Influencers: "Between Effectiveness and Responsibility in the Gaming Industry".

Brazilian operators increasingly recognise the power of celebrity and influencer marketing, with its compelling ability to cultivate engagement and build communities overnight, but ethical concerns are growing.

Now that a bill has been introduced to ban digital influencers from promoting gambling, is proper regulation needed?

This panel aims to understand the world of influencer marketing, from its strengths to its weaknesses. To explore best practices for operators while ensuring the protection of their vulnerable young players.

The panellists were:

Renan Philip: CEO at 3C Games

Luiz Felippe Correia de Almeida: CEO at Smart Social Brazil

Luis Gonçalves: National Manager Brazil Rivalry

Alessandro Valente: Co-Founder, Super Afiliados

Moderator: Leonardo Benites: COO at Propane

Leandro Benites, COO at Propane, was the moderator, and addressed the issue, starting the debate with the following question: How do you see the effectiveness of influencers? What are the KPIs of your POT when you hire someone?

Luiz "Chico" Felippe opened the debate, and to answer the question, he highlighted the fact that smaller influencers often have higher conversion rates than larger ones, and stressed the importance of working closely with influencers to maximise results within a very competitive market: "It's about understanding what the audience really wants, from the operator and from the influencer's point of view. So it's about being able to identify the influencers as they are; to work in tandem with them, to understand their needs, how to talk to their audience, how they talk to their audience." He added: "It's also about innovation. We are in a very competitive market. Innovation is everything in terms of content creation."

The conversation also addressed the need to look beyond the short term in influencer marketing strategies. The importance of establishing long-term relationships with influencers and developing your own projects rather than relying solely on individual publications was highlighted.

Alessandro, recognised as an industry titan, shared his perspective on the current influencer marketing landscape in Brazil. He emphasised the importance of adopting a more sophisticated and performance-focused strategy, although he acknowledged that many companies are still stuck in more traditional approaches.

He highlighted that smaller influencers often have higher conversion rates than larger ones, underlining the importance of understanding audience needs and working closely with influencers to maximise results. However, he clarified that it's not all about conversion: "You can test if people are going to click on the link, if they have views, but not necessarily a conversion. So, the agency's job is to analyse those who are relevant so that the brand can choose who to work with in the long term".

As for the last question addressed specifically to Renan Philip about which is the best investment platform for influencer marketing, Renan sees YouTube as a top choice, especially given its ability to produce high quality content and its certification compared to other platforms such as Twitch.

In summary, the panel highlighted the need to find a balance between effectiveness and accountability in influencer marketing in the Brazilian gaming industry, recognising that it is still a very immature market, while highlighting the importance of adopting more sophisticated and long-term strategies to maximise results.