SBC EIG Interview – James Bennett Square In The Air

jamesbThis week SBC catches up with James Bennett Director at Square in the Air, a specialist gaming PR and communications Agency, to discuss marketing trends and communication strategies in igaming.

James Bennett has 13 years’ experience as a senior business journalist across print and online in the UK and the UAE, where he helped set up and launch The National, the area’s first English speaking daily paper. He joined Square in the Air in June 2013 after three years as editor and head of content at eGaming Review, developing a reputation as an expert in the egaming industry

SBC: James great to meet you, can you give our readers more insight into Square In The Air PR and the services it offers gaming clients?

James:  Thanks, Square in the Air has been in existence since 2006. It was founded by Bill Esdaile, former head of marketing at Sporting Index who grew tired of working with agencies that did not have the experience or knowledge of the gaming and betting industry. Seven years later we have 21 retained clients including Sporting Index and their B2B division Sporting Solutions, the Racing Post, IGT, Net Entertainment, GTECH, Income Access, Realistic Games, BetOnSoft, Totelfootball, Gloucester Rugby Club, Racecourse Newbury and the Professional Cricketers’ Association to name just a few.

Our services cover four key strands including PR, content, marketing and branding. PR and content is our main focus, we try to deliver our clients the best coverage  for the services they offer and we also look to deliver media communications on any scale from creation to evaluation.

In terms of marketing our team are specialists in field marketing and branding we look to provide reactive, thought provoking and engaging marketing campaigns that aid our clients online acquisition channels  and promotional content. Our team aims to help clients get as much coverage as possible. Here are some examples of campaigns we have run – http://squareintheair.com/portfolio/

SBC: You are chairing at EIG Barcelona, what issues do you think will dominate the expo floor, what have the interim results published by gaming operators told us about the current state of gaming?

James: I’ll be chairing the morning sessions of day two in the iGaming Arena. As you can tell from the agenda and the session’s I’ll be chairing the hot topics this year revolve around some of the main conference themes of innovation and inspiration. People in the industry often complain there has been little innovation and that there is little differentiation in product offerings, however you could argue that the explosion of both social gaming on a global level and mobile gaming and betting largely in regulated markets counters those claims. Aside from people discussing the products and channels of the moment regulation is bound to rear its ugly head as always but it’s a necessary evil in some ways with an increasing number of countries looking to open their doors to some or all forms of gaming but within differing taxation and regulatory frameworks which makes operators lives even harder. Despite the European Commission’s efforts to discuss further harmonization in the space I can see this fragmented, patchwork quilt of regulation continuing to spread across Europe.

In terms of the financial results we’ve seen reported in the last month the majority of listed operators appear to have had a tough time in the last year to six months with excuses either due to a lean summer of sport, a warmer than average summer putting people off staying indoors or going to betting shops and parting with their hard earned cash or simply due to the fragile economic climate. Others, such as Betfair, bwin.party and Ladbrokes for example are going through more strategic struggles. After either shutting down or shifting their focus away from grey markets both Betfair and bwin.party reported poor sets of numbers, with the latter in particular seeing a decline of 16% in first half revenues and a 34% drop in EBITDA as a result of a combination of tough regulation in countries such as Germany and ongoing pains from its merger two years ago. Ladbrokes, on the other hand has simply taken far too long to react to the changes in the igaming market and seen online revenues slump as a result. In my view its deal with Playtech could well be the last throw of the dice for its CEO to turn around its online fortunes.

SBC: Operators are being pushed to deliver products via multiple channels (digital, mobile, social, partnership). Do more communication/engagement channels mean that igaming companies are losing control over their customers?

James: I wouldn’t say so, they are simply appealing to and acquiring a new generation of customers via social in particular and potentially also cross selling and extending their offerings to existing players. For example, if a sports bettor is a regular online punter and he sees an offer to bet on mobile he may well start betting via both channels, extending his lifetime value and loyalty to the brand.

SBC: igaming sees many products repackaged due to operators using network technologies to provide gaming content, this has led to standardized products being seen in the market, what should operators do to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack?

James: Tough question, especially as you rightly say a large number of operators use the same technology, platforms and games. It’s all in the marketing, offers, PR, brand strength, customer service and customer journey for me, particularly when it comes to sports betting. Compare a brand such as Paddy Power with William Hill, which both run on the same OpenBet back-end platforms and from a technology point of view there is arguably little difference between the two, but look at  the types of punters they attract, the services they offer and the image they portray and they are much further apart.

SBC: At the forthcoming EIG Expo there is a strong focus on start-ups. From a PR and Marketing perspective what advice would you give them when tackling igaming?

I would advise the following: In partnership with an agency such as Square in the Air, set your objectives and aims early on, carefully craft your communications until you’re 100% happy that you’re going out with the right message(s), to the right audience and across the correct channels, and ensure that after a three month trial period, for example, you’re getting the right bang for your buck when it comes to PR.

SBC: From your perspective which gaming marketing campaigns have been the most creative and captured public interest best?

James: I’m a huge fan of Paddy Power, as are more than one million people on Facebook it seems hence their latest ‘first bet from Space’ social media campaign. They’re lightening quick when it comes to reacting to topical issues such as the horse meat scandal earlier this year. Twenty-four hours after that broke they were parading a horsemeat burger van around Dublin offering food and promoting the brand.

Most recently was the Denis Rodman #basketballdiplomacy campaign with the former NBA star travelling to North Korea and meeting its leader in order to arrange a basketball game in the most closed-off country in the world. Whether it’s marketing, mischief or PR they seem to hit the nail on the head virtually every time. Agencies have an open brief to come up with mischievous ideas for next year’s World Cup and we’re already hatching a few thoughts as we speak.

 

SBC: How do you gauge the coming years for gaming companies in terms of PR and branding – what challenges will operators face?

James: That’s the toughest question of the lot. Thanks for saving until the end! I think the same challenges will present themselves. These include standing out in a very crowded marketplace particularly in the UK, be it sports, casino or bingo. Poker is dominated by two brands both owned by the same company and I can’t see that changing. If anything I think PokerStars will continue to snuff out the competition in every regulated market.

For new brands and their PR agencies it’s about finding creative ways of introducing and building awareness in the media and the public, while for existing brands it’s about staying ahead of the competition and maintaining that leading position. Marketing and PR is more important than ever in an increasingly regulated, crowded and competitive marketplace.

James Bennett – Director at Square in the Air

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