Catie said:
“We will always align with the clients’ KPIs, but for best results, we need access to real data and to optimise and do proper A/B testing. I think a lot of brands right now in our industry are all about acquisition, and they put millions of dollars in budgets for acquisition, but they don’t really care about retention.
“I think the future, when it comes to that, is really building more with gamification. Maybe developing your own gamification tool. I think that’s the future for retention; to focus more on gamification once they’re in the door.”
Catie and Sharon also discussed:
Challenges in Regulated Markets (jump to 12.32)
The Role of AI in Marketing (jump to 15.00)
Advice for New Marketing Brands (jump to 20.13)
We’d like to extend a huge thanks to Catie for sharing these fantastic insights. We’ll be back with more Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming!
