MNI Blog  /  4 minute read

Sportsbook Marketing Strategies You Should Know

A critical step when crafting effective sportsbook marketing strategies is the identification and segmenting of target audiences. Learn more with MNI.

Sportsbook Marketing Strategies to Increase Engagement and Drive ROI

The World Cup is decided, and saw impressive betting on the outcome of individual games and the final. According to Fortune, Americans will have placed $188 billion in bets on the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As sports betting expands and new states legalize, more operators are wagering. Some project that by 2025, the total wagered on US Sports Betting will be $198 billion. Small wonder the competition among sportsbooks is fierce. Operators are upping their game with their marketing efforts.

Over $1.5 billion mobile bets have been placed this year in New York state alone, per the New York Gaming Commission. Companies like Disney are looking into integrating sports betting features, and industry leader FanDuel continues to expand its offerings. FanDuel CEO Mike Raffensperger recently said that FanDuel TV is looking into acquiring “under-loved” sports and airing them alongside betting capabilities, signaling an intent to bring betting to as many sports as possible.

Pickleball Betting, Coming Soon

Pickleball mania is real—not even close to be an under-loved sport. To build on its popularity, a deal was recently struck to pave the way for wagering on the world’s fastest growing sport—joining tennis and ping-pong among sports that people can legally bet on.

 

Where and what fans decide to wager on is anyone’s guess. It can be whim or passion and the tipping point for some may be decided by the value of a welcome bonus and for others, the gambling experience but, that’s not what we’re covering here. This space is to topline winning strategies to drive a bigger audience to sportsbooks and increase ROI. To learn more industry jargon, please read Sports Betting Terminology 101.

Understanding Key Gaming Segments and Personas

The key to any successful marketing or branding campaign starts with understanding your audience. These personas can have a great impact on your strategy. The goal is to craft messaging people will respond to. For instance, if you’re targeting a younger demo establishing a presence in the metaverse may makes sense versus an email to an older cohort. Keeping the target audience in mind influences everything from creative to messaging. Below are three personas worth considering.

Avid Gamblers

Matched Persona: Super Fans
Audience defined as males, ages 21-39, HHI $75,000+, are active casino goers making 2+ trips a year, gamble online, and are sports super fans.

Media usage highlights:

  • 97% are internet users, spending an average of 38 hours per week online.
  • They are heavy mobile users with 86% actively using apps daily.
  • 93% are social users, with 78% using Facebook and 36 % using Twitter.
  • 99% use streaming video platforms, while 59% use streaming audio.


Bonus Insight: Magazine Habits

45% say they are heavy magazine readers, reading an average of four publications per month. They turn to them to stay up to date with the latest trends and favor titles like Sports Illustrated and Men’s Health. Reaching this audience with custom content that magazine cover wraps offer or even carefully placed ads in local markets will get their attention.

 

Casual Gamblers

Matched Persona: Action Chasers and Status Seekers
Audience defined as males, ages 21-49, HHI $30k–$75k, are average sports fans, and have visited a casino or gambled online at least once in the past year.

 Media usage highlights:

  • 97% are internet users, spending an average of 31 hours per week online.
  • They are moderate mobile users with 61% actively using apps daily.
  • 89% are social users, with 81% using Facebook, and 23% using Twitter.
  • 62% use streaming video platforms, while 50% use streaming audio.


Bonus Insight: CTV/OTT

62% of this audience uses streaming video services. Their favorite services are YouTube (60%), Netflix (53%), Prime Video (34%), and Hulu (37%). Their favorite types of programs to watch are college basketball specials, NBA, Football Pro Pregame Shows, hockey, college basketball, and baseball. This audience is primed for targeted video units through CTV/OTT marketing campaigns.

 

Special Event Gamblers

Matched Persona: Casual Dabbler
Audience defined as males, ages 21-49, who have gambled either one or two times in person or online in the past year.

 Media usage highlights:

  • 95% are internet users, spending an average of 29 hours per week online.
  • They are average mobile users with 64% actively using apps daily.
  • 87% are social users, with 64% using Facebook and 23% use Twitter.
  • 78% use streaming video platforms, while 49% use streaming audio.


Bonus Insight: Mobile

Special event gamers are never far from their phones. They use devices to stay up to date with current events. They love to watch live TV on their mobile devices (154), search for sports info (150), and listen to podcasts (121). Digital audio ads are the go-to tactic for this audience segment. Source: GfK MRI, Fall 2020.

 

Where nothing is a sure bet, odds are that the sports betting category will continue to grow. To be a player, it's worth investing time to learn about audience preferences and propriety solutions to connect with them.


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About the Author
@Janine Pollack is the Integrated Marketing Director, and self-appointed Storyteller in Chief at MNI Targeted Media. She leads the brand’s commitment to generating content that informs and inspires. Her scope of work includes strategy and development for Fortune Knowledge Group’s thought leadership programs and launching Fortune’s The Most Powerful Woman podcast. She is proud to have partnered with The Hebrew University on the inaugural Nexus: Israel program, featuring worldwide luminaries. Janine has also written lifetime achievements for Sports Business Journal. She earned her masters from the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and B.A. from The American University in Washington D.C.