SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Looking forward to a new European football season, FTSE-listed William Hill is preparing to undertake a significant marketing outlay in order to entice customers back to its digital sports betting products.
Presenting to investors, William Hill’s strategy update, new Chief Executive Philip Bowcock detailed that the bookmaker was planning dynamic marketing campaigns, focusing on customer engagement through its social media channels of Facebook and Twitter.
As new William Hill leader, Bowcock has been pleased with the firm’s digital turnaround, a key corporate goal for 2017. The CEO points to improved online performance metrics which saw William Hill Digital report +13% sports wagering increase despite competing against a tough 2016 comparative period featuring UEFA Euro 2016 championships.
Having secured group wide cost savings of circa £40 million, Bowcock detailed that William Hill governance would plough half of the money into a marketing drive focusing on continuing the firm’s digital momentum.
The CEO detailed to investors, the firm’s effective #YourOdds social media initiative, where customers could ask William Hill trading teams for specific odds on sporting events. Bowcock detailed that #YourOdds campaign generated £2 million in wagers since its launch at the beginning of 2017.
Furthermore, Bowcock has been impressed with William Hill marketing, which has shown good returns on its sponsorship and branding activity. Although new to the industry Bowcock believes that marketing can be a key differential and business strength for William Hill within the saturated UK betting market.
