Industry News

“Against All Odds” – Will sound be the key to future winnings for betting and gaming brands?

Published

4 years ago

September 9, 2020

George Miller

Op-ed contribution: sound can be a powerful tool for gaming marketers

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Max De Lucia, Co-Founder and Client Director of specialist sonic branding agency DLMDD.

There are few brands and businesses across the world that haven’t been in some way affected by the current global climate. But as lockdown restrictions are eased and marketplaces begin to return to their “new normal”, betting brands and their marketers now have an even greater issue to navigate.

With momentum gathering in the UK Parliament for a “total ban” on all gambling advertising, brands need to think fast about the role they play in consumers lives and how they can communicate if traditional media channels are further plastered with red tape.

However, as many of you reading this will know, these aren’t new challenges. A ban on gambling advertising during live sport came into effect in the UK from August last year, restricting advertising within a “whistle to whistle” period beginning five minutes before the start of a match and ending five minutes after. These limitations will have already forced marketing departments to think very carefully about how to gain competitive advantage and win attention in these moments. However, and somewhat surprisingly, no brand has dominated when it comes to sound.

Think about it – I can reel off the names of every betting and gaming brand out there in the market, and you’ll instantly be able to tell me what they look like; what colour the logo is, what the slogan says and which celebs they use in their ads. But what do any of them sound like? Well, nothing.

This seems bonkers to me. Earlier this year, Marketing Week highlighted a powerful learning from IPSOS’ marketing study ‘The power of you’. Put simply, the research shows that the use of distinctive sonic cues can have 8.5x the power of visual stimuli. So why is sound so untapped across the sector?

Let’s be frank, underneath the visual brand and the corporate slogans of any betting organisation are odds and chance. You might get slightly better odds and slightly better chances by shopping around but at the end of the day, odds are odds.

As punters, we make our choices on the brands we associate with based upon how we feel about them. And music and sound offer the world’s most powerful shortcuts to human emotion if we know how to handle them right. If expertly managed, they can fulfil every part of our pleasure and reward psychologies garnering effects that can only be rivalled by good food, love and drugs.

What is particularly unique about betting and gaming is that their audiences want and demand to feel something about the brand they’re playing with. This is quite unlike most other sectors and industries. Do I want to feel something about Shell? I’m sure their Brand Director wants me to but no, quite frankly I just want to fill my car up with petrol from the nearest station to me and get the hell out of the forecourt as quickly as possible.

Conversely, emotion is at the forefront of the experience of all bettors and gamers and it’s the responsibility of the brands and their audiences to manage and control how that emotion manifests itself in a safe manner. If all parties get it right, music and sound have the ability to heighten the entire consumer experience at every moment that an audience interacts with their chosen brand.

Historically, the betting and gaming industries have looked at sound through a fairly primitive lens; famous psychological studies have highlighted the use of music and sound in slot machines that reinforce the sensation of ‘winning’ with jubilant sound effects, flashing lights and winning coins dropping down on metal surfaces.

It doesn’t take a genius to work any of that out and along with questionable morality, this doesn’t exemplify the true power of music and sound. When it’s done right, we allow music and sound into our minds. They can stay with us forever and evoke our emotions at the flick of a wrist.

In a world and an industry where the way the consumer feels is the difference between them choosing to play with brand X over brand Y, the first player in the market who can cement their identity in music and sound will have the odds sounding firmly in their favour for many more moons to come.

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Clarion Gaming and ExCeL London plan for the migration of iGB L!VE 2025 to the heart of igaming

Published

2 days ago

May 24, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Clarion Gaming is advancing preparations for the migration of iGB L!VE to London in July 2025 establishing a roadmap of activities in partnership with the senior team at ExCeL London which will host the leading global event.

The latest meeting between the two organisations featured:

iGB L!VE Portfolio Director Naomi Barton,
Clarion Gaming Managing Director Stuart Hunter,
Head of Operations Richard Logan and
Head of Marketing Jody Frost with the senior team from ExCeL led by the venue’s
Chief Commercial Officer Simon Mills.

Expanding on the meeting Naomi Barton said: “This was the second senior level planning meeting that we have held with our colleagues at ExCeL London in order to move the home of the igaming community to a city which is the heart of the igaming industry in a country which is igaming’s largest market.

“The roadmap is being created in order to anticipate industry needs, address pain points and to exceed the expectations of customers. The migration of what is already a top performing Tier One igaming event is set against the backdrop of iGB L!VE’s 5-year growth plan which is focused on delivering 35,000 visitors and over 550 exhibitors and sponsors by 2029.

