13 minute read
Marketing
from SBC Leaders Issue 22
by SBC Global
A TOUCH OF LUXURY IN LIVE CASINO
CHRISTINE LEWIS, CEO of Yolo Group’s Bombay Group division, speaks to SBC Leaders about the next generation of live casino products, bringing the online and offline worlds together and how to create a truly premium experience for players
BY ERIN GALLAGHER
SBC: Live casino feels like one of the most exciting corners of gaming right now. Why is that, and how do you plan to continue pushing the vertical forwards?
CL: Live casino is nothing new, but the way people enjoy it has been evolving for several years now, and that process only accelerated during the pandemic, when visiting a real casino wasn’t possible for most and live casino was the closest to that experience they could get.
The space had been growing very quickly, even prior to the pandemic, but it was dominated by a handful of suppliers. The barriers to entry for a live casino supplier are considerably higher than for a slots studio, and we felt there was room for innovation. Just because a vertical is growing quickly, doesn’t mean there isn’t more that can be done with it.
With Bombay Live, the focus since the beginning has been putting the customer at the very centre of the universe. As we’re a part of Yolo Group, which operates two extremely popular brands in Bitcasino and Sportsbet.io, it gives us an insight into the customer that some more
THE FOCUS SINCE THE BEGINNING HAS BEEN PUTTING THE CUSTOMER AT THE VERY CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE NOW WE’RE FINDING WAYS WE CAN PUSH THINGS FURTHER TO CREATE UNIQUE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES
conventional suppliers might lack.
This has always trained everyone on the team to be thinking from that customer point of view with everything we do. It’s enabled us to build what I feel is the best premium live casino product on the market right now.
SBC: From a product perspective, what innovations are Bombay Group bringing to the live casino segment?
CL: For many years the focus for product innovation and development in live casino was on production quality. Obviously that is still important, but great production alone isn’t enough to stand apart from competition anymore. Now we’re finding ways we can push things further to create unique customer experiences.
One great example is green screen technology. It’s used widely across the space, but we’ve recently built games where the green screen reacts to the outcome on the tables. It is a way of turning a previously static feature into something that adds to the overall experience of the games. Another area that’s really exciting us at the moment is game shows. Live casino has historically been dominated by baccarat, roulette and blackjack because the focus was on recreating the familiar landbased experience. But when you take a step back, there’s actually endless possibilities with this combination of a physical studio and online play. We currently offer a widerange of variations on the classics, including speed, VIP and dedicated high-roller tables. But at the same time, we’re building out our offering into other games such as Andar Bahar and Teen Patti, which are popular in South Asia. We’re also building our first game show concept at the moment, as well as drawing upon game show motifs to add depth to other titles. One new title that’s launching in
October, Dragon Tiger, is a simple two card game similar in many respects to Baccarat. But we’ve added two unique sidebets with in-game animations which add a little of the game show glamour to proceedings.
SBC: What are you most looking forward to at SBC Summit Barcelona?
CL: Bombay Group is the headline sponsor of Molly’s Barcelona Game poker tournament, which is going to be a blast. Obviously Molly Bloom needs no introduction, and many of our team cut their teeth in the poker world, so we couldn’t be more excited to be sponsoring the tournament. With a €10,000 prize fund that the winner can contribute to their preferred GiveWell organisation, it’s fantastic to
be able to give back a little as well.
Anyone who’s read Molly’s book or seen the Hollywood adaptation will know that the success of the game was because she understood how to create great experiences for the players. They always came first. That’s really our approach too at Bombay Group. There’s so many options these days, both within the online gaming world and across the broader entertainment space, that we can’t take our customers for granted. We need to offer products and experiences that can stand up against the very best, and if we don’t the players will simply walk away.
SBC: Beyond live casino, what is Bombay Group excited about right now?
CL: Our premium mobile games developer, OneTouch, continues to go from strength to strength. We’ve always focused on delivering the very best mobile games on the market, initially focusing on table games but more recently transitioning to slots. It has taken some time, but I’d say we now have a portfolio of titles that can stand toe-to-toe with any other studio.
