iGB Affiliate 55 Feb/Mar | Page 45

TRAFFIC UNIFYING CUSTOMER CONVERSION DATA ACROSS DEVICES Alistair Albers of The Media Image analyzes the conversion path in the era of device multiplicity, and concludes that iGaming operators are not doing enough to understand the cross-device and increasingly complex offline-to-online interplay of future prospects. INCREASINGLY, customer to brand engagement is cross-device. Complex user interaction paths underpin how prospective customers are attracted, engaged and converted to your brand. Large global e-commerce and travel brands have known this for some time, however the complexity of the conversion path is ostensibly similar for all of e-commerce, and iGaming, and in particular online casino, is no different. Historically the iGaming sector has had a very insular path to conversion or attribution view, in essence, dominated by single session last-click events almost always isolated by device type. Of course, many operators have matched player IDs purchase funnel now defined by device multiplicity is increasingly difficult to tackle. The typical journey Take a typical casino customer acquisition journey from point of first exposure and first-time cookie drop to first-time deposit and user ID (UID) assignment. A young male (USER A) is accessing content on a Thursday evening. An exit pop-under is served exposing USER A to BRAND B. USER A is using a tablet device for his browsing session. A few days later, USER A via a series of desktop-based search behaviors and content consumption is added to a behavioral segment called “Although the simplicity of single session last-event tracking is appealing, it is not only flawed, it’s financially irresponsible.” across device to understand usage and, in some instances, particularly for large landbased brands, the opportunity to match online to offline has existed. and in some cases been exploited. However similar logic has not been applied to try and understand the cross-device and more complex offline-to-online interplay of prospects, i.e. pre-customers. Although the simplicity of single session last-event tracking is appealing, it is not only flawed, it’s financially irresponsible. More progressive brands have taken the view that they will try and understand user behavior within the purchase funnel. However, a “Casino Intender”. BRAND B via a desktop display campaign intentionally targets said segment and via a premium ad unit on a sports new site serves an ad three times to said user. At this point, USER A’s desktop device is mapped via a placed cookie. Another 24 hours later, USER A (with friends) visits a land-based operation owned by BRAND B. USER A decides that a live casino experience doesn’t match his taste, however online poker is of interest. Having now had five cross-device and offline exposures to BRAND B, he conducts a brand search from which he accesses the site via a paid search affiliate direct linking with consent to BRAND B’s online poker offering, using his iPhone 6 mobile device. Based on four different nonunified customer touch points, BRAND B decides to cancel its pop-under and display campaign and instructs affiliates that mobile - specifically iOS - users convert well! Alternatively, and had one prior touchpoint been on desktop, they could have decided to upweight the buy due to its first-event impact on affiliates. Clearly both decisions are poor, and made in isolation of highly important cross-device considerations. Cross-device attribution Ultimately cross-device understanding requires complex ad technology support and equally as complex business intelligence and analytical resource. Unfortunately, adoption of enterpriseclass ad technology within iGaming has been limited, and when considered alongside comparable sectors, rather poor. One might argue that in less competitive times the need for media optimization coupled with heavy reliance on affiliates was unnecessary. This is no longer the case. Despite restrictive US gambling policy, indications from highly competitive casino markets make it clear that adoption will become a necessity, moreover with anticipated shifts in US policymakers’ attitudes toward online gaming, the opportunity to embed the correct data, tracking and technology infrastructure from day one is there. iGB Affiliate Issue 55 FEB/MAR 2016 41