“Our vision is to harness the tremendous momentum created by the iGB L!VE brand and to take the event to a whole new level in a new venue, and a new exceptionally well-connected global home in the city of London.

“ExCeL London has a fantastic track record of helping events to fulfil their potential, and all of the building blocks are in place for iGB L!VE and its customers to accelerate their businesses to new heights in London.

She added: “Placing our customers at the heart of everything that we do is central plank to the iGB L!VE growth strategy, and the roadmap for 2025 is underpinned by a clear customer-focused programme that will ensure maximum cost-effectiveness as well as global growth for all of our stakeholders.

“We will be using July’s edition of iGB L!VE not only to reflect and celebrate our time in Amsterdam and say thank you to our fantastic partners for many years RAI Amsterdam, but also enable our vendors and customers to secure their presence at ExCeL London in 2025.”

Industry News

1spin4win Unveils “Treasure Hunt” Network Promotion for Online Casinos

Published

3 days ago

May 23, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

1spin4win, a renowned provider of online casino games, announced the launch of its new network promotion, “Treasure Hunt”. Set to run from June 1 to 9, 2024, this thrilling event invites players on an enchanting adventure across 11 captivating games, with a total prize pool of €20,000 waiting to be claimed.

The nine-day “Treasure Hunt” promotion is designed to significantly enhance player interest and engagement, boost GGR and betting volume, and elevate the brand image of participating online casinos. Players will have the chance to win one of 515 randomly awarded cash prizes, adding an extra layer of excitement to their gaming experience.

Each bet placed during the promotion can result in a maximum of one prize, with no limit on the number of prizes a player can win. Notably, all prizes are deducted from the GGR prior to invoicing, ensuring a smooth and transparent process for operators.

The “Treasure Hunt” promotion features a stellar lineup of participating games, including Sun Treasure, Lucky Robbery, Cash the Gold Hold and Win, Cash the Gold, Mega Cash the Gold, Hold the Gold, Book of Corsairs, Lucky Jane & Aztec Book, Lucky Jane in Egypt, Lucky Gold Miner and Dolphin’s Wealth.

To cater to a global audience, all participating titles support 16 fiat and cryptocurrencies, including EUR, USD, BTC, ETH, LTC and USDT.

Industry News

Allwyn Appoints Ifor Evans as Group Chief Technology Officer

Published

3 days ago

May 23, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Allwyn announced the appointment of Ifor Evans as its new Group Chief Technology Officer. Ifor will replace Tony Khatskevich, who, after six years of dedicated and exemplary service, has decided to move from his current role as Group Chief Technology Officer and become an Advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors. In this role, Tony will focus on offering strategic counsel on innovation, technology, IT and security matters. Ifor will take up the CTO role at Allwyn on 1 June 2024.

Ifor is an accomplished CTO with over 25 years of extensive experience in software engineering, systems and data architecture, IT management and project leadership. He joins Allwyn from Gamesys PLC/Bally’s Corp, where he has been Group Chief Technology Officer since 2019 and where he developed, maintained and operated highly capable gaming platforms.

Prior to Gamesys, he held the role of Group Chief Technology Officer (Southeast Asia) for Lazada, part of the Alibaba Group, working in Singapore. He also established Lazada eLogistics (LEL) as a separate entity within the Lazada Group, and led a team of over 400 individuals to create and implement a comprehensive technology strategy.

Robert Chvátal, CEO of Allwyn Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ifor as our new Group Chief Technology Officer to continue enhancing the innovation of the lotteries we operate. Allwyn wants to make its lotteries even more entertaining and attractive to new audiences, and in doing so have even more of a positive impact on society.

“Ifor is a dynamic business leader who has an excellent track record of delivering technology solutions across the gaming and IT sector. He has exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness and strong experience in our markets.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Tony for his exceptional contribution and commitment to Allwyn over the past six years. He played a pivotal role in establishing a strong technology function for Allwyn, and conceived and led technology initiatives that have helped to drive innovation across the Group. In addition, Tony played a key leadership role in Allwyn’s winning bid in the UK and management of the transition. I’m very pleased that we will continue to benefit from Tony’s wisdom, knowledge, ideas and warm personality in his new role, where he will continue to help us to fulfil our business growth and ambitions.”

Ifor Evans said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Group Chief Technology Officer of Allwyn. The company’s commitment to social impact is evident across its global footprint. I look forward to helping the team to develop even better lotteries and new game formats through the power of cutting-edge technology and future thinking.”