Betfair plays a game of two sides

04 March 2010 | By Jo Roberts

Betfair has signed veteran commentator Andy Gray in an attempt to show its commitment to the beautiful game and engage cynical consumers who believe that gambling businesses only care about profit.

Of internet users who have heard of the Betfair brand, 17% believe it is only interested in profit, according to GMI/Mintel figures. While this is comparable to its rivals, Betfair is determined to use marketing to help define itself as a brand that has the customer at its heart.

Betfair group marketing and brand director Oscar Nieboer argues this sports fan-led strategy simply reflects the company’s business model. Betfair is a betting exchange, which allows fans to bet against other fans, rather than placing bets against odds set by the company, as is the case with rivals such as Ladbrokes.

While rival services keep their fingers crossed that gamblers will lose, Betfair takes commission from both sets of opposing fans, so it doesn’t matter who wins or loses. As a result, the betting exchange is constructing a strategy to demonstrate “it is on the side of fans”, says Nieboer.

But with consumers so unsure about the motives of betting companies, Betfair wants to work on convincing potential customers that it really is in favour of the fans.

Betfair is the leading betting company with this ‘exchange’ model. It has an estimated market share of 10%, according to Mintel, with a 67% profit increase between 2008 and 2009. The company has been working with sponsorship agency Synergy to devise “sporting stories” that will draw in fans.

Traditionally, Betfair’s core customers were horse racing fans, but now the firm is looking to diversify into areas such as football to increase profits. It has identified a demographic that it terms “natural-born gamblers”. It says these people are more likely to bet on football than other sports and have a different mindset from other gamblers.

Nieboer says this type of person is “more emotional, more recreational and a bit more heart”. This is in contrast to the “thinking gambler”, who tends to take a more rational approach to betting.

“We believe we’re genuinely the only betting site that wants England to win - and that’s a compelling message to tell our audience”

Oscar Nieboer, Betfair

The storytelling element is therefore more important to the natural-born gambler, says Nieboer. They want more entertainment around the sport, so they require a different kind of attention to the horse-racing punter.

Statistics indicate that the betting firm is right to look towards football fans, the natural-born gamblers, because 67% of online gamblers bet on football, compared with 59% who bet on horse racing, according to GB TGI data. Nieboer says its own research shows that football betting has the most potential for growth in Western Europe.

With the World Cup less than 100 days away, promotions involving the sport will be tactical as well as strategic. Since Betfair doesn’t benefit from setting odds on England losing, this gives Nieboer a story to tell in his marketing. “We believe we’re genuinely the only betting site that wants England to win – and that’s a compelling message to tell our audience,” he adds.

While there is no big budget allocated to marketing around the World Cup specifically, Betfair will concentrate on targeted email marketing campaigns to reignite interest from football fans who gambled during previous big tournaments.

But its overarching aim is to commit football fans to Betfair over the long term – not just this summer. Nieboer believes that to do this, the exchange must “tell our story of fans betting against fans”.

Betfair launched a dedicated football “hub” last year following sponsorship deals with Manchester United and Barcelona FC, which means that it can provide content from both teams on the website. The football site provides fans with stories and statistics around the game, which Nieboer says is “like a magazine”.

The latest deal with commentator Gray will provide further content for the site. He is signed up to provide regular tips and opinions.

Betfair’s recent advertising campaign also doubles up as content for the site. Two real fans are filmed debating football while watching a match. The conversation is then edited into a 30-second ad slot to emphasis its “fans vs fans” message. The debate is also available in a longer format to be used on the Betfair site.

This type of content is vital to the strategy of showing “the voice of football coming through Betfair”, Nieboer argues. If the natural-born gambler wants to be entertained, Betfair needs to find content to keep these people returning to the service.

Tim Crow, chief executive of sponsorship agency Synergy, which works with Betfair, says signings such as Gray’s can help demonstrate credibility if used properly. Betfair PR manager Andy Lulham argues that the signing of a football pundit demonstrates “how we genuinely want to provide punters with expert advice”.

The sponsorship strategy, which saw the company sign a deal with English cricket last year, aims to reinforce the “fans vs fans” positioning. The brand signed up former England cricketer Phil Tufnell and former Australian player Jason Gillespie during the Ashes test series. The cricketers were set head-to-head challenges, such as a lawnmower race. Crow says this helped the company demonstrate the “fan vs fan” element, while “dramatising the rivalry of England vs Australia”.

This PR-led campaign was supported with email marketing and CRM to further build up the rivalry.

The brand also uses occasional small-scale campaigns to illustrate the “fan vs fan” theme. For example, posters were erected before a recent Manchester derby football match with real-life opposing fans’ banter.

Dedication to the supporters has also been demonstrated in a “get behind United” campaign, which gave fans the chance to have their face replace the Betfair logo when Manchester United football players were giving their post-match interviews.

Betfair is also planning to put social media to use. Since its foundations are online, unlike rivals such as Ladbrokes which began on the high street, it believes it has the advantage because its users are already comfortable with digital channels.

The potential for Betfair to build its user base is clearly there – gambling websites have increased the popularity of betting overall in the past three years, according to TGI. One-fifth (21%) of the population used a bookmaker or betting exchange in 2009, up from 14% in 2006. Betfair hopes that by telling its “fan vs fan” story through entertaining content, it can convince consumers to bet on its service rather than rivals.