SBC News Income Access Traffic Optimisation (TO) Gaming Ad-Server

Income Access Traffic Optimisation (TO) Gaming Ad-Server

Allan Petrilli, Senior Affiliate Manager, Income Access, gives an exclusive insight into the benefits that its new sophisticated software will offer the gaming industry, particularly with this summer’s football World Cup

allenpetrilliRecent research suggests that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years. Our increasingly 24/7, tech-dependent lives generate and consume more data now than ever before, be it information generated and disseminated on social media, uploaded photo and video content, ecommerce and banking or mobile phone GPS signals.

Gaming companies, however, despite generating vast quantities of player data every second of everyday, have been slow to exploit the power of data and the impact analytics can have on the profitability of their operations.

From improving and tailoring marketing campaigns to specific individuals and giving operators a single customer view across multiple verticals and channels, analytics is rapidly becoming an invaluable tool in a bid to drive more profit and gain an edge on the competition.

Analytics also allow operators to view, at the click of an icon, what is working, what isn’t and why – instantly enabling them to make decisions around those numbers.

Acquisition Managers arguably always have, and continue to use data effectively more than other aspect of a gaming business. Examine any acquisition manager’s job description and the overriding theme is analysis, often focusing on the management and analysis of creative assets across all products and multiple regulated territories. Other requirements include measurement of performance plans towards meeting daily targets within set budgets and analysis of affiliate performance and affiliate profitability alongside PPC, display and social media performance.

It’s far from a simple task but it could well become simpler with the emergence of new technology.


Greater Control Over Your Online Ads

After an exhaustive year-long period of research and development Income Access has been busy developing sophisticated ad-serving software that gives operators greater control over their online ads. Six months away from the Brazil 2014 World Cup – arguably the biggest betting event and sportsbook operator revenue generating opportunity of the decade – Income Access is now ready to deliver Traffic Optimisation (TO) to the industry.

From first exposure to conversion and through targeted and optimised ads, the bolt-on software allows operators access to and a clear display of individual players’ commission routes, which can then be associated with deposit data. This gives operators and their marketing teams invaluable insight into the most profitable acquisition and retention strategies and channels.

Being able to track a player’s journey and view the channels and campaigns that influenced the ultimate call to action, while also being able to view player lifetime activity via one platform, allows operators to optimise campaigns, manage budgets efficiently and calculate immediate return on investment (ROI) – all areas that are invaluable in an increasingly competitive landscape.

And with the biggest betting event of the year, if not the decade, fast approaching the opportunity for operators to effectively target ads in the run up to and during the tournament is huge.

Traffic Optimisation can be tailored to any operator needs, including pre-tournament betting where campaigns can be geared towards particular World Cup groups and country-specific affiliates can promote in their regions. There is also the potential to create campaigns for each round or even individual matches during the competition, with the option of setting them for predetermined times during the day as well as for a fixed time periods.

Many large sportsbooks will also be implementing a combination of offline and online advertising. Traffic Optimisation allows them to determine attribution and what paths convert the best, as well as control ads based on browser and device. This, in turn, allows brands to further optimise campaigns and messaging for future large sporting events.

Sportsbooks can also determine when and to who they show specific ads, allowing, for example, brands to promote heavily in the UK in the hours leading up to an England match, while also using the same campaign to promote in other territories. A similar strategy can be applied to offers that brands are looking to test in different regions or times. All this activity can be set up in advance, saving operators valuable time.


Full Campaign Clarity

TO recently launched in response to demand from existing Income Access clients for a pared down alternative to more robust ad-serving tools. Fully compatible with Income Access’ award-winning platform, TO enables companies to use optimisation features to perfect advertising campaigns and use advanced tools to create and manage ad campaigns. Further benefits include the ability to target players through greater campaign strategy variable control including geo-targeting to a city level, players’ browsing settings, time-of-day and ads’ effectiveness.

From the initial view of an advertising banner or adword campaign to the first deposit, a player’s complete journey can be tracked and reported. As a result, operators gain a complete picture of the player journey, from first exposure to conversion and ultimately to the operator’s return on their marketing investment, allowing them to measure and evaluate the profitability of each acquisition channel.

In combination with the enhanced tracking of TO, a Conversions Report graphically displays the full channel path a player takes to conversion. Operators are able to assign a channel to each of their tracking profiles and marketing materials. Each time a player interacts with a marketing material, it is tracked and the assigned channel is credited for its role in the conversion pathway.

Each unique channel path is then displayed in the report with data on impressions, clicks, conversions and sales. This allows operators to measure contribution of channels that appear in multiple paths but may not always be the converting channel. This can then be analysed to identify key links in player paths to conversion and therefore key channels in an overall acquisition strategy.

Transparency is imperative to an integrated marketing approach. Companies need access to traffic information and an understanding of the subsequent ROI from that traffic. TO delivers this in one convenient system by reporting on the revenue associated to the traffic flowing through each channel.

In an industry as competitive as gaming, executives are increasingly putting pressure on marketing teams to cut costs. Having in place a central interface for ad serving and instant ROI reporting gives any operator maximum transparency and peace of mind when evaluating marketing spend.

Income Access TO: Key Product  Benefits:

  • Greater insight and control of your online ads
  • A superior, streamlined creative process
  • A simple and convenient interface
  • Acts as micro ad-serving tool that clearly displays a player’s commission route and gives insight into the most profitable acquisition and retention strategies
  • Easily create and optimise ads directly from inside the system to be displayed based on location, advert popularity and even time of day
  • Greater admin control to choose where, when and how creatives are displayed
  • Acquire ROI stats with regards to timing, frequency, location and specific ad
  • Upload marketing material en masse and identify which are most active and have higher conversion rates
  • The capacity for affiliates and operators to design, share and collaborate on materials together

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