On this week’s episode of Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming, we’re delighted to welcome Adam Gaskell, Head of UK Marketing at Kindred Group. With a number of brands under their umbrella, Kindred are one of the UK’s top iGaming operators and are major sponsors of sports clubs and organisations around the country.
Adam sat down for a chat with Digital Footprints Managing Director Sharon McFarlane, and the two touched on a range of topics. Let’s find out more.
Responsible Gambling Messaging in Sports
Gambling companies have a long history of partnering with sports clubs and organisations. However, in recent years these collaborations have come under scrutiny, and we’ve seen increasing calls for gambling firms to deliver responsible gambling messaging through their sponsorships.
Kindred Group have launched a unique initiative called the ‘0% Mission’, which ultimately aims to achieve zero revenue from harmful gambling. This ambitious goal is one of the first of its kind in the industry, and Adam touched on how they have been able to implement this scheme and raise awareness of responsible gambling through their sports sponsorships:
“We’ve been able to open up the conversation on safer gambling with fans and punters more easily. It’s on the front of the shirts and the front of peoples’ minds. We are seeing the benefits of that work, as well. At the beginning of 2020, around 40% of our player base in the UK were using voluntary safer gambling tools, and that’s now near 75%.”
Partnerships between gambling and sports brands continue to face heavy criticism, and an imminent Premier League advertising ban could be the first of more to come. For iGaming companies, using sports partners as a vehicle through which to deliver effective responsible gambling messaging could alleviate some of the pressure the industry is currently facing.
Measuring Sponsorship Success
One of the trickiest parts of any sponsorship deal is figuring how to accurately measure its success. While the obvious answer is that success equals more customers, the truth is a little more nuanced.
Adam uses Kindred’s partnerships with Rangers FC and Middlesborough FC as examples and points out that the success of these partnerships isn’t necessarily determined by the volume of acquisitions they see as a result. Instead, KPIs are specific to each sponsorship, and variables like term length can affect what a sponsor should be looking to get from a partnership deal. Adam goes on to mention brand uplift studies and brand share of search results as alternative metrics that can be used to measure sponsorship success.
Navigating Legislative Challenges
Working in a heavily regulated industry like iGaming can be fraught with difficulties. Staying on top of ever-evolving rules and regulations can be tricky and time-consuming. However, doing so is absolutely critical, as falling foul of the law can see companies face legal issues and damage brand reputation. Adam said:
“It’s obviously hard. There’s a massive microscope on our industry about sponsorships and how it’s perceived by wider audiences. We can only do what we’re in charge of, which is to make sure that our customers and potential customers know that we’re a safe environment, and work with the football clubs to ensure that’s marketed and put across correctly.”
Adam and Sharon also discussed:
Community impact through sponsorships (jump to 9.04)
Activation across different sponsor partners (jump to 12.12)
Inclusivity in marketing (14.05)
A huge thanks to Adam for taking part, and thanks to all our listeners. Watch this space for episode 8!
