"FIVE reasons you need an agency that understands betting & gaming" by Genius Sports

If you’re trying to engage, acquire and retain customers across the betting and gaming ecosystem, working with an agency with genuine sector expertise provides a number of major advantages.  

This audience behaves differently and coverts differently meaning spend needs to be carefully managed across both display and social. 

Here are five benefits of working with an agency that’s laser focused on betting and gaming media buying. 

1. They’ll convert more players 

Sportsbook and casino engagement is unique in every region, from average stake size and deposit value to the type of content and markets players bet on. 

To get the best CPAs and most conversions, you need to understand these nuances – and this only comes when you have hundreds of campaigns to analyse. During Super Bowl LVI week for example, a regional focus helped us convert new players every 24 seconds for our North American sportsbook clients. 

2. They’ll have the right data  

As an operator, the types of data feeds you need to power your campaigns is different to other e-commerce brands. Odds, sports statistics, jackpots and bonuses are key. And in terms of CRM, deposit value, lifetime value (LTV) and spending history are important.  

One of the most effective tactics when running programmatic campaigns as a sportsbook, for example, is using kick-off times and betting turnover to drive bidding and ad spend. Meanwhile, embedding team kits, live odds and jackpot feeds into your creative is a proven (A/B tested) way to grow CTR. 

3. They’ll know how to pace your spend 

For sportsbooks, pacing ad spend around the sporting calendar is vital. Did you know, starting with programmatic video to build awareness early in the gameweek before moving to display to drive sign-ups in the final 48 hours before kick-off is a great way to cut sportsbook CPAs?  

That’s one of the many lessons we’ve learned in the last 15 years. And it’s one of the many iGaming tactics we use to optimise spend. For Wildz Casino, we massively beat targets while for Betway, we increased click-to-install rates by 186%. 

4. They’ll use the most effective inventory 

“Right place, right time” is a common message in digital marketing – but to actually make it happen, you need to identify the right inventory and have the right audience data (not just third-party cookies). 

An agency or DSP that specialises in betting and gaming will have access to exclusive wall-gardened inventory to weight display, video, audio and CTV spend towards, as well as first-party audience data for prospecting and targeting.  

5. They know your campaign goals… and how to hit them 

One of the biggest pain points when speaking to a new agency is getting them to understand your business, products and campaign goals. 

So far in 2022, Genius Sports has managed over 800 programmatic, social, connected TV and search campaigns for sportsbook and casino operators, providing a Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) service to almost half.  

We’ve also built dozens of gamification products, including BetVictor’s Pick Six.  

This gives us the know-how to onboard new clients and plan campaigns in just weeks, and thousands of learnings to drive acquisition and LTV right away.