TRAFFIC
ROLLING THE DIE
ON TARGETED IN-PLAY ADS
Despite new ASA guidelines designed to curb ‘bet now’ ads, clever creatives and well-leveraged data
can maintain TV’s effectiveness for marketers, writes Blair Robertson
WATCHING SKY SPORTS on a
Saturday recently, one Campaign journalist
kept an informal tally of advertising and
found that 42% of ads aired before the
9pm watershed encouraged gambling.
With Premier League games on Sky
attracting average audiences of 819,000
according to Bloomberg, and a huge
23.6 million viewers tuning in to watch one
of England’s World Cup matches,
the focus is on marketers to uphold
responsible standards.
The Advertising Standards Authority’s
(ASA) new directive, which came into effect
on 2 April 2018, is aimed at addressing what
it calls the ‘trivialisation of gambling’ in
social media, CRM and online marketing
activities. Ads must no longer create an
inappropriate sense of urgency, which means
those that encourage viewers to “Bet now!”
may become a thing of the past.
But television is a core marketing channel
for the gambling and sports-betting market,
known for its ability to reach mass audiences
and drive response. How can advertisers
ensure compliance while still getting results
from their campaigns?
Rising standards
The updated guidelines were drafted by the
Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP)
to clamp down on advertising that targets
vulnerable gamblers with urgent calls-
to-action, bonuses and promotions. The
directive restricts not only inflammatory
messaging but also creatives that trivialise
repetitive betting habits.
The ASA is showing no signs of
leniency since its introduction, banning
a recent PokerStars ad for implying that
inexperienced poker players can easily
win games by bluffing, which was seen as
encouraging reckless gambling.
Lydia Mulkeen, client director at the
UK’s largest media agency, the7stars, works
with the likes of Coral and Ladbrokes.
She believes that the directive has proved
manageable because brands had plenty
of time to prepare for implementation.
“Companies within the gambling sector
welcome guidelines to ensure responsible
marketing and have long been self-
regulating. The independent body The
Senet Group, for example, was set up ahead
of the directive to promote responsible-
gambling standards.”
Is TV still a sure bet?
Marketers are concerned that the new
code will impact calls-to-action within
TV ads and therefore the ability to market
efficiently. While it’s true that messaging
needs to change across an entire strategy,
the scale offered by TV means it will
continue to be an effective channel for
the gambling and sports industries.
Marketers can keep utilising it as a great
driver of audience response by making
some smart adjustments.
2) Use data to understand
campaign potential
As Mulkeen says: “Sport continues
to be the biggest driver of live TV
viewing, with no other platform giving
the opportunity to reach such a scale of
engaged sports enthusiasts in a gambling
frame of mind.”
To get the best ROI and meet
brand-specific KPIs, marketers must
link campaign performance to business
impact. The right technology can easily
measure how audience response – be that
search activity or a monetary transaction
– is directly attributed to TV activity.
This means gathering same-day insight t