WHY SOPHISTICATED IN-GAME MARKETING TOOLS WILL BE A KEY DIFFERENTIATOR
Jo Purvis, Director of Marketing and Relationships at Blueprint Gaming, on how the online casino market is sharpening the way in which it interacts with players through advanced marketing features.
Competition within the online casino market is intensifying.
Operators face an uphill battle in differentiating themselves in such a saturated marketplace, while the ongoing scrutiny around regulatory requirements only adds to the challenges for achieving business growth in a tough climate.
From a marketing perspective, the current state of play may seem like a never-ending issue for some, but it also presents the opportunity for the industry to reassess how it approaches player acquisition and retention.
When it comes to online slots, the games themselves will continue to be the main driver in attracting players, with a sufficient gameplay enough to keep them engaged for long periods of time. However, it’s becoming evident that operators require additional support to make these games stand out in a busy crowd, especially once the “novelty factor” of a new release has worn off.
That’s why complementary marketing tools are set to become an invaluable resource for online casinos going forward. These features can make a real difference in capturing the attention of consumers and keeping them absorbed in the experience.
Tailored campaigns
Player trends continue to evolve and they now expect to receive a gaming experience that is unique and appeals to their own needs. They want to experience the next level of gaming, rather than receiving the same generic free spins offer that everyone else is familiar with.
In-game marketing features have been in existence for some time now, but advances in technology mean we can now deliver tailored and more relevant promotions to players.
New products such as in-game lobbies and promotional mechanics mean we can cleverly market new games and promotional offers to players in real time. This next generation marketing push can help to significantly boost engagement, deposits and session times, as they add an extra layer of excitement to the existing gameplay.
Flexibility for operators
While it’s important that marketing features are designed with the player in mind to create a richer gaming experience, these tools must also be flexible enough to meet the needs of a modern-day operator.
We cannot underestimate the need for differentiation in today’s marketplace, which means incorporating such features has to be done in a way which works for operators. Complementary tools which cannot be customised to incorporate an operator’s branding, or fail to provide the flexibility to change the price points of a campaign will be ineffective.
That’s why when we developed our new marketing features, we approached existing operator partners to find out how they can support their desired promotional activities. One of the key requirements from operators was that the back-end functionality gave them the freedom to create a mix of short- and long-term marketing pushes, designed by their own teams.
The new Blueprint Super Mode is an example of how operators can customise a promotion to meet their needs. The feature sees free spins randomly awarded to active real money players during a set promotional period, which is determined by the operator.
Going forward, we anticipate in-game promotional tools will be an important part of an operator’s marketing strategy. They present new and more sophisticated ways of targeting players at all stages of the player lifecycle, from acquisition to reactivation of lapsed users.
Crucially for players, these customer-centric features will only produce a more personalised gaming experience that will raise excitement levels.
