Betting companies ramp up influencer marketing before Euros

he build up to this summer’s Euro 2016 Championship operator’s marketing departments have unsurprisingly been working overtime in the scrap to acquire and retain punters for the duration of the tournament.

With so many betting companies involved and with a raft of new customers, the competition to get the attention of regular and seasonal bettors is intense. Bonuses and odds enhancers are key tactics in the acquisition scramble, but equally important are the brand ambassadors that operators appear to be increasingly relying on to sway football fans.

To boost their new offers, some bookmakers have strategically cheery-picked football legends as brand ambassadors. Influencer marketing is growing as fans continue to be attracted to companies where they enjoy a greater engagement.

BETVICTOR

Ahead of Euro 2016, Gibraltar-based online bookmaker BetVictor launched its new “Million Pound Goal” campaign. The competition promises a prize pool of £1 million for the punter who can predict the minute and the scorer of the opening goal during the final on the 10 July. The only condition for the punters to be qualified for entry is to have wagered at least £5 on the tournament before the final.

The campaign, which is being promoted across all advertising mediums, features legendary commentator Barry Davies. Last week BetVictor also strengthened its marketing campaign by announcing a partnership with casino supplier Realistic Games, adding a Million Pound Goal slot game to the site in the process.

BETTINGEXPERT

Sport-betting affiliate portal bettingexpert has signed up former England star Chris Waddle to endorse its new betting LIVE app, launched last April. Via the in-play tipping app, users can follow and analyse real-time tips before placing bets through the application.

Waddle will be giving own tips on Euro 2016 games via his own profile located in the app.

Gavin Moore, Head of Traffic & Brand for bettingexpert commented: “Our products are positioned to hit a young, social media-savvy betting audience, so having an England legend who’s online and active on those channels is a fantastic fit for us.”

LADBROKES

UK bookmaker Ladbrokes got ahead of the game in early April when it partnered with advertising agency The Moment to launch a series of commercials to mark Euro 2016. The TV campaign, which will be running until the end of summer, features ex-footballer Chris Kamara and Scottish striker Ally McCoist doing a parody of football punditry.

Following the new football ad, Ladbrokes introduced an exclusive functionality with the launch of “Edit my Acca” a few weeks later. The feature, conceptualised and developed with OpenBet and Playtech, allows punters to make changes to their football accumulator while the matches are in play.

BETFRED

For the promotion of its Euro 2016 headline proposals, Betfred has signed ex-footballer Stuart Pearce to be the face of its penalty shout-out offer. The bookmaker will refund all bets on England if the Three Lions are knocked out viaa penalty shootout. In the new advert the former England footballer has no problem playing up to his Italia 90 penalty miss.

Since 1 June, Pearce has appeared again in the new Betfred advert that promotes its newest app, which allows customers to place their bets using voice recognition technology.

ODDSCHECKER

Besides being the face – or mouthpiece – of their products, some bookmakers have chosen to leverage the expertise of former footballers within their new Euro 2016 offers. It is the case of odds comparison site Oddschecker who has tapped Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler to become the brand ambassador during the tournament.

The former star will be providing his views on the England team via the Oddschecker platform.

VONBETS

European online betting operator VonBets has announced today that it has appointed former Finnish football Jonatan “Tintti” Johansson as VonBets' brand ambassador, in an attempt to seek further coverage within Scandinavian markets. The popular ex-striker who played for various football clubs will be used as part of the bookmaker’s Euro 2016 marketing campaign.

No further details have been given yet, except that he will be expected to provide weekly football tips as well as match analysis. The footballer said that he planned to give VonBets customers “a bit of an insight into the games”.