Sportradar & Coolbet: a highly targeted approach to customer acquisition via ad:s
Florian Geheeb, Global Director Advertising Sales at Sportradar, and Veiko Poom, Digital Marketing Manager at Coolbet, spoke with SBC about the firms’ ongoing partnership and the way in which ad:s has become a key part of the latter’s customer acquisition strategy…
Veiko, can you tell us more about Coolbet’s collaboration with Sportradar and why you chose to incorporate the ad:s platform into your marketing strategy?
The betting and gaming industry is having to adjust to some real-life challenges as a result of regulatory changes and restrictions on betting advertising, which is making it harder for operators to acquire new customers.
Working in partnership with Sportradar’s ad:s team, we integrated their programmatic advertising solution into our marketing strategy, using their industry specific Demand Side Platform (DSP) to reach customers we otherwise would not have been able to.
Results from the first programmatic campaigns we ran in the Canadian market were positive, and since then ad:s has formed a key part of our overall customer acquisition strategy and supported our global growth.
Florian, what’s your take on the relationship with Coolbet and how has the partnership been from your perspective?
Since the partnership began in 2020, we’ve worked hard to cultivate a strong relationship with the team at Coolbet. We’ve invested time getting to know their business and how we can use our ad:s tech stack to support their short term and long term goals.
The partnership has evolved from campaign execution into something more strategic. We work together to decide on campaign promotions – what to push, what not to push, what to prioritise and so on in order to achieve marketing success.
Veiko, can you explain how ad:s has helped your business and the benefits it has brought to your strategy?
My job is to acquire as many new customers as possible for Coolbet, something that the ad:s technology helps me to do. ad:s programmatic solution is highly targeted and connects Coolbet with relevant audiences across multiple channels in markets in which we operate, something we weren’t able to do previously before we started the cooperation.
ad:s is delivering a positive return on investment for the business. There’s been a 60% reduction in cost-per-acquisition for programmatic advertising activity and the net gaming revenues (NGR) for those campaigns increased by 110%.
Furthermore, a lifetime value analysis of the customers acquired through the ad:s platform shows that these bettors are generating more positive revenue for our business and actively use our services. So, the quality of the customers acquired through ad:s is high.
Florian, let’s talk about attribution. Why is it important for operators to look beyond the last-click attribution model and where does ad:s fit into this?
For operators looking to acquire customers in today’s digital first marketplace, relying on the last-click attribution model is outdated. This approach offers limited insight into customer behaviour and fails to acknowledge the various touchpoints of a customer’s journey. In fact, applying a last-click attribution model can be worse than no attribution at all if implemented incorrectly.
In contrast, a multi-touch attribution model, which we apply with ad:s, analyses each touchpoint within the acquisition funnel, from first impression to conversion, which provides a complete picture of a customer’s journey.
Our proprietary technology enables operators to identify their most efficient marketing channels, as well as establish the significance of each touchpoint along the conversion funnel. This holistic view of the acquisition process enables companies to better understand their customers, optimise campaign performance and ensure a positive ROI on marketing budgets.
Florian, can you advise on how to perfect the conversion funnel and the role each channel plays in the acquisition process?
To understand the conversion funnel is to gather data to understand customer behaviour at every stage of their journey, and then knowing when and where you can target them with the right messages.
Whilst there is no quick fix to perfect the conversion funnel and identify the most favourable marketing channels that decrease CPA, operators can undertake steps to begin to understand customer behaviours. The role each channel plays varies from market to market and is dependent on factors such as operating conditions, audience behaviours, intents, and spending powers, which makes a tailored approach to each campaign essential.
An ‘explore-and exploit’ approach, which identifies potential customers and then upweights spending towards finding look-a-like audiences, is a valuable first step in this process.
Veiko, achieving true CPA across all channels is vital. How is ad:s helping Coolbet realise this aim?
Our marketing strategy incorporates a broad mix of marketing channels, from programmatic advertising to sponsorship and television. The aim is to get these channels working together efficiently to achieve a wider marketing cost per acquisition or ‘true CPA’.
ad:s programmatic campaigns usually perform below the CPA threshold, which balances out the channels that go over threshold and therefore helps us achieve the wider marketing CPA. Recently we have been experiencing CPA fluctuations in some markets due to strict regulations and competition increase.
We are always measuring the dynamics of different channels and analysing the factors that impact CPA. The over-performance of our programmatic advertising campaigns allows us to justify an increased investment in that channel, which we are doing. However, we must keep our marketing media mix versatile to obtain visibility in other channels as well. Every channel supports one another, which will ultimately help develop thorough visibility and a synergy between the different channels.
Finally, Florian, what role does ad:s play in optimising player value to justify a true CPA?
ad:s provides the technology and support for our operator clients to create a complete picture of the acquisition process. This is what we refer to as a true CPA. The platform’s multi-touch attribution approach monitors every touchpoint and brand interaction, providing much greater insight than the standard last click attribution.
This holistic overview of customer behaviour is just one of the tools ad:s provides to enhance an operator’s marketing capabilities. ad:s provides operators with overview of the marketing channels that are performing most efficiently, and subsequently enables them to target their advertising messages at each stage of the conversion funnel to increase CPA.
Source: SBC News
