Tag: Sportsbet

Melbourne, Australia – Betting platform Sportsbet has launched its latest campaign which highlights the many product benefits of its AFL Same Game Multi Tracker. The said tracker lets users keep track of their Same Game Multi stats all in one place on the platform.

Employing its signature tongue-in-cheek style, the platform personifies the inner workings of the tracker by mounting a comical feature that shows an ‘imaginary’ HQ where different ‘departments’ work together to keep tabs on the wagering stats. 

Created by Sportsbet’s in-house creative team, in collaboration with production partner Palomina and Steelbridge Studios and Alt VFX, the campaign uses virtual production technology to bring AFL Same Game Multi Tracker’s ‘imaginary’ HQ to life. 

“It’s always exciting being given the opportunity to work with new tech. Virtual production really suited this creative idea and with Steelbridge we were able to build the world that Armand and Sportsbet envisioned for the Tracker HQ, working with amazing talent from WA and Qld. It was a great process and shoot,” said Palomina’s Kate Merrin.

Shot in both virtual and real sets at Steelbridge Studios in Queensland, Palomina engaged director Armand De Saint Salvy to amplify the ‘imaginary’ HQ narrative. Together, all partners took a big idea and brought to life the functionalities of the app through relatable and comical departments, each representing the legs of a Same Game Multi.

“Armand’s off-beat creative approach complements our brand satire perfectly. He’s a master storyteller who seamlessly combines comedy and drama to make stories resonate with a brand’s target audience. We just love the style of this ad and the world which we built for it, and we are confident punters will engage with AFL Same Game Multi Tracker as a result,” said Sportsbet’s Head of Brand, GTM & Advertising, Jason Thatcher. 

Sportsbet’s Executive Creative Director, Rambo Goraya, also said, “Sportsbet has always been renowned for its audacious and unexpected campaigns and this latest campaign is no exception. It’s a product that punters love and we hope the playful creative visualisation of Tracker in the TVCs resonates with them just as much as the product itself.”

The creative is available across social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, together with radio. The campaign went live across various sporting platforms (FTV, PTV and Digital) on 30 April and will be aired across various channels for up to 6 months.

In MARKETECH APAC’s year-end special series for 2022, Sportsbet came out as the ‘Video Campaign of the Year’. The platform bagged the recognition for the 2022 iteration of its campaign for group betting feature ‘Bet With Mates’ and multi-bet product ‘Same Game Multi’. 

Ultimately, the platform came out on top for utilising bespoke production and delivering creative that is of cinematic value. It was during the said campaign that the platform boasted of the employment of new technology from virtual production studio Dreamscreen. 

With mobile platforms now the lifeline of our content consumption, we have seen storytelling in this space become an extension of the ever-sophisticated and highly elaborate silver screen. One particular Australian brand – Sportsbet – took cinematic value up a notch in the early part of 2022, resulting in the launch of its March campaign emerging as our Video Campaign of the Year. 

Through the use of new technology from virtual production studio Dreamscreen, Sportsbet, Australia-based online betting and entertainment website, has raised the bar in ad delivery, building promotional shorts that boast bespoke production to take audiences into an otherworldly delight. 

Sportsbet’s team, Jason Thatcher and Raman Goraya, the brand’s heads in brand and advertising, and content and partnerships, respectively, jumped in a conversation with MARKETECH APAC to bare with us how the campaign for its betting products spurted out of the seeds of creativity to ultimately take form as films that time-travels viewers into eras of Ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages. 

The campaign sequel that invited Cleopatra into the spotlight

The March 2022 campaign, which put into focus its group betting feature ‘Bet With Mates’ and multi-bet product ‘Same Game Multi’, was in fact a sequel of an earlier series of ads that marked the launch of Sportsbet’s unique cinematic direction. In the 2021 campaign, settings included barbarian times and storylines circled imaginative themes such as an alien invasion and travelling to the future.

Thatcher and Goraya said that these are the lengths necessary in order to create product and brand stickiness. 

“Sportsbet is always focussed on making sure we can drive [cut-through] and memorability,” they said. “With so many messages in [the] market (within the wagering category especially), if we’re not capturing the attention of the audience to promote our products, then we’ve failed.”

The latest one, developed in partnership with production outfit Palomina, had a trio of ads within it. The short titled ‘Alliance’ was set in the Middle Ages, the film ‘Cleopatra’ showed the queen amongst her people in Egypt, and the ad ‘Rescue’ places fictional characters on a deserted island. Each film was striking and on point both in visual and flow – carried out with top-class cinematography, individuals in the historical settings are seen planning to place their bets as a group with gusto. 

“We used a similar approach for [the] 2021 campaign, and we found our audience [was] highly engaged by bringing fascinating but recognisable environments to life,” shared Thatcher and Goraya.

“There was also quite a bit of humour and cheekiness in putting your everyday person in a setting viewers would usually see on a Hollywood feature or Netflix series. By doing [this,] we were not only gaining memorability but staying relevant to our audience.”

