Connect with us

WINNING COMBINATION - SOFTSWISS develops innovative iGaming software products for online casino, sports betting, and beyond. Our products can be delivered as standalone solutions or combined into a single iGaming Platform.

The future of sports betting: BETBY sportsbook is focused on innovation through deep industry knowledge, state-of-the-art software & endless customization possibilities.

Latest News

PR-fueled iGaming strategies lead to 30% higher conversion post-privacy shift

Published

on


Reading Time: 3 minutes

 

With third-party cookies on their way out and user-level tracking becoming less reliable by the month, iGaming marketers are being forced to rethink how they build performance. 

The shift has exposed deep cracks in traditional acquisition strategies. Attribution models are fading. CACs are climbing. And data-driven targeting no longer works the way it used to. As a result, one trend is taking center stage: performance works better when awareness comes first.

Across the iGaming industry, growth teams are rediscovering that PR, media buying, and brand-building aren’t vanity plays. They’re clean, compliant, and increasingly essential levers that drive real conversion – especially when user-level data is off the table.

At RockApp, we’ve seen this shift play out across multiple markets and verticals.

Performance Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum

The traditional approach to iGaming performance marketing is ruthlessly optimized: creatives A/B tested down to pixel placement, traffic sources ranked by ROI, and every conversion event tracked. But in today’s data-fragmented ecosystem, even the best-optimized campaign can stall if users don’t recognize or trust the brand behind the offer.

That’s where earned media – and strategic media buying – start pulling their weight in new ways.

According to Think with Google, users exposed to both brand-building ads and performance campaigns are 2x more likely to convert than those who see only one or the other. In our experience, the effect is even more pronounced in privacy-restricted environments, where brand trust becomes a conversion lever, not just a UX concern.

The Awareness-Conversion Loop

In multiple campaigns RockApp has supported for iGaming brands entering new markets, we’ve observed a consistent pattern: strategic media exposure – whether through earned coverage, sponsored content, or thought leadership – primes audiences and lifts downstream performance.

To validate this trend, we recently conducted an internal study comparing two iGaming operators – Brand A and Brand B – both entering the same market with near-identical user flows: similar registration forms, interface logic, site structure, and acquisition funnels.

Brand A had active media presence in the region: ongoing PR coverage in vertical media, sports sponsorship deals with local clubs, and participation in relevant offline events. Brand B, although an established name in other regions, had no media activity or brand presence in the local market at the time of launch.

The performance delta was striking.

  • Brand A achieved a registration-to-deposit (reg2dep) conversion rate of 48%
  • Brand B reached just 26% – almost half

The only significant difference: Brand A was visible, trusted, and familiar to the audience – Brand B wasn’t.

“We consistently see that performance campaigns supported by active PR in the target region outperform standalone campaigns by at least 30%,” says Khanikian Dmitriy, CMO at RockApp. “This becomes especially evident in mid-funnel metrics like reg2dep, where user hesitation can make or break profitability. When users recognize the brand – because they’ve seen it in the media or associated with local sports – they convert faster and with more confidence.”

Sports sponsorships in particular proved to be a powerful lever. By aligning with culturally relevant teams and events, Brand A tapped into existing emotional loyalty, which translated into commercial action. These touchpoints created a steady flow of earned impressions that enhanced performance media, rather than competing with it.

Additionally, PR-led visibility drove a measurable increase in organic traffic. Branded search queries and direct visits rose during campaign peaks, indicating that users were not only clicking on paid ads – but also actively seeking out the brand. This broadens top-of-funnel reach and reduces dependency on high-cost user acquisition channels.

The takeaway: media exposure isn’t just about awareness – it’s an input into conversion.

From Vanity to Utility: Rethinking Media Buys in a Cookieless World

A common misconception is that media buying is just about impressions. In truth, when layered with performance goals, it becomes a strategic asset, especially in a world where deterministic tracking is fading.

Smart buys in content networks, programmatic placements in relevant environments, and even native sponsorships act as pre-conversion touchpoints. They reach users early, before they enter the performance funnel, and shape perception at moments attribution platforms can’t see.

A 2023 study by Pathmatics showed that iGaming brands investing consistently in upper-funnel media saw a 1.5x higher ROAS on performance campaigns compared to those that didn’t.

In a privacy-first market, the logic is simple: you may not be able to track every step, but you can influence every outcome.

What This Means for iGaming Marketers

As user-level tracking degrades and campaign measurement becomes less reliable, growth teams need to think beyond the click. PR and media exposure are no longer peripheral – they’re central to performance strategy.

At RockApp, we’ve adjusted our UA approach to integrate upstream planning with media and PR teams. The results: lower CAC, higher retention, and more resilient campaign performance across regulated and privacy-conscious markets.

So what can iGaming marketers do right now?

