STEVEN SALZ: ENGAGEMENT IS A ‘JOB NEVER DONE’

Betting’s entry into the internet age is well documented, but for some, the sector’s marketing and engagement approaches could benefit from a digital upgrade to better appeal to Gen Z and Millennial customers.

Steven Salz, CEO of Canadian esports specialist operator Rivalry, broke down this assessment in a discussion about the firm’s creative attitude to marketing and engagement.

The benefits of being obsessive

As the company’s Q3 report and 2023 projections made clear, bettors that are considered to be Gen Z and Millennial have been key to Rivalry’s success.

This approach has often seen the company look to non-betting sectors for inspiration, whilst adopting a content narrative around internet and gaming culture. Salz explained that this has driven the company’s ambition to become “the Red Bull of the internet”.

“You need to look at how great consumer products are designed generally, look outside of sports betting to companies like Apple and its attention to even the subtlest details,” he said.

“They’re so successful because they’ve done everything right. And if you look at their history, they’ve been obsessed with every part of the consumer experience.

“This builds a brand and product continuity throughout all of the experience. It starts with the customer acquisition experience, like seeing something on social media or some content from one of our creators. That gets the customer interested, but you can’t stop there, you need personality and continuity to your approach.”

While Apple has been “obsessive” about the customer experience, Salz outlined Rivalry’s personal obsession with customer support. This has been particularly important for engaging new bettors who may have queries about the site and markets.

Streamlining this process, Rivalry’s “Support Heroes” report directly to the firm’s CEO. Each carries a name specific to the target demographic, whilst customer support scripting is designed to fit with the brand’s unconventional image.

This line of thinking has filtered down to all levels of Rivalry’s approach to bettor engagement, as Salz also pointed to investment apps such as Robinhood and cash transfer platforms such as CashApp.

“They are very Gen Z and very current,” he said. “At a simple level, a modern UX appeals to those who grew up in the 90s, whilst some traditional sportsbooks have more of an archaic ‘spreadsheet’ model.

“At Rivalry, if you use a parlay, you get some emoji icons that move around the betslip to give an ‘easter egg’ type experience, with comic-book style pop ups to keep people engaged and entertained.”

Doubling down on the experiential

When it comes to marketing and engagement, Rivalry has taken particular pride in breaking from tradition by reducing spend bonuses and promotions by over 50% relative to its revenue in 2022 vs. 2021.

Salz explained: “We focus on obtaining brand affinity through world-class execution and innovative products, rather than focusing on subsidising customers and bonus promotions.

“The way we’ve done that is via our acquisition model, by leveraging great creatives to produce great content that engages the gaming and internetfocused consumers globally, which drives activity.

“The huge focus has been on gaining organic brand recognition, acquisition and loyalty through these means, rather than by promotions and bonuses.”

From the UK to the Netherlands and from Australia to the US, the extensive marketing spend of the industry, as well as the visibility of bonuses and promotions, has raised concerns for consumer protection reasons.

As a result, Salz argued that among the new generation of operators, a shift in attitudes is occurring, with a focus on brand equity and content in which responsible gaming is “entrenched in the brand”.

“It’s very difficult for the older, more mature brands that are built on that classic model, but we feel that we are seeing a shift in the industry towards that approach,” he continued.

From the outset, it is clear that content is central to Rivalry’s brand marketing, covering memes and influencers, distributed to existing and prospective customers across social media channels.

By utilising internet culture-based content, such as memes, along with its overall look, digital aesthetic, and backed by its “world-class creative team”, Rivalry is seeking to diverge from the marketing techniques of the old breed of bookmakers.

“You need to double down on experiential things so that customers realise why they chose to bet with you, along with a lot of original material,” Salz continued.

“For example, our Casino.exe product is very unique. It has a weird feel to it and has in-house games, is customisable and comes with an MP3 player type system. These are the types of features that differentiate our product from others and make Rivalry unique.

“The company is built around a continuous thread of experience and community groups - the job is never done when engaging customers.”

Backing your narrative

Striding towards Rivalry’s goal of tapping into the Gen Z zeitgeist are two of the most visible phenomena to have graced consumer’s laptop and phone screens in recent years - the aforementioned memes and influencers.

Again referencing the plan to become the “Red Bull of the internet”, Salz praised the energy drink company for creating an “aura and affinity” that connotes a level of success around being signed by its brand, particularly within extreme sports.

Rivalry is targeting the same brand image, but for esports. The CEO continued: “That has always been our vision. We wanted to be a clear community supporter and innovator, and for signing with Rivalry to really mean something. We have influencers that have followers in the millions.

“Influencers are approaching our global team asking to join a partner programme and become an official partner. I can’t imagine many sports brands are having that experience, and we’ve noticed that some are getting targeted by other brands once we sign them.

“We put a massive creative powerhouse behind our influencers, we plan massive activations, we find people for them to collaborate with in the local market and ultimately create long-term leverage.” are a marketing technique.

For both memes and influencers, localisation is paramount. This is especially true when dealing with the highly diverse esports scene, with its fan base spread across Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia - although this principle can, of course, be applied to traditional sports too.

“Memes are just a way of communicating on the internet, especially if you’re under the age of 30. People grow up with it, and the internal culture of Rivalry is very much a meme culture.

“They are simply a way that humour is conveyed now, but you have to be very nuanced to do it as a corporation, it can come across as a little dystopian when it's done in the wrong way!”

Differences in player preferences among esports fans and internetculture enthusiasts can transcend languages, Salz emphasised. For example, a Spanish esports fan may have a very different taste in content to a Spanish-speaking fan from a South American nation.

Additionally, when using memes, companies should be careful to cultivate the right image, with Salz observing that many internet users are more than aware that social media posts by, for example, fast-food chains,

Summing up Rivalry’s ultimate attitude towards marketing, Salz stated that great marketing cannot exist without a great product. When it all comes down to it, the two are one and the same as part of the wider customer experience.

“Creative marketing distils a narrative about your company, and when customers get to the product, they then see that the vision is valid,” he said.

“The two go hand in hand - you can’t have one without the other, especially for consumer products. You need creativity and marketing, but you need to have that product that proves you are what you say you are.” •