Unibet plots Australia marketing push
Operator preps brand-building exercise after teaming-up with local marketing outfit Leo Burnett Sydney
Unibet is planning to ramp-up its marketing activity in the competitive Australian online market after signing a deal with local advertising agency Leo Burnett Sydney.
The deal was announced following a competitive tender process with Unibet keen to find a partner that could help it stand out in the “very mature” Australian market.
Patrik Andersson, Unibet Australia general manager, said he expected the selection of Leo Burnett would bring the Unibet brand to life and “really make an impact in the market”.
“The Australian betting market is very mature and it was very important to find a partner that would help us differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” Andersson said.
Unibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström recently described the Australian division as having been in “hibernation” since the acquisition but that plans were underway to migrate the business onto the Unibet platform in the coming months.
And in a recent interview with eGaming Review, Tjärnström said the company had worked hard in driving down the historically high CPAs in the country and would attempt to increase visibility of the brand ahead of this summer’s football World Cup.
The Swedish operator first entered the Australian market in 2012 after paying an initial fee of around £14m for bookmaker Betchoice, but has since become increasingly marginalised as rival operators have snapped up market share through a variety of acquisitions.
In its recent Q1 results, Unibet’s sports betting gross win revenues from ‘other’ markets “ those outside of the Nordics and the rest of Europe “ had fallen by 59% to £824,000.
The news of Unibet’s Australia push comes just days after rival firm William Hill announced it had parted company with its Australia head Michael Sullivan.
The operator’s group director of operations James Henderson has taken temporary charge while it recruits for a new Australia CEO.