This week, the NFL 2023-2024 starts and US sportsbooks have been hard at work getting ready for another highly competitive season. What do they face?
Marketers will have to compete in a more competitive environment as they try to reach out to new players, keep the players from last season and win them back.
Max Barkoff, Partner at Flatiron Gaming and the leading digital agency in US real money gambling, has written for SBC Americas. He identifies three major mistakes made by US marketers as they prepare for the NFL season. Then he gives advice on how you can make the most out of your sportsbook’s marketing budget.
Go beyond cost per first-time-depositor, take into account projected player LTV
Most sportsbook marketers spend their marketing budgets on achieving cost-per-first-time-deposit targets (CPF). This is a metric which indicates short-term performance, but it doesn’t tell you if the player plays or how much they will play in the future.
Marketers who focus solely on early funnel events ignore the importance of player quality and retention. This is a growing concern for US sportsbooks.
This may seem like a short-term win, but in reality, the player base will depreciate faster than expected in years two and beyond. The result is a decrease in profitability over the long term.
You can avoid this problem by taking a long-term perspective on your player base, and considering the projected lifetime value of each player.
Be creative
Over the past few years, we have seen that sportsbook advertisers create ads that are, quite honestly, incredibly similar. The end users feel a bit fatigued, which leads to a lower conversion.
Lack of differentiation in your advertising creatives can thwart your sportsbook’s marketing success.
How can you make yourself stand out from the crowd? This question is not easy to answer. You need to be creative when creating your ads.
Test more creatives that have a wider range of visual differentiation. Marketers will be able to stand out, attract more attention and achieve better results.
Avoid using the same ads across different platforms. Ads for Facebook should be different from those you use for Twitter, Reels, or TikTok. Localization is a buzzword that’s been popular for 2023 and is very appropriate for this situation.
Promo pitfalls
Promo value is one of the biggest mistakes advertisers make when trying to reduce cost per acquisition.
This may temporarily reduce your CPA, but it will drastically affect the profitability of your players and make you more attractive to low-value promo seekers. We all know that these customers won’t stay on a site for very long.
Try out time-based promotions. Try campaigns where you earn promotions over time. This will encourage long-term loyalty. You can also use experiential offers without individual costs per new player. This will not only help build engagement, but it is likely to keep the players coming back.
Marketers must also avoid complex promotions. Avoid introducing an offer that is so different from what the player expects, once all the rules and conditions are taken into consideration.
Make sure that your offers are easy to understand and clear. This will avoid any confusion, and customers will be less likely to leave negative ratings and reviews on your mobile app.
Retention, retention, retention
Sportsbooks and marketers need to focus on retention strategies as we get closer to the NFL season 2023-24. It’s not worth spending money to acquire players only to lose them after the first bet. For more information, please contact the Flatiron Gaming Team.
