Gambling brands prosper from World Cup advertising
June 28, 2018
Ahead of England’s final World Cup group game clash with Belgium – the first England match to be aired on ITV – 4C Insights reveals gambling brands are among the most popular advertising campaigns of the tournament so far according to social media insights.
Measured from June 14th to June 25th, brands including Betfair, Coral and Paddy Power (measured by the number of social media engagements that were positive and not negative) achieved an average sentiment score of 71 per cent from nearly 250,000 engagements. As seen in The Times almost £500 million has already been bet in the past week with four out of five bets made during matches.
Notably, Paddy Power has also generated the highest TV social lift of any brand associated with the World Cup. Measuring the brand’s social media engagements in the five-minute period immediately after the start of a TV ad, Paddy Power ranks highest with a social lift score of 696 per cent, with its “Enough of the Nonsense” campaign, that plays off the introduction of VAR technology to the game.
Kirsty Brice, Marketing Director EMEA at 4C Insights comments, “While gambling commercials can only be shown after the watershed at 9pm or during live sports fixtures, brands including Paddy Power have done exceptionally well to generate such a high social lift from as few as 18 TV ad spots. It’s a positive reflection on the relevance of this channel as mobile matures into its role as the second screen.”
With half of the matches shown exclusively on the BBC, advertisers have had to focus their broadcast efforts on ITV. Tonight, brand ads will for the first time this World Cup have the greatest reach to consumers in the UK as this will be the first England match ITV will broadcast. Official sponsors of the England team, Budweiser, achieved one of the highest sentiment scores of all at 78 per cent. The brand’s “Light up the World Cup” campaign depicts a series of drones carrying bottles of Bud to the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Alongside this, the brand is distributing eight million ‘red light’ cups, which contain audio detectors and LED lights that glow brighter when the sound level increases.
At 79 per cent, the highest social sentiment score has been driven by fellow ITV sponsor Screwfix. The DIY brand’s “Legends of the Game” hails unsung heroes in the construction business who share the names of footballing legends. The brand generated nearly 12,000 social media engagements from just 26 ad spots.
Brice concludes, “Advertisers are creating integrated media plans combining TV with other channels such as social media. By taking a holistic approach to video marketing across screens, brands can stand out amongst distracted consumers with high-impact creative. The net effect for advertisers doing it well is a true ‘surround-sound’ experience that drives tangible brand impact.”