Betsafe takes "quirky" approach to UK push
Betsson sportsbook launches rugby-themed urinal game across UK bars and pubs as it looks stand out in new market
Betsafe has continued its push into the UK market with the introduction of an interactive, rugby-themed urinal game as it looks to “stand out from the noise” created by competitors’ marketing material.
The campaign, which has been rolled out across 75 pubs and bars, has been launched to coincide with the Rugby World Cup and is accompanied by an online advert featuring former England international Kyran Bracken.
The ad sees the veteran scrum-half demonstrate the Betsafe-branded game where through the use of sensors in the urinal users must use the direction and strength of their stream to carry a ball-carrying player over the try line.
Betsafe, which is owned by Betsson, is a relative newcomer to the UK and Neill Simpson, Betsson Group local brand manager for UK and Canada, said the operator had decided to take a different approach to building the brand in the market.
“We wanted something a little bit quirky, a little bit different, to stand out from all the noise around the Rugby World Cup,” Simpson said.
He added that while the campaign had so far been well received and achieved its goal of gaining exposure, he acknowledged it was too early to tell whether the campaign would translate into new customers or increased gaming activity.
“It has created a lot of conversation around the pubs,” Simpson said. “There’s been a lot of exposure around the campaign, but it was seen as more of a branding exercise than as a method of actually achieving additional cut-through,” he added.
The novel approach to marketing comes weeks after Betsafe launched its Europe-wide ‘no bullshit betting‘ campaign, which looked to present an honest message to customers by acknowledging that in the end “the house always wins”.
“It is still very early days for us in the UK, so it is difficult to get conclusive feedback on the no bullshit campaign’s success,” said Simpson. “But from a public relation angle, it has been very well received.”
Simpson said Betsafe had yet to fully begin targeted marketing approaches with the campaign but would start to ramp-up its marketing activity before next summer.
“For us, 2015 has been about establishing best practice,” Simpson said. “We will likely look to roll it out ahead of the Euro 2016.”