UK bookies Betfred have announced a review of their £5m advertising account, meaning longtime ad agency BJL will have to repitch if it wants to hang on to the account. BJL has handled Betfred’s adverts since 2011 and are responsible for the company’s current ‘You’ll love a bit of Befred’ campaign. But Campaign Live reported that Betfred is looking to up its game before the start of the next Premier League football season in August. Corporate matchmaker Creativebrief has been asked to set up initial meetings with prospective agencies in June. Pitches will follow shortly thereafter and Betfred is expected to announce the winner on or about July 7.
The importance of getting one’s marketing right was underscored by the results of a new survey by digital marketers IgnitionOne. Their Betting on Digital report, compiled with the help of ComRes, found that just 21% of UK adults believed online gambling adverts were targeting the right audience compared to 51% who felt the adverts were missing the mark. Two-thirds of respondents claimed to be concerned by the overall amount of online gambling ads targeting consumers.
Many of the marketers surveyed for the report believed TV adverts were more effective than online marketing for boosting brand awareness, while digital campaigns were viewed as more ‘tactical’ in their ability to target existing customers with specific offers. But 24% of survey respondents who had previously gambled online claimed to be equally motivated by both TV and online pitches.
The survey found digital campaigns were helping to lower the average age of online gamblers, who were more likely to be avid mobile device users and social media participants. Yet while word of mouth gambling recommendations were deemed important by 43% of respondents, this figure dropped to 26% if such a recommendation came via social media channels.
IgnitionOne managing director Simon Haynes said 73% of respondents who fancied a flutter cited a website’s ease of use as the primary reason for choosing to gamble on a particular site. “Product quality was more important in determining which site they used, compared to advertisements. A brand’s reputation and corporate social responsibility were also “big factors when it comes to positive perceptions among consumers.”
Some 40% of respondents said they’d be more inclined to bet with companies that made financial contributions toward problem gambling initiatives. Nearly two-thirds (65%) felt problem gambling was more of an issue online than with betting shops. The issue of trust remains a key sticking point for online gambling neophytes, with 74% of non-gamblers saying there should be more regulation of online sites to ensure consumer protection. For people who had gambled online, that figure slipped to 67%. Depending on one’s perspective, female gamblers are either more loyal or less inquisitive, with 41% choosing to gamble with one site alone compared to 30% of male gamblers.
