Latin America is becoming an increasingly important region, due to rising income levels, growing internet access and the evolution of online gaming sites. The betting sector in LATAM is expected to increase 12% year on year.
That’s why Mateo Lenoble, Sportradar’s Vice President of Account Management for Latin America, shares valuable insights on how to take advantage of every opportunity during this important football tournament between teams from the Americas!
This is because Brazilian spending on online gaming and betting will reach around US$11 billion in 2023. As major international football tournaments, such as the Copa América, only occur every four years and generate considerable media attention and national enthusiasm, no It’s no surprise that they offer significant customer acquisition potential for operators.
However, there are some important dos and don’ts to achieve marketing success. At Sportradar, data processed through the industry-specific ad marketing service provides valuable insights into fans’ betting behavior. Thus, allowing operators to personalize their campaigns to deliver the right ad to the right customer, on the right channel, at the right time.
Based on statistics taken from more than 80 global brands using the specific programmatic Demand-Side-Platform (DSP) for betting during EURO 2020, played between June and July 2021, here are the main tips for the current tournaments:
1. DO: Launch your campaigns early
EURO 2020 Sportradar data shows that betting intention starts to increase around four weeks before the start of the tournament, once domestic seasons have concluded. Recommendation: Start your campaigns early to capitalize on this growing interest, long before kickoff. Getting the ball rolling well in advance will guarantee registrations with plenty of time before the big kickoff.
2. DON’T: Ignore the importance of brand awareness
Research shows that operators that invest in brand visibility have strong acquisition advantages. Greater brand awareness creates greater familiarity, trust and purchase intent, which data shows delivers a 20%+ increase in deposits and 10% higher cost per acquisition (CPA) performance on average. Recommendation: Strengthening your brand campaigns should be a priority using branding-focused channels such as
Video, Audio and Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH), which can provide you with an edge over your competitors through greater reach to your target audience. Increasing brand recognition and recall also improves performance and acquisition marketing, with end customers being primed to recognize, trust and engage with your offering.
3. DO: Plan an Adequate Marketing Budget
Analysis of the latest editions of the Euro shows that bookmakers increased their monthly marketing spend by 94% during the tournament. With Sportradar’s DSP attracting almost three times as many new customers during the 2021 competition compared to a typical month that year, it is essential to anticipate this substantial increase in costs and allocate the necessary spend to execute impactful campaigns.
Recommendation: Implement forecasting and reporting tools for effective budgeting and maximizing return on marketing investment during all phases of the competition so you are not surprised by rising overall costs and maximize this can’t-miss acquisition opportunity.
4. DON’T: Generalize your marketing efforts
Ad:s analysis of aggregated data on deposit origins before and during EURO 2020 shows that 40% of deposits came from active customers (who placed a bet in the last 30 days), 36% from new customers and 24% from infrequent bettors (registered customers who have not placed a bet in the last 30 days).
The number of unique users during the tournament also increased by more than 500% compared to the previous 11 months. A common mistake, therefore, is to employ a one-size-fits-all approach to all of these different customer segments.
Recommendation: Personalize your targeting, creative and messaging not just for new bettors but also for existing and infrequent customers to achieve a maximum number of deposits.
Personalizing messages for individual customers across different audiences will deliver more engagement and is easily achieved through AI and data-driven insights and deep understanding of sports betting behavior.
5. DO: Consider the timing of promotions
Sportradar data shows that the busiest times for first deposits during EURO 2020 occurred at 6pm local time on match days, so optimizing your marketing activities around peak times is key to maximizing sign-ups , deposits and campaign efficiency.
And Sportradar delivered 176% more initial deposits (FTDs) during the tournament than in the previous 11 months. This means that the DSP attracted almost three times as many new customers as in a typical month.
Additionally, the average FTD value was 36% higher than in a typical month, which led to a higher return on investment for campaigns run through Sportradar ads.
Recommendation: Use targeting tailored to sports schedules, such as the ads’ built-in sports calendar targeting feature. This allows your most engaging campaigns to automatically focus on peak periods during game days.
6. DON’T: Underestimate national sentiment
We have seen significant spikes in betting activity on EURO match days in countries where the national team plays. In fact, data shows daily increases of over 70% in first deposits (FTDs) in a country when its national team qualifies for the knockout stage. The lack of elaboration of specific campaigns for each country ignores this strong driver of engagement.
EURO 2020 also showed that team success on the field translates into a lower cost per first deposit acquisition (FTD CPA). For example, the winning team, Italy, managed to reduce this cost by more than 2.5 times.
Recommendation: Use creative automation tools like dynamic display ads. These tools allow you to automatically update your campaigns with localized promotions and messaging.
This resonates with fans and capitalizes on national excitement and match day anticipation, helping to drive your campaigns within your target market.
7. DO: Be dynamic in managing your marketing campaign
During the last EUROs, we have seen significant fluctuations in acquisition costs at various stages of the competition. These fluctuations were strongly correlated with the advancement of the respective local teams.
Specifically, FTD’s CPA during knockout stage game days was 25% lower than during the previous 11 months. Additionally, the day before the end of FTD, CPAs were 53% lower. This means new customers are acquired for less and campaign spend is maximized.
The dynamic nature of major football tournaments requires you to be agile in managing your campaigns. Therefore, it is essential to react to developments on and off the field.
Recommendation: Adapt your ad spend and campaign structure based on real-time analytics. This way, you won’t miss dynamic market developments.
Conclusion
By following these recommendations, you can supercharge tournament campaigns beyond just tweaked visuals and text, putting yourself in a position to expand your sports betting.
Finally, at Sportradar ad:s, advanced data analytics are combined with proprietary, industry-specific marketing tools. As such, it helps you navigate the complexities of betting marketing for the world’s biggest and most popular sporting events.
Plus, it provides everything you need to achieve unparalleled acquisition success. Therefore, it is hoped to make this year’s Euros and Copa América not just a celebration of football, but also a celebration of smart and effective marketing victories.
