GMB - How is the sports betting sector at the moment from the operators' point of view in the Brazilian market?
Vivian Lima - The presence of operators - both national and international - in Brazil is a reality and is growing every day.
When Law 13,756/2018 was enacted in 2018, the sector was incipient. Much has been discussed since 2013, the year of the first event in the gaming sector in Brazil. Starting in 2016, when we started to organize events annually, we felt that Legalization of Gaming was a great promise that everyone would like to see come true.
When the legalization of sports betting really happened, there was a boom in the presence of companies in the country. In just three years, and with regulation still in progress, large international operators have already invested in sponsorship in the country and it was possible to follow the birth of local operators, with knowledge of the culture and great ambitions.
Is it a consolidated market or still growing?
The market is growing and there is room for those who respect and adapt to Brazilian culture. But this is an arduous task, which requires not only knowledge of the language or the industry. It is necessary to know the consumer, how he behaves in each of our regions and adapt strategies to differentiate himself. After all, there may be several competitors, if your company really arouses the interest of your customer and delivers what he needs, he will be your brand promoter.
I also follow that some international conglomerates intend to come to the country when the regulations are defined, so we have companies in various stages in the country.
How will this market be when Brazil regulates the activity?
The Brazilian market will be highly competitive. We are a people who like novelty, but we are also very loyal to those brands that manage to win our preference. In this regard, relationship is the key to the business. Those operators who invest in training and qualifying their customer service team and seeking to resolve their audience's doubts and problems with agility and cordiality will have a great advantage.
In recent years we have seen more and more bookmakers sponsoring football teams, championships, including naming rights, and commercials in stadiums and on TV's. How do you evaluate this reality in Brazil, especially considering that bookmakers are also operators of other types of online gaming, such as casinos and live casinos?
The sports betting sector is the biggest investor in sponsorship of football clubs in Brazil, surpassing the financial sector, which held this position until 2020. Currently, of the 40 clubs competing in the Brazilian Championship in series A and B, 35 already have some investment in sponsorship of bookmakers. But this is not exclusive to Brazil: this same movement occurs in several other countries.
As I mentioned above, it is necessary for each operator to know their target audience very well. When we talk about sports in Brazil, we talk about passion! Quite different from when we talk about other types of games. Sports betting user-targeted marketing strategies must be unique, targeted and focused. It's that old maxim: there's no use shooting a cannon to kill an ant.
What sets a successful iGaming marketing campaign apart?
There may be several recipes, but what I've been seeing over the years is that a successful marketing campaign in the area of iGaming needs to encompass strategies in the short, medium and long term. For this, it is necessary to know your target audience, segment actions, develop strategic partnerships, identify brand ambassadors, build brand reputation (there is still a lot of mistrust regarding sports betting on the part of players), participate in sector events and be with the best, win new ones and keep your customers, encouraging them to invest more and more in your brand.
What are the strategies that operators should consider when arriving in Brazil and choosing a marketing campaign that consolidates them in the market?
The first strategy is to find a company that knows the sector and can help build the best brand positioning for this new operator. I say this taking into account that the company already has a team formed and sought professionals who had experience in the sector and in the Brazilian market, otherwise, there is this zero step.
After this “territory recognition”, the operator needs to develop its positioning and create its marketing strategy, aligned with the company's strategic planning. With the foundation well built, it's time to start building the walls: partnerships, affiliation program, sponsorships, segmented actions, events, customer relationships and so on. We can only build a firm house on a solid foundation.
Is an operator's marketing limited to sponsoring a team or championship and seeking engagement via "fan-partner"?
Of course not! This is just an action, which has great visibility, there is no denying it. But tell me: which company lives off a single marketing action? Every company needs a good marketing manager who, aligned with the commercial team and under the baton of a great conductor (manager), will identify within the marketing mix all the possibilities that exist to achieve the expected result.
Marketing goes far beyond advertising, or sponsorship. We have differentiated marketing actions for the different stages of the sales funnel: those that will bring potential customers (funnel mouth), those that will bring more information about your brand to those who are already interested or already know your product, but are not customers (middle of the funnel) and those that will convert potential customers into effective customers (bottom of the funnel). Not to mention the after-sales actions to keep that customer active in your base.
How to open the range of marketing options to get out of the "sameness"?
I once read an interesting phrase from a very intelligent gentleman, Peter Drucker: “the goal of marketing is to make selling superfluous, it is to know and understand the consumer so well that the product or service adapts to him and sells itself.”
Daily contact with the customer, a good base of Market Intelligence and the spotlight turned to the consumer will bring this answer to each operator, because there is no ready formula and the options are very customized to each company.
I strongly believe in segmentation, relationships and participation and organization of events as competitive advantages. While some choose to swim in the red ocean, full of the competitors' blood, a few jump into the blue ocean and create their differentials. This is the difference between companies that achieve exceptional results.
How can an operator stand out from the crowd that has become the sports betting industry in Brazil?
Building brand promoters. They are those loyal customers who, due to their recognition and trust in your company, will recommend and defend you in their communities. The world is connected and more and more consumers share information and opinions about brands, products and services.
There is an indicator known by its acronym in English – the NPS (Net Promoter Score). It serves to measure the level of brand promoters your company has gained. Leading brands are those that are able to raise the bar on their NPS and build long-term relationships with their customers.
Source: Exclusive GMB
