We’re back with Season 4 of Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming! On this week’s episode, we’re delighted to welcome none other than Martin Hodges, Co-Founder & CMO of our official podcast sponsor, BetComply.
Martin sat down with Digital Footprints Managing Director Sharon McFarlane for a chat about the differences between B2C and B2B marketing, using compliance restrictions to inspire creativity, navigating new markets and more.
B2B v B2C Marketing
When it comes to marketing any product or service, be it iGaming or otherwise, identifying your audience is one of the most important steps. Marketing can be broadly categorised into B2B and B2C, and a different approach is required for each. With extensive experience across both B2B and B2C brands, we asked Martin Hodges what he thinks the main differences between the two are.
Martin said: “When you’re doing B2C marketing, certainly in iGaming, the focus and positioning is all around fun, convenience, lifestyle, enjoyment and entertainment. When you move on to B2B, you’re really starting to push the value, the trust and the brand. There are a lot more stakeholders involved in the decision-making. Obviously, your channels are very different, but your messaging also changes based on what you’re pushing out.”
Creativity from Compliance
As a heavily regulated industry, iGaming marketing involves carefully working around rules and restrictions. Failure to do so can have serious consequences, from damage to your brand image to punitive legal action. You would be forgiven for assuming that these rules hamper creativity, but the truth is often the opposite.
Martin said: “It’s definitely a challenge, but I think compliance pressure should be something that drives innovation rather than blocks it. When you know the rules, you can start getting creative with how to work within them. It’s about trying to make sure that compliance and creativity sit side by side rather than in separate boxes, on different sides of the business.
“It’s about trying to stay curious and open-minded. The best ideas in regulated industries often come from finding new ways to do things right, not just fast. It’s that balance between innovation and integrity that can really drive it forward.”
Navigating New Markets
With new regulated markets appearing across the globe, iGaming is more international than ever before. This presents incredible opportunities for brands to expand and scale, but also comes with a range of regulatory pitfalls that must be avoided at all costs. Instead of jumping in blindly, take the time to stop and assess the legal landscape, formulating a plan before moving forward.
Martin said: “With the LATAM market, companies are now reacting like they used to do years ago in Europe, which was: go in first then work out compliance later, and it’ll all work out in the end. This is probably the completely wrong way of doing anything. I think companies have learned that they need to get frameworks in place.
“There’s a lot of research that needs to be done before you enter a new market. That’s where we try and understand our client’s business strategy to be able to help them and guide them, and we can do a gap analysis on what they’re going to need and what’s missing from the business.”
Martin and Sharon also discussed:
Scaling and Managing Growth (jump to 11.25)
The Importance of Personal Branding (jump to 14.01)
Choosing the Right Conferences (jump to 24.32)
A huge thanks to Martin Hodges for sharing his knowledge. Watch this space for Episode 2 of Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming Season 4!
