YouGov: Which digital content formats do British gamblers notice?

Millions of people worldwide now spend time browsing through digital content. For businesses, digital platforms have enabled an easier route to reach a targeted audience and retain them. With placing bets now available on digital platforms, it’s not surprising that gamblers too come across multiple types of digital content every day. But which ones are they likely to notice?

In this piece, we take a look at digital content formats that grab the attention of British consumers who have taken part in some form of gambling in the last 12 months.

Data from YouGov Profiles, an audience intelligence tool, shows that digital content in the form of images is most likely to be noticed by gamblers, as one in five of this audience say so (21%), next to 19% of the general British population. Zoning into this group on a demographic level indicates that behaviour is highest among younger gamblers in the country – with more than a quarter of 18-24-year-olds telling us that images are most likely to grab their attention (18-24: 26%; 25-39: 25%; 40-54: 22%; 55+: 12%). This insight tells us that for gambling firms communicating with young Brits who gamble will be easier and most effective through images.

British gamblers are divided when it comes to noticing short-form videos and quizzes (14% versus 14%). It’s also worth noting that interest in both these forms of digital content is most pervasive among gamblers aged 25-39 than any other age group.

The gender split, however, shows marked differences. The data reveals that while short-form videos are popular among men than women (15% versus 12%), on the flipside, it’s women who are more likely to notice quizzes and polls than men (15% versus 13%).

Attention-grabbing

About one in eight of the country’s gamblers are as likely to pay attention to how-to guides as they are to gifs and memes (12 versus 12%). Drilling deeper into the data based on income shows that each of these content types are most successful at grabbing the attention of high-earning British gamblers.

Gamblers’ attention towards digital content formats like interactive landing pages or social games (9%), comics (9%) and articles (9%) are evenly distributed. But key differences arise when digging deep into this data on a demographic level.

Young gambling Brits aged 18-24, for instance, are the most likely age group to say they notice interactive content like social games or landing pages. Comics and cartoons are popular among two age groups: 25-39-year-olds and 40-54-year-olds (18-24: 7%; 25-39: 10%; 40-54: 10%; 55+: 7%). Articles are most likely to catch the attention of older gambling Brits (18-24: 6%; 25-39: 8%; 40-54: 9%; 55+: 10%). The gender analysis shows that men are more likely to notice each of these content types than women.

Gambling Brits are roughly as likely as the general population to say e-newsletters grab their attention (8% versus 7%). It’s the same story when considering interviews (8% versus 7%) and infographics (8% versus 8%).

A marginal proportion of gamblers in the country tell us they are likely to notice white papers (4%), checklists (4%) and presentations (4%). It’s worth noting that for each of these digital content formats, it’s the older audience who are more likely to pay attention than their younger age cohorts.

Long-form videos (3%), blogs (3%) and content on digital tools (3%) are least likely to catch the attention of gambling Brits.

Having worked for YouGov for over a decade, Oliver Rowe has advised companies including Tesco and Barclays on their reputation management. He now brings that experience to a sector which includes the betting and gaming industry in his role as global sector head for leisure and entertainment.