iGB Affiliate 66 Dec/Jan | Page 42

FEATURE BEHIND THE BIG BRANDS Raketech’s creative director Jani Peteri explains the thinking behind the affiliate’s new look and his experience of high-profile branding projects at PokerStars and Betfair GIVEN THE CURRENTLY RATHER PRECARIOUS position that igaming affiliates are in thanks to regulators across the globe taking an increased interest in their marketing efforts, Raketech’s rebrand seems rather well-timed. Seeking to reposition itself as a responsible supplier, in October the Malta-based affiliate business announced a new brand identity, centred around a logo known as ‘the guider’ (see below). The Raketech ‘guider’ Jani Peteri, the company’s creative director, who joined the firm in June and oversaw the new identity, explains: “The logo is built up of three icons – the letter ‘R’ for Raketech, the expertise we have in finding users and information, which is represented by the magnifying glass, and then there is the way we analyse data and hit our targets, which is represented by the target symbol. When we put all three together we get our new brand symbol, which we call the guider.” The new logo is a long way from the somewhat traditional and outdated previous one and, says Peteri, reflects the changes that have been made in the company since it was founded in 2010. “The rebrand for Raketech was needed because we simply are not the same brand we were when the company was founded. Raketech has had a remarkable journey and we wanted a brand that reflects what we have accomplished, where we are today and to show we are ready to take the company to the next level.” “Casino is challenging because all the casino and slot games are already products on their own, but you don’t want to look like everybody else” 38 iGB Affiliate Issue 66 DEC 2017/JAN 2018 Peteri is no stranger to big branding projects that reflect a shift in focus. Prior to Raketech he worked for PokerStars, joining just as the gaming giant launched its casino and sports betting verticals. “At the time, PokerStars had launched the casino because they wanted it up quite quickly but the brand was not completely in place so together with the creative manager I built up the PokerStars casino brand,” says Peteri. “Casino is challenging because all the casino and slot games are already products on their own, but you don’t want to look like everybody else. To solve this, we created brand cards so that we could shift and move them to increase or decrease our brand part of it. It was a great way to be able to dial up or dial down the branding depending on the offer or promotion. “When you get a new NetEnt game you really don’t want to put some sort of red canvas on top of the already great-looking design, but in this way we could sneak the PokerStars brand in at the same time.” Aesthetics aside, igaming creative and branding professionals are also challenged by terms and conditions imposed by partners in a way that is less of an issue in other industries, says Peteri, who worked on the agency side