The brand outperforming itself

According to Sportsbet’s marketing heads, the brand outdid itself in the March 2022 campaign with the content hitting above-average levels of its own benchmarks in bringing “Enjoyment”, being “Different” and “Unique”, and as an initiative that “Sets trends”. 

Thatcher and Goraya said they wanted to build ‘tension’ and this suspense and excitement was achieved by crafting environments outside of the current time period. 

“[When] faced with the temper of Cleopatra or a medieval witch, we are able to position our product offering as an interesting solution. Whenever we expand outside the scenarios you see on a lot of advertising, we notice viewers have a higher level of engagement and curiosity.”

Of course, whilst consumers are bedazzled with the brand’s creative delivery, a production of such scale is not without its own challenges. According to the team, the numerous iterations needed for the campaign made for intricate logistics. 

In fact, one of the executions which played around the release of the new Top Gun film had to be delayed due to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine political tensions at the time.

“Our media investment dictates Sportsbet needs to produce a wide range of creative executions to avoid wear out and irritation,” said the brand’s leaders. 

“Having to deliver up to 30 different executions (including bespoke digital media assets) across 5 unique scenarios becomes a complex production challenge. We had challenges where we needed to adjust scripts for filming time and making sure we can talk to the right product offerings.”

The courage the brand mustered in order to get out of its comfort zone in marketing is obviously paying well. The streak of innovative and original films is not just hitting home in terms of brand engagement, but is also adding up to earn the brand a masterful reputation in adland.

To those who wish to adopt a similar level of creative endeavour, the duo said, “The main advice would be to have ambition but stay agile and expect challenges throughout [the] production.” 

What’s next for Sportsbet?

As far as cinematic narratives are concerned, the campaign won’t be the last in the betting brand’s sleeve, the marketing heads ensured. 

Sportsbet had not been laying low a bit and is consistent with its marketing efforts, albeit on a more laid-back approach. The latest one from its content line-up is an ad for the World Cup, still injecting that tongue-in-cheek play we’ve all come to love.

Thatcher and Goraya said they have a commitment to provide the best and most innovative products to their customers. 

The duo concluded, “Our marketing will continue to support that goal as well as [continue] to highlight the fun and engaging nature of our brand.” 

This recognition is based on Google Analytics results on the most-read stories of 2022, along with editorial validation on the significance of a leader’s contribution, campaign results, and overall impact.

Australia –TikTok now allows online gambling company Sportsbet to advertise to its Australian users over the age of 21. Despite its advertising policy prohibiting any gambling-related content, TikTok is now breaking its own rules by allowing sports betting that has obtained permission from TikTok via an application process to be promoted on its platform.

According to a report by ABC, TikTok stated that the ads were only shown to users over the age of 21, but experts said this would be hard to regulate. TikTok also stated that the recurrence of the advertisements would be limited and that an “opt-out feature” would be implemented.

Even with a ‘strictly controlled advertising pilot’, as a Tiktok spokesperson stated, young people will undoubtedly see the advertisements and viral videos created about joining the races.

According to Tiktok’s guidelines, ‘TikTok defines a minor as any person under the age of 18.’ However, Sportsbet will be advertised to users over the age of 21. Although TikTok has a great mechanism for guaranteeing filtered content for its users, it is simple to modify your birthdate to appear older when creating an account for the platform.

TikTok also stated that it employs a variety of methods, including a safety moderation team that monitors accounts where users are suspected of lying about their age. In Australia, the minimum user age is 13, with accounts under 16 barred from direct messaging, hosting live streams, or appearing in the For You feed. 

According to the TikTok Guardian’s Guide, ‘if someone tries to create an account but does not meet our minimum age requirement, we suspend their ability to create another account using a different date of birth.’

Melbourne, Australia – Online betting company Sportsbet has revisited its ‘cinematic’ approach to its campaigns, tapping into the talents of its in-house creative team and virtual production team Palomina, to promote its latest products in line with the approaching National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL) seasons this year.

The campaign features five different scenarios through 2022 and follows the same lovable group of friends navigating unexpected scenarios with the help of Sportsbet’s Same Game Multi and Bet With Mates products.

Rambo Goraya, creative director at Sportsbet said that their internal creative team loved turning their ambitious ideas into reality with a new edge. 

“Every year we challenge ourselves to dial up the fun, the level of product insight, the humour and unexpectedness, all in the name of memorability and engagement with viewers. Dreamscreen blew us all away and provided an amazing setting for our ideas,” Goraya said.

Jason Thatcher, head of brand and advertising at Sportsbet, said, “Our audience give us a lot of feedback on the humour and enjoyment Sportsbet campaigns deliver and we never want to let them down. From an effectiveness point of view, we’re excited about our added focus on product this year to make sure we remain relevant and truthful to a growing betting customer base.”

Meanwhile, Clay Jacobson, founder and CEO at Dreamscreen, said, “We loved working on the Sportsbet TVCs. Dreamscreen technology comes into its own when creating whole worlds for productions to inhabit. It was a blast moving from Cleopatra’s temple one day, to then be deep into the supernatural caves of the Middle Ages the next.”

Campaign elements include 14 x 30 & 15s TVCs supported by various bespoke edits across social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat; plus OOH and major press.