The sound of success

The 2017-18 football season is now underway, and bookmakers large and small are going for goal in what looks set to be a tough season ahead. With more bets now being placed on mobile than desktop, and with in-play wagers dominating the market, live coverage is vital for operators and marketers seeking to attract, retain and engage punters in what is a fiercely competitive space.

Recent figures claim 80% of all sports betting revenues now come from in-play, which means operators must ensure they offer punters content that informs and entertains, but also facilitates regular and rapid wagering. In that regard, quality of content is key; it must be delivered across all media touch points – written, audio and visual – and add significant value to the user.

Most bookmakers have so far embraced written content, populating their sites with up-to-date news and preview material, but very few have taken this to the next level with real-time audio and visual content. This means they are missing out on the chance to keep players engaged with their brands for longer, as well as feeding them additional betting opportunities.

Catalysts for engagement

While written content has its upsides, audio and visual are the real catalysts for player engagement; they boost the amount of time customers spend on a bookmaker’s site and really drive loyalty. Such content comes in the form of audio commentary on individual games or radio broadcasts offering enhanced score updates and highlights from all matches taking place.

When it comes to visual, it can be live score updates presented in a similar studio format as Gillette Soccer Saturday, or automated video alerts delivered to mobile devices and desktop computers whenever a goal is scored or a significant event happens during the game. It can also include preview shows, where pundits discuss who will come out on top.

But to really increase betting volume, audio works best in our experience. Live game footage tends to distract punters, immersing them in the action taking place on the field rather than the dynamic markets and odds operators are trying to draw them to. Audio, on the other hand, reinforces betting opportunities and keeps punters’ visual receptors free to monitor ever-changing in-play markets.

Take audio commentary, for example. A punter can be sat at home listening to a match that is not being televised, with the pundits talking them through the ebb and flow of the game. At the same time, they can also be fed the latest odds and markets, prompting them to place a bet. For example: “Diego Costa hits the woodwork for the third time in two minutes as Chelsea hound Man City’s defence. Costa is currently 4/1 to score in the first half”.

Driving engagement and loyalty

Bookmakers who provide full match commentary and radio highlights are able to maintain an open connection with their customers for longer. It ensures they don’t go to rival betting sites offering audio content, or other news publishers who have affiliate relationships and links with bookmakers, such as Sky Bet and Gillette Soccer Saturday or The Sun and Sun Bets.

Perhaps the best thing about audio content is that it is ideally suited to mobile, the weapon of choice for most in-play bettors. It is also the perfect platform from which to continue engaging with punters even if they are not actively betting or monitoring odds – they can listen to audio broadcasts while driving to work or while doing household chores.

Once at their destination or having completed their tasks, they can return to wagering – without having to break the link with the bookmaker. What’s more, radio stations and commentary can be designed and branded to suit individual bookmakers, allowing them to offer a bespoke broadcast to players. They are simple to install, and are usually offered as a pop-up radio player accessed via a URL.

Of course, packing all three types of content – written, audio and visual – into an operator’s arsenal provides the most powerful weapon for marketers to use to engage players. But that alone is not enough to ensure bookmakers stand out from their rivals and get their hands on the trophy come the end of the 2017/2018 season. To do that, they will have to tailor content to individual markets.

Bespoke broadcasting

That’s because bookmakers are now truly global – as is the audience for the Premier League and Championship. In fact, of the 2.7 billion people who watched the Premier League last year, 37% were from Asia alone. As such, bookmakers must tailor all content to be market-specific to the jurisdictions in which they operate, both in terms of subject and the language in which it is written/broadcast.

That means understanding which sports are big in which countries – football dominates in the UK, but it is ice hockey that grabs the headlines in Sweden – and ensuring content is written and broadcast in the native tongue of each.
At ICS, for example, we offer written, audio and visual content across all sports and in all major languages – English, French, German, Spanish, etc – plus some more obscure ones such as Urdu, Yoruba and four Kurdish dialects. We tailor content to each, considering cultural quirks and idioms.

Audio and visual content is a great way for smaller bookmakers to claw market share back from the power players. It allows them to offer more value, and to keep bettors engaged and informed in-between placing bets. In addition, broadcasts can be hooked up to social media, allowing marketers to generate additional brand equity as posts and shares go viral.

In short, it is important for bookmakers to understand their function now goes beyond being a facilitator of betting activity. To succeed in this day and age, they must also be publishers and broadcasters, pundits and experts in football, rugby, cricket, golf, motorsport, tennis and all of the other major – and minor – sporting activities and leagues from around the world.

Punters now expect to be entertained and informed by bookmakers – both large and small – and to be able to engage with their brand across all channels and media. Those that understand this and embrace their ever-broadening role will undoubtedly be in the title race come the end of the season. But those who don’t risk being relegated to the lower leagues.

Warren Ashurst is broadcast manager and English content editor at ICS, having worked for the company for the last 13 years. Before joining ICS, he spent 10 years at a national media company, as well as several radio groups as a sports reporter and commentator.