One new and exciting area we are looking at with OneTouch is a new games development kit we’ll be
launching called The Wrapper. We can’t share too many details just yet, but it’s going to change the game when it comes to empowering smaller studios and independent developers to create world-class content.
Hub88, our content aggregator, also continues to grow far faster than the wider market. We’ve focused on innovations that make the entire product easier for casino managers, like a dedicated mobile app where they can check real-time performance data and analytics. We’re also building a new wallet for Hub88 which will seamlessly integrate with operators so they can offer a wide range of payment options to their customers. •
TIMES ARE CHANGING: ASSESSING THE NEED FOR RETENTION-BASED ACQUISITION
SHELLY SUTER-HADAD, transformational leader and industry veteran, takes a pause after 10 years in executive roles to reflect on the biggest challenges that companies face today and what she sees on the horizon for future-facing leadership
BY ERIN GALLAGHER
SBC: What prompted you to take a pause between positions?
SSH: After spending more than 13 years on the B2C side of gaming and sports betting, I wanted to consciously take the opportunity to pause and reflect. We often leap from one high-speed position to the next, without a time for transition. Yet, it’s in the transition that we are able to reflect and build upon learnings. So I am doing just that and using this time of transition to share my reflections, learnings and methods with other leaders and operators as well.
SBC: What are the most urgent topics in the industry today?
SSH: On top of the well-known topics of compliance and the increasing regulation standards that have been occupying industry leaders and professionals the past years, the industry has become more and more saturated. Margins are tougher than ever and all eyes are on marketing spend and overhead.
While this has been the norm in other industries for decades, the gaming industry’s regulatory and competitive landscapes were only built within the past 10 years, leaving operators to respond. Optimising marketing spend and adopting a stronger ROI culture have become key success factors — and for some, the way to survive.
Another urgent topic is the transition from start-up mode to scaling mode as businesses grow. It often requires adopting new ways of working, which suit a larger organisation with greater volumes of employees, revenues and customers - in other words, more complexity. For example, if you run a 25 person event versus a 500 person event, your planning and level of requirements will be very different. With 25 invitees, the RSVP list could be done manually, but a list of 500 guests would need to be supported by software.
It's the same with businesses that grow. The way a business operates in its start-up phase is unlikely to scale efficiently and effectively as the company grows in volumes and complexity.
Finally, our rising millennial talent is another hot topic that I hear rumbling amongst my colleagues across industries. This generation comes with a different style and set of expectations on everything from a business’ purpose to its leadership and work environment. How do we motivate and lead the talent of the future? I do not have all the answers for these, but these are areas that I am actively exploring.
SBC: What is behind the big focus on marketing spend and performance?
SSH: In most industries, the optimisation of marketing budgets and overhead is the holy grail. It delivers more value and profit without the need of pumping in additional investment or resources. In general, the gaming industry was a little late to realise and adapt to this, which is why we see companies struggling today. However, some companies did step up their game and optimised across the board, especially after the US closure in 2006 and the rapid growth of regulated markets in the past five to seven years.
Over the last few years, many factors have brought this topic higher on the agenda. Increased regulation and compliance requirements have impacted headcount as companies had to invest in new competencies. Restrictions have taken a toll on customer value across most territories. Meanwhile, we’ve seen splashy spends on marketing efforts that haven’t delivered impact or return. Add in the fierce competition and we have a perfect storm hitting margins and making profitability more challenging than ever before.
SBC: How can a company begin to optimise its marketing spend?
SSH: Start by getting your data in order. This is no easy feat, but a requirement for becoming a KPI-driven company that is able to set realistic goals and make smart projections. Leverage the data to perform rapid reviews and optimisation of campaigns, ensuring every dollar spent will deliver value in the end. Multi-touch attribution models are very
helpful in making the right decisions about the impact of marketing channels and the budgets for each.
Shift towards a retention-based acquisition mindset. In other words, when planning a big campaign or market entry, design the full experience of a new customer as part of the acquisition flow. The onboarding experience gives us a chance to ensure the customer will stick around for more than just one session.
