OtherLevels is sponsoring Betting on Sports 2017, the second edition of the largest international sports and betting trade conference at Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington.
Ahead of the 12-15 September event, we spoke to the company’s Managing Director and Founder Brendan O’Kane about what he is looking forward to at #boscon2017, his perfect sporting event, and how sports and betting can work better together.
SBC: What are you looking forward to at Betting on Sports?
BOK: I’m keen to hear the latest thinking in terms of how operators will evolve their product for their users, plus of course what impact industry consolidation is having on the users. Also, I’m always keen to discover new ‘challenger’ operators, who are innovating and bring new products to market.
We have recently partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) marketing company Amplero, hence this is top of mind for us. I’m particularly interested to learn how others are using AI to improve reach as well as player content.
We firmly believe that AI and machine learning will redefine the way that operators approach player engagement and marketing automation, in the same way that robotics has transformed manufacturing. The operators that embrace this now, and build deep expertise, will have a massive advantage over those that continue to use first generation marketing platforms.
SBC: What are you promoting at Betting on Sports?
BOK: OtherLevels is a leading second-generation digital marketing platform, and will be showcasing how our services can provide operators with better results when it comes to customer engagement. Major gambling companies including Ladbrokes Coral, GVC Holdings, Betfred and Camelot already use our tools to great effect.
Email and SMS campaigns are standard formats of customer communications in the egaming industry, but they yield increasingly poor or unknown results. However, through the use of second generation tools such as web and mobile push notifications, rich inbox, and interstitials, operators can now reach even those who’ve opted out of marketing.
The OtherLevels platform enables clients to acquire sooner, engage smarter and retain longer and supports desktop, mobile web and apps.
SBC: Where can betting work together more closely with sport?
BOK: I believe football clubs can learn from the way in which operators engage with their audience. A lot of the services we provide, such as web push on desktop and mobile, can maximise a club’s reach when sending content to the fans about the latest ticket details, club shop offers and news.
SBC: What sports betting partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
BOK: It’s interesting to see how betting companies now dominate the shirts of so many football clubs, not only in the Premier League but across Europe and the lower divisions. A decade ago, only a handful of sponsorship deals were in place but now half of England’s top tier clubs are partnered with an operator.
Online casinos have now realised the benefits of how these deals can help to increase brand awareness and acquisitions, with LeoVegas and Grosvenor Casino striking partnerships to cross sell their casino offering and sportsbooks.
SBC: Describe your perfect sporting event
BOK: I have been lucky to be a spectator at the Olympics and other great sporting events, but the standout for me has to be two from opposite ends of the spectrum. The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final in Sydney was an epic match, with all the tension and drama of extra time, and England were fine and deserving winners (and I say that as a proud Australian!). At the other end, nothing was better than joining my daughter and sleeping out in The Queue at Wimbledon this year, then watching a glorious day of tennis. Priceless.
Next up is day one of the 2017/18 Ashes at Brisbane starting November 23rd. I’ll be there for the first ball.