  • Map your funnel touchpoints beyond attribution. Awareness matters even when you can’t track it.
  • Align media buying and PR efforts with performance goals – not after the fact, but during planning.
  • Invest in brand signals like sports sponsorships, thought leadership, and earned media. They work when pixels can’t.

In a privacy-first world, performance doesn’t start with a click – it starts with trust.

And trust is built upstream.

 

Peter Tolan, a rising talent in the dynamic world of igaming content, serves as the Junior Content Editor at European Gaming. At European Gaming, Peter has quickly become an integral part of the editorial team. His keen understanding of the igaming landscape across Europe, combined with his skill in digital media, allows him to produce engaging and informative content. He specializes in analyzing trends in online gaming, esports, and emerging technologies in the igaming sector.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Advertisement

Level up, Lead The market with AFFINA Partners

Advertisement

Golden Boomerang Awards is a prestigious event that offers the chance to compete against top webmasters worldwide and grab golden figurines, prizes, and cash rewards.

Trending (Top 7)

Discover the Magic of EuropeanGaming.eu – Your Gateway to the Gaming Universe

At the heart of the ever-evolving gaming and gambling industry lies EuropeanGaming.eu, a trailblazing online platform that has become the go-to destination for industry professionals, enthusiasts, and stakeholders. As part of HIPTHER, we’re redefining how the gaming world connects, informs, and inspires.

More Than News – A Hub of Insight and Innovation

Reaching over 300,000 readers monthly, EuropeanGaming.eu goes beyond headlines to deliver compelling stories, expert insights, and the latest industry news. From regulatory updates and compliance breakthroughs to the pulse-pounding world of esports and technological advancements, we provide comprehensive coverage of the topics that matter most:

  • Online and Land-Based Gaming
  • Betting and Esports
  • Regulatory and Compliance Updates
  • Cutting-Edge Technology in Gaming

Whether it’s daily news, exclusive interviews with industry leaders, in-depth event reports, or press releases that set the tone for the future, our content resonates with a global audience while maintaining a focus on Europe’s dynamic gaming market.

Bringing the Industry Together

Our impact doesn’t stop at digital content. EuropeanGaming.eu is a proud host of virtual meetups and industry-leading conferences that spark dialogue, foster collaboration, and drive innovation. Through detailed reports and live events, we create a space where operators, suppliers, regulators, and professional services come together to shape the future of gaming.

Why EuropeanGaming.eu?

At HIPTHER, we believe in empowering the gaming community with knowledge, connection, and opportunity. EuropeanGaming.eu embodies this spirit by serving as a one-stop resource for the latest trends, market developments, and global perspectives. Whether you’re an industry veteran, a rising operator, or a gaming enthusiast, this is where you find the stories that drive progress.

Get In Touch

Let’s shape the future of gaming together!


Copyright © 2015 - 2025
European Gaming is proudly part of HIPTHER. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company Number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605.
Office Address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Târgu Mureș, Romania

Join us as we celebrate a decade of delivering excellence and embrace the magic of what’s to come in 2025 and beyond!

We are constantly showing banners about important news regarding events and product launches. Please turn AdBlock off in order to see these areas.

Privacy Preference Center

Necessary Cookies

We use cookies to make our website work including:
- Remembering your search settings
- Allowing you to add comments to our site

There is no way to prevent these cookies being set other than to not use our site.

Our own cookies

Advertising

Cookies are widely used in online advertising. Neither us, advertisers or our advertising partners can gain personally identifiable information from these cookies. We only work with advertising partners who work to accepted privacy standards such as http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/iab-good-practice-principles.

You can learn more about online advertising at http://www.youronlinechoices.com . You can opt-out of almost all advertising cookies at http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices although we would prefer that you didn’t as ultimately adverts help keep much of the internet free. It is also worth noting that opting out of advertising cookies will not mean you won’t see adverts, just simply that they won’t be tailored to you any longer.

We fund our site by showing adverts as you browse our site. These adverts are usually managed by a partner specialising in providing adverts for multiple sites. Invariably these partners place cookies to collect anonymous data about the websites you visits so they can personalise the adverts to you, ensure that you don’t see the same adverts too frequently and ultimately report to advertisers on which adverts are working.

Advertising Cookies, Banner Adverts

Analytics

We use cookies to compile visitor statistics such as how many people have visited our website, what type of technology they are using (e.g. Mac or Windows which helps to identify when our site isn’t working as it should for particular technologies), how long they spend on the site, what page they look at etc. This helps us to continuously improve our website. These so called “analytics” programs also tell us if , on an anonymous basis, how people reached this site (e.g. from a search engine) and whether they have been here before helping us to put more money into developing our services for you instead of marketing spend.

Analytics and Anonymous Visitor Statistics Cookies

Social Sharing Cookies

So you can easily “Like” or share our content on the likes of Facebook and Twitter we have included sharing buttons on our site.

Cookies are set by:
The privacy implications on this will vary from social network to social network and will be dependent on the privacy settings you have chosen on these networks.

Social Website Cookies