Last week, our Income Access team had the pleasure of attending both ICE and LAC in London, England. The speaking sessions and conference chatter at both conferences included discussions about how iGaming business leaders can stay competitive in this dynamic industry, and what they can do to adapt to trends to appeal to players in future. Not only did the team come back with even more appreciation for British culture, they also gained new insights on the latest trends coming to the iGaming world. Here’s the scoop you need to know about our team’s key takeaways:
Trend #1: Entering a New MarketIf there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s that that change is inevitable. We’ve found many businesses looking to expand their brand reach into new markets and find new opportunities for growth. A number of operators, software providers and affiliates are already leading the charge in researching, developing new strategies and identifying new opportunities that could provide lucrative opportunities in the iGaming industry. Of these, the most popular we found at ICE and LAC were the developing markets in South America, East Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. In fact, it appears that online lotteries and land-based brands moving online are taking over this particular culture!Trend #2: Streamlining Your Marketing EffortsHave you been expending resources attracting the wrong type of player? The type of traffic that will contribute the most value to your business is the kind that has a need or interest in your particular offering. Gaming operators are now in the process of combining their efforts across various teams and departments in order to achieve maximum bang for buck, from optimizing their spend, to consolidating the tools they use. In fact, businesses often look at what combination of tools and assets will allow them to better hone their marketing investments in order to save time and effort. This includes evaluating not just consumer spending habits, but also understanding how they make decisions, their content preferences, what they value most, and other pieces of information you may NOT even realize that you have access to. With market saturation and competition on the rise, understanding your customers and finding the right value of traffic is key. Sometimes this includes discovering how to make the most out of your already readily available tools.Trend #3: Getting Your Brand Above the NoiseWith millennials being the new and exciting audience to iGaming, there is another powerful tool that we mustn’t forget. And the best part is - it can have absolutely zero-cost to your marketing strategy. That is social media! Brands are now creating big noise in the social media arena, by engaging with core demographics and adding value by talking about topics that interest these audiences most – from offering experiential prizes to tangible bonuses. Affiliate marketers are taking the space by storm in order to build stronger community outreach. Some of the newer and most interesting platforms that we are seeing currently are Instagram and Snapchat. Reddit is another area where we’ll likely see eSports and Daily Fantasy brands take the channel by storm. Take some time to research how other companies are structuring their social media presence, and learn just how this tactic can also help your iGaming brand flourish.Think you are ready to take on these trends? Let us know by connecting with us through LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter!