BOOSTING TARGETED ACQUISITION THROUGH AN INTEGRATED ONLINE STRATEGY

Transcription

1 BOOSTING TARGETED ACQUISITION THROUGH AN INTEGRATED ONLINE STRATEGY Presented By: Deanna Dobson Manager of Client Relations Marketing & Content Services Income Access June 19 th, 2013

2 THE CANADIAN GAMING LANDSCAPE Canada s gaming industry is the largest single component of the country s entertainment industry The industry directly employs more than 135,000 Canadians $2 billion in annual salaries $10 billion in current capital construction.

3 THE CANADIAN GAMING LANDSCAPE Lottery, Casino Gaming, Horseracing, Slots at Racetracks, Video Lottery, and Charitable Operated in a highly regulated environment by First Nations, Crown agencies (lotteries) and partners All gaming is controlled by provincial lotteries

4 WHAT DOES GAMING IN CANADA LOOK LIKE? Land based properties Racetracks and casinos Online gaming websites (real money and free play) Run by provincial Governments Offshore accepting Canadian players Rogue from within Canada Social gaming Through traditional social platforms Social destination sites

5 STAGES IN YOUR ACQUISITION STRATEGY Step 1: Internal Assets Marketing to existing customers to increase land-based property traffic and retail sales through: o On-site property marketing o Database marketing Step 2: External Acquisition Via external digital marketing acquisition channels Balanced approach combining short and long term acquisition tactics

6 WHY IS DIGITAL MARKETING IMPORTANT? Differentiation and brand identity is essential Expanding your reach Converting non-gamblers through education and awareness Increasing the profitability of existing customers Increasing brand touch points and accessibility Collecting customer feedback

7 WHY IS DIGITAL MARKETING IMPORTANT? Identifying where best to spend marketing budget Strategy, branding and messaging should be integrated across channels Casino gaming is a social experience Industry thrives on relationships o Build relationships by seeking out feedback Digital marketing is highly effective at emphasizing the social component of gaming

8 EXTERNAL ACQUISITION THROUGH DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS Affiliate websites / microsites Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay per Click (PPC) Media buys marketing (external) Affiliate / performance marketing Social media Content Marketing

9 TACTIC AFFILIATE WEBSITES / MICROSITES Affiliate websites are used to guide traffic aligned with target demographic Developed and maintained by a gaming operator Microsites in the gaming industry will be gambling-themed to appeal to your target audience or may be lifestyle focused depending on demographic overlap The sole theme of the site is to promote properties or igaming brands as a means of forwarding traffic

10 TACTIC AFFILIATE WEBSITES / MICROSITES Pros: Useful in targeting and engaging with a particular niche (i.e. specific gambling vertical) o Poker, casino, slots, bingo, lottery, etc. Heightened search results in SERPs o Due to centralized, specific focus Guided player journey Cons: Targets small audience segment Requires resource intensive maintenance

11 TACTIC SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO) SEO is a long-term acquisition strategy that uses various techniques to improve a website s search engine ranking, ultimately to attract more visitors. SEO considers how search engine algorithms work Websites compete for attention and placement in the search engines

12 TACTIC SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO) Pros: Low financial cost SEO results, once gained, have long-lasting effects Cons: Best practices constantly changing and evolving Long-term acquisition strategy Requires continuous maintenance Vulnerability to changes made in search engine algorithms

13 TACTIC PAY PER CLICK (PPC) Pay per click (PPC) is an advertising model, or online campaign, wherein a website pays a set amount (bid price) whenever someone clicks on their ad. PPC and SEO strategies should be considered together when developing an online marketing strategy. Visibility Share keyword data Strategic organic keywords

14 TACTIC PAY PER CLICK (PPC) Pros: Speed o Ad campaigns can be employed quickly and begin yielding results almost immediately Measurability o Results/ROI can be analyzed for optimization Lucrative Cons: o Using the right keywords can be rewarding Temporary benefits Can be costly Regulatory restrictions

15 TACTIC: MEDIA BUYS A media buy is the purchase of advertising in a media venue, such as newspaper, TV, radio, video or website (banner ad). Involves the planning, negotiating, purchasing, and tracking of the media-buying results. Media purchases target specific audiences to boost: Brand exposure Traffic Customer loyalty Media-buying should reflect product branding and connect customers with the brand experience.

16 TACTIC: MEDIA BUYS Pros: Targeted o You can direct your media buys at your niche market High Volume o Having media on the right venue can generate high traffic volumes Brand Awareness Cons: o Presence in different venues helps to promote a brand Can be costly ROI based on ad placement/location

17 TACTIC: MARKETING (EXTERNAL DATABASES) marketing involves sending a direct, personalized communication, with a recipient's specific needs in mind. Direct contact with customers. marketing is an essential component of a successful CRM initiative and should have a specific objective, for example: Acquisition Retention

18 TACTIC: MARKETING (EXTERNAL DATABASES) Pros: Cons: Simple s are relatively easy to create Valuable Sending relevant communications to segmented target lists produces solid responses Low cost There is a very little time or financial investment required Risk of being marked as SPAM if not properly carried out Can be viewed by recipients as intrusive if list is not properly vetted and/or maintained Cost of acquiring a database can be expensive

19 TACTIC: AFFILIATE / PERFORMANCE MARKETING Performance marketing is a business partnership between merchants and affiliates/publishers. Commissions are performance based and often a percentage of sale or fixed cost per action (CPA). Affiliates, or marketing partners, earn commission for forwarding traffic to an operator s site. Requires transparent and reliable tracking and reporting, the availability of quality marketing materials for promotion and an experienced affiliate management.

20 TACTIC: AFFILIATE / PERFORMANCE MARKETING Pros: Low risk acquisition strategy Affiliates act as a third party endorser, reach a blind spot, drive highly targeted traffic and create buzz Payment based on performance Cons: Requires ongoing support Initial investment in tracking and reporting software Success highly dependent on affiliate marketing and industry experience

21 TACTIC: SOCIAL MEDIA

22 TACTIC: SOCIAL MEDIA Pros: Communicates brand personality and authority Build relationships and trust through engagement An alternative to traditional PR channel Ability to communicate about products and services in a medium that adds value through content Cons: Can be time consuming, especially for novice writers Risk of sounding like a sales pitch Negative feedback o Always address negative comments, to minimize damage to reputation and maintain secure relationships

23 SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS Twitter Immediate, convenient Quick snippets of information micro-blogging (140 characters) Access to over 140 million active users, 340 million tweets per day Ideal for reaching target market with limited time Very compatible with mobile phones Tweets are available in search engine real-time results

24 SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS Facebook Incorporation of multimedia Tight knit community and access to expansive peer groups Ability to target highly segmented groups (demographic, geographic, psychographic) Of the top 10 Entertainment pages on Facebook based on local fans in Canada, two are gaming focused: o #5 - Texas HoldEm Poker 1,034,603 local fans o #7 Farmville 958,000 local fans Effectiveness is less about size of fan base, and more about the quality engagement

25 TACTIC: CONTENT MARKETING Content marketing is critical across all marketing channels. Any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content: To attract, acquire and engage a target audience. Can be presented in a variety of formats.

26 TACTIC: CONTENT MARKETING Pros: Creates value to user. Increases brand visibility and allows control of brand positioning. Aims to inspire business and loyalty from customers by delivering consistent, ongoing valuable information. If used online, can contribute towards an effective SEO strategy. Conducive to the sharing nature of social media. Cons: Can be incredibly time and resource intensive. If done poorly, can negatively affect the success of channels that rely heavily on quality content production: social media, SEO, PPC and PR.

27 THE VALUE OF DIGITAL MARKETING: RECAP You don t need to do it all Work with current assets Analyze your resources Evaluate your budget Understand your customers engagement with online marketing Start small and experiment Measure ROI and understand what works

28 THE VALUE OF DIGITAL MARKETING: RECAP Digital marketing is part of an integrated strategy: Combining short and long-term objectives As part of an overarching strategy leveraging online and offline tactics o Phase I: Internal assets o Phase 2: External acquisition Aim of increasing reach, brand visibility, accessibility and customer engagement

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