Mark Anderson
The difference between good and great marketing is that great marketing will have you humming a jingle, singing a phone number, or buying the product.
There is a little bit of magic in the right balance regarding marketing. Over the years, there have been more than a few duds.
One of the most complained about adverts was the Oscar Pistorius advert from Paddy Power, with Tesco’s hot on their heels – for their most recent Christmas advert.
When companies play around with different types of humour and style, there will always be some people that it doesn’t land well with. But a well-planned marketing campaign is designed with the typical audience in mind.
The marketeer will do plenty of research, have access to data, run focus groups, and craft something that should resonate with the intended audience.
Knowing when to kill your darlings is also essential, which can be difficult for one-person marketing ‘teams’. When is it enough – and when is it too much?
Adhering to the authenticity and what people know and love about your brand is also necessary. It will be no surprise that some of the most successful marketing campaigns also come from the casino industry.
There is a direct link between the most loved casinos – go to bestcasino.co.uk to check some out – and the best marketing techniques and campaigns.
The Nation’s Queen
Babs, aka Barbara Windsor, was a UK idol and sweetheart. She starred in one of the nation’s most loved soaps Eastenders and played plenty of flirty roles in the Carry On movies.
During her time on the screen, she was the landlord of Queen Vic and was often referred to as the Queen of Walford.
In 2014 Jackpotjoy made Queen of Walford, Queen of Bingo. Barbara wore a royal gown and introduced bonuses and promotions.
Already a household name for tens of years, Barbara was the ideal face to use – what better way to market a product than with someone people see on TV almost every day of the week?
Characters
Another way to get people to pay attention is to give them an irresistible character. Enter – Foxy Bingo.
They feature a smooth-talking, suit-wearing Fox wearing a purple suit.
This worked for several reasons – and the suit was part of the success. Purple is a colour people pay attention to, which signifies luxury, royalty, and loyalty. The fox itself is orange, which is energising and attention-grabbing.
A talking fox is something that we love when we are children, because who doesn’t love talking animals? It gives us a sense of nostalgia immediately. And it’s just plain interesting.
The combination meant that Foxy, although not without some issues, was a hit.
Join Everyone
One of the most powerful marketing plays a product or service has FOMO. The idea that everyone has something is somewhere or doing something, and you aren’t – awful.
And when thinking about the everyday casino player – most of them won’t be looking for an ultra-luxurious time; they just want to place a bet on their favourite football team or horses and see if they win.
So having a slogan like ‘Where the nation plays’ is one of the smartest plays. It is simple, invites you to join everyone and lets you know that everyone is here.
Ladbrokes know their audience enough to know that flashy crowns and jingles aren’t required – just an authentic welcome and a simple slogan.
A Demand, not a request
Bet365 use what might just be one of the most notable examples of telling people to come and play. They used a notorious actor, who was more well known for his roles as a bad guy. A guy who tells you what to do, and you do it. The deep gruff voice with a London accent is instantly recognisable as Ray Winston.
Since Bet365 understood what their audience needed, they went straight for the telling. The phrase ‘Bet in-play, Now’ doesn’t sound like a request; it is informative and more of a demand.
It lets the audience know immediately that they can bet in play and in a way that doesn’t use flashy graphics or other enticements.
With a simple few words, Bet365 highlight that they have innovative technology allowing members to bet in-play, and the ‘now’ at the end works in a few ways. It tells the audience it is immediately available and demands that they do it.
Humour
When humour is done right, with a catchy jingle that still delivers a message, the audience gets on board quickly. In marketing, we know that using humour or sadness are two of the most powerful emotions for getting the audience to take action.
Coral made the most of this with an advert with Farley & Carly. A light-hearted comedy sketch that also delivers a list of features for customers is smart and funny.
What’s more, the content focused completely on the offers that new customers can get by using their welcome bonus. And people who love sports betting and casinos love and need to know that information ahead of investing time to sign up.
The punchline is simply the work Haddock with a grin. But since the rest of the short sketch delivered all the information – the marketing team and writers were free to experiment.
What’s more, is that a man and a woman deliver it, so targetted two markets at the same time.
While each casino had the same goal, they used completely different marketing tactics to entice their audiences. This can only be done when the audience data is used and the content is sharply focused on their players.
