Q&A w/ Dan Kersley, Product Manager at 2mee: Why influencer marketing is the next big thing in gambling advertising
The way online sportsbook and casino brands market to players is changing. While TV ads and million-dollar above-the-line campaigns still have their place, paid media, affiliates and influencer marketing are now the chosen tactics for many. This is because they offer the ability to be highly targeted with campaigns, which in turn generates superior engagement rates and unrivalled ROI.
Influencer marketing in particular is being embraced by a growing number of brands as they look to tap into niche but highly engaged audiences and use the trust the influencer has built to drive consumers to their websites and apps. This can be highly effective for sportsbooks and casinos, which often struggle to truly engage players and quickly build trust.
To learn more about the power of influencer marketing, and how sportsbook and casino brands can maximise the tremendous opportunity it presents, we sat down with Dan Kersley, Product Manager at influencer marketing platform, 2mee.
Before we get into this topic in more detail, can you start by outlining just what is meant by influencer marketing?
Of course. Influencer marketing is just a form of social media marketing that involves using individuals with a significant following to promote a brand and/or product. These individuals, known as influencers, have built a loyal following of people who trust their opinions and recommendations and will ultimately engage with the products and brands they promote. Influencers can be anyone from household name celebrities to social media personalities, bloggers and even industry experts.
What makes influencer marketing so effective?
Trust is the ultimate reason why influencer marketing is so effective and successful. Followers trust the influencer in a way that can never be achieved through traditional brand-building methods. People trust influencers more than TV commercials, radio campaigns and print ads which often come across as insincere and salesy. This is because influencers create authentic content that resonates with their audience, and this is what generates the high levels of trust and loyalty they enjoy. When an influencer promotes a product, it comes across more as a personal recommendation rather than a sales pitch.
As well as being more authentic, influencer marketing is highly targeted. Brands can work with influencers whose audience aligns exactly with their target demographics. For example, a sportsbook brand can partner with a football influencer with a following of football fans primed and ready to convert, ensuing their message (and ad spend) hits the right people.
Just how big is influencer marketing right now?
It’s pretty big and is on a serious upwards growth trajectory. According to a recent report, the global influencer industry reached $16.4bn in 2022 and brands are now recognising the power of influencer marketing. As such, they are investing more heavily in the channel. By working with influencers, brands have the ability to influence consumers outside of social media where they have been trapped for so long – by giving brands the power to use influencers at different touchpoints on the sales/conversion cycle, consumer decisions can be, well, influenced to a much greater extent than with other marketing tactics.
Can you share some ways in which online sportsbooks and casinos can use influencers?
At 2mee, we believe that influencer marketing should extend beyond social media channels and that the relationship with the consumer should carry through once they have connected with the brand or product, in this case, the sportsbook or casino.
Our platform allows operators to deliver influencers as human holograms across their websites and apps. Use cases include Welcome message – Trigger a message from the brand’s influencer when a user first visits the site, Cashier abandonment – Retarget with a bonus delivered by the influencer if the player does not make a deposit, Last point purchase persuasion – Deliver an influencer highlighting key features and recommending the book/casino to reinforce at the point of purchase, and Responsible gambling – deliver safe gaming messages to players using the influencer.
Our HoloMessageTM product is leading the way in defining new openweb and AR channels, allowing brands to use influencers to engage, acquire, retain and inform at key moments on the customer journey beyond social media.
What would you say to operators considering using influencer marketing for the first time?
Do it. The results generated will far exceed expectations while delivering an unrivalled ROI. It is still early days when it comes to online gambling brands using influencers, so there is a first-mover advantage to be had right now for those that get in there ahead of their rivals.…
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