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Tackling the European football championships with programmatic video advertising

| By Elena Carruthers | Reading Time: 3 minutes
Europe’s top international football tournament is always a big revenue driver for betting operators, and this year’s competition holds even more significance after a 12-month delay caused by the global pandemic.

Ahead of this summer’s European football championship, Florian Geheeb, global director of advertising sales at Sportradar, explains how bookmakers can utilise programmatic video advertising to efficiently target new bettors, reduce ad waste and drive revenue.

While the month-long competition of 52 matches presents a vast number of betting opportunities, operators are under more pressure than ever to acquire new customers and retain existing ones. Traditional advertising methods will provide broad visibility, but at a time when marketing budgets are under increased levels of scrutiny, operators will want to engage with punters in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Sportradar ad:s, a full service, data-driven marketing solution, has recently brought to market Programmatic Video Advertising, which enables sportsbooks to reach their target audience through dynamic messaging and visual content.

As operators compete for eyeballs ahead of this summer’s first high profile sports competition, the programmatic video advertising service provides access to 60 billion video ad requests each day and more than 600 private deals specially curated for the igaming industry.

Speaking on the possibilities enabled by the new feature, Geheeb said: “Using complex algorithms, clients can target the most suitable customers with relevant ads during their online experience. For sportsbooks, this enables them to reach key audiences across multiple channels and touch points, optimising the second screen experience by placing ads within video content, media or mobile phone games.”

Creating genuine value – the impact of online video advertising

Online video advertising will be a key component of the marketing mix for operators ahead of the 11 June kick-off. The medium continues to grow, with brands increasing spend by 35% over the last two years. And, research shows the impact of online video advertising delivers a 97% increase in purchase intent after a positive experience with a video ad, while 95% of prospects are more likely to remember a video ad compared to a display one.

“Where programmatic video advertising differs is through its highly targeted and data-driven approach, which enables operators to spend their budgets more efficiently and reduce ad waste,” said Geheeb.

The ads are delivered transparently providing operators with greater oversight of cost and display.  

Programmatic video advertising can help operators drive engagement with customers, increase traffic to their website and generate leads. Its impact can be measured at every step of the conversion funnel.

“The automated process increases the likelihood of converting punters into depositing customers with research showing that revenue can grow up to 49% faster compared to competitors who do not use video advertising,” continued Geheeb.

Optimise for success – the necessary tools to achieve a range of goals

For operators looking to optimise their marketing strategies ahead of the tournament, programmatic video advertising is most efficient when embedded within an existing digital strategy, rather than a standalone activity.

With a range of ad types available including non-skippable in-stream ads, six second bumper ads and in-read ads, Sportradar’s unique DSP service can help operators achieve a range of commercial objectives.  Brands wanting to deliver a video campaign on premium content with a specific focus on sports fans can tap into more than 600 deals the company has had specially curated for the igaming industry to deliver an efficient CPM and CPcV as well as significant reach.

Additionally, the service helps operators optimise their video campaigns for reach and connect with a large and highly targeted set of users to achieve an efficient CPM. It can also help deliver improved completion rates when optimised for performance, delivering an efficient CPC and CPvC for operators. 

Each strategy is capable of creating additional revenue opportunities for operators and those who adopt highly impactful video content directed at relevant users are sure to have a competitive edge this summer.

Highlighting the value of programmatic advertising for operators, Geheeb said: “Given the efficiencies it can deliver, programmatic video advertising must be a key consideration for marketers in the industry who want to maximise budgets and reduce waste.”

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