Look at the consistency between messages and visuals throughout the entire acquisition and onboarding journey. Don’t stop there, build deeper into the journey by mapping the lifetime engagement strategy of a customer. The success metric isn’t the acquisition, it’s the value generated month after month.
SBC: Let’s dig deeper into this idea of retention-based acquisition. Tell us more.
SSH: Firstly, every brand or product is unique, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but there are some general principles: 1) Have the entire journey and experience in mind from the start. We tend to separate the acquiring-thecustomer part from the winning-hearts part. The latter happens when you onboard a customer and engage with him throughout his relationship with your business. 2) Use learnings from the data of your existing customer base to understand the demographics and behaviours of your most loyal customers; then target and acquire an audience that is most likely to stay loyal. With the right tracking in place, you can learn so much from your customers - this alone can change a whole marketing strategy. 3) Ensure the product experience is engaging and smooth; you don’t want to give a new customer any reason to go someplace else. For example, look at how social gaming keeps players engaged. You don’t need to see ads reminding you to play the game. Instead, you know there’s always something new waiting for you in the app and you want to go back and check. Aim for real-time integrations that track user behaviours and deliver engaging experiences while keeping players safe.
SBC: What role does the brand play?
SSH: The brand plays a huge role; it exists at the core of your product and your customer journey. It’s the glue that holds it all together and when we’re talking about a customer journey with seemingly infinite paths and touchpoints, brand clarity and consistency is key. After all, in an industry filled with sameness, it’s the brand that is often the unique differentiator between the standout challengers and all the other operators.
SBC: To transform marketing, do companies need to shift internal competencies?
SSH: Yes, this is where companies fall behind because they do not recognise the need for such a shift. As a company transitions from startup to scale-up phase, or from big above-the-line campaigns to highly efficient, performance marketing, it requires a team that is experienced and specialised in that phase. Without the
right competencies onboard, whether internal or external, the process will take considerably more time and investment and is less likely to succeed.
SBC: Sounds like a transition that many companies need to go through. Does it reach beyond marketing?
SSH: Yes, it could be across the entire organisation or just a part of it. Compliance, for example, was an area that was taking the focus of most gaming B2C and B2B operators these past five years and consuming more tech and operational resources.
As a result, service delivery and product life cycle management became areas that were strong candidates for scaling, to accommodate the increasing demands for product compliance and innovation. Both reflect the need for making the most return on resources and overhead.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO MAKE BOLD DECISIONS, EVEN IF IT MEANS YOU WON’T BE THE MOST POPULAR LEADER IN THE SHORT-TERM THIS IS A GREAT TIME FOR FUTURE-FACING LEADERS TO PAUSE, REFLECT AND RECALIBRATE
SBC: How can leaders best navigate their organisations through change?
SSH: Leading a change is not a onewo/man show, there need to be change agents or ambassadors across all business areas. A key phase is competency evaluation; in most cases, the people that built the business may not be the best fit for navigating the next step into the scaling stage.
It’s important to keep a good balance between the big picture and the specifics. When navigating such a transition, you are required to be both the pilot and oversee the course, as well as to roll up your sleeves and get things done when turbulence hits. The key is to balance between the two and not get consumed by the turbulence.
Don't be afraid to make bold decisions, even if it means you won’t be the most popular leader in the short-term; in the end, when the success comes, you will get your glory.
And maybe above all, it all starts with the “why”, the purpose of change. Communication is key. Use storytelling and make the change relatable. The more transparent you can be, the more the organisation will understand the transition and step up to help.
SBC: What else do you see on the horizon?
SSH: The post-pandemic paradigm shift is driving the evolution of what will be the future organisation. From the purpose of office spaces to the outlook on employment, the tides of change are clear. Millennials are climbing the ranks of leadership and Gen Z are entering the workforce with new sets of expectations on their employers. This is a great time for future-facing leaders to pause, reflect and recalibrate. •
Joining SBC Barcelona? Hear more from Shelly and other leaders around the topic of managing marketing performance and the biggest opportunities for reducing spend and increasing value at the "Retention-based acquisition - fuelling the bottom line" panel on 22 September.
