NEWS > ANALYSIS
product differentiation and are taking players away
from less innovative competitors.”
“Little in the way of product development has been
offered that engages customers [who] are staying
away and spending less because they have already
experienced what online bingo has to offer,” he adds.
Spend big, win big
A strong focus on product development is no doubt
crucial but what also seems important for customer
attraction and retention is a high advertising spend
and pursuing a unique marketing strategy. The larger
operators often have the luxury of larger budgets for
advertising and marketing which enables them to
gain a bigger market share through TV sponsorship,
daytime advertising and online marketing.
According to a report by data company Nielsen,
bingo operators’ spend on TV advertising in the UK
is expected to double over the next three years – and
those spending the most are unsurprisingly at the
top of the bingo pyramid. Tombola was the biggest
spending brand between January and April this
year with an outlay of £2.9m, closely followed by
Gamesys (£2.3m) and Cashcade brand Foxy Bingo
(also £2.3m).
And newer market entrants seem to have taken
stock of this after launching relatively large-scale
advertising campaigns in recent months. For
example, Showreel Bingo announced it was to
“A SUCCESSFUL BRAND NEEDS A MARKETING
BUDGET TO BE HEARD IN THE CROWD AS WELL
AS NEW INNOVATIVE SOURCES OF TRAFFIC”
Simon Collins, Gaming Realms founder and Cashcade co-founder
launch its first television advertising campaign and
the operator said it expects see “thousands of new
registrations” as a result of the adverts with plans
for a heightened marketing campaign in 2014.
Iceland Bingo recently launched its first television
campaign on digital TV in the UK, almost one year
since the supermarket chain entered the gaming
market.
One of the biggest launches this year with a strong
advertising budget behind it was Bingo Godz. Parent
company Gaming Realms told eGR following the
launch in August that it would be “spending pretty
aggressively” through a seven-figure sum on a TV
advertising campaign for its new flagship brand.
However, Gaming Realms founder and Cashcade
co-founder Simon Collins explains that in addition
to a high budget, more is also needed. “A successful
brand needs a marketing budget to be heard in the
crowd as well as new innovative sources of traffic
and analytical systems,” he says. “Both of those
work but better and more efficient marketing in
new areas [is also needed].”
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