As the NFL kicks off its 2023-24 season, online sportsbook DraftKings is debuting a campaign that takes advantage of fantasy football mania and fans’ enthusiasm to feel like they’re in on the motion. The star-studded play comes as sports-betting competition is expected to ramp up, with firms capitalizing on a category that attracted $93.2 billion in bets last 12 months, in keeping with estimates from the American Gaming Association.
Launching Aug. 21, DraftKings’ latest marketing blitz builds on a previous effort that laddered right into a Super Bowl ad starring Kevin Hart because the comedian acts incredulous on the deals DraftKings is offering. This 12 months’s campaign ropes in other celebrities (notably retired football players) to assist Hart get the message across.
“What we actually saw resonate last 12 months was [Hart’s] lighthearted humor and that witty comedy that enabled us to bring to life the exciting promotions that we’ve got to supply in a extremely easy way,” said Stephanie Sherman, chief marketing officer of DraftKings. “As we were fascinated with ways to proceed so as to add into the campaign with something recent, we wanted to think about how we could best bring to life a few of that excitement.”
In the primary spot of the brand new push, Hart contends DraftKings is “spoiling” him with offers like receiving $200 immediately after placing a $5 bet. He asks retired NFL “smart guy” (and Harvard graduate) Ryan Fitzpatrick to interrupt it down.
“Just place your bet, and your bonus bets appear immediately in your account, like magic,” says Fitzpatrick. He brings it home by concluding with one in all his famous catchphrases: “Like Fitz-magic.”
The campaign also introduces a recent tagline, “The crown is yours,” which might be deployed across all the company’s channels. While making reference to the brand’s royalty-themed name, the brand new tagline is part of a bigger customer-centric approach to DraftKings’ marketing, Sherman said.
“Our intentions listed below are to focus and orient around the client,” Sherman said. “We’re communicating across the promise and the joys and excitement that we all know our players get from engaging with our product.”
Expansion play
Football season is a key time for online sportsbooks, which is comprehensible for the reason that category grew out of Americans’ love of fantasy football. Companies like DraftKings and FanDuel began as fantasy football platforms where individuals could compete against friends and strangers alike for bragging rights and money prizes.
“We have had a longstanding partnership with the NFL as you concentrate on sports betting and fantasy,” Sherman said. “As you concentrate on the variety of games and engagement across it and other sports, the NFL season is a key and important moment for us.”
In the wake of a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that put the legality of sports betting on the states, moderately than on the federal government, the fantasy league apps quickly morphed into platforms that will enable convenient sports betting. Since that ruling, online sports gambling has grown into an $8 billion industry. DraftKings is available in 21 states, representing roughly 44% of the U.S. population. That explosive growth has resulted in some changes to the corporate’s marketing strategy.
“As we take into consideration our marketing strategy, the best way we’re fascinated with it is leaning more right into a national scale, though we are going to at all times have local components as a part of our buys,” Sherman said. “We’re capable of higher connect with our audience on a national scale after we take into consideration engaging with our players and creating efficiencies across our various properties.”
That expanded national presence has enabled DraftKings and its competitors (most notably FanDuel) to take out higher-profile promoting. DraftKings will even face fresh competition in the near future as Disney throws its hat in the sports-betting ring. ESPN last week inked a take care of Penn Entertainment to rebrand Penn’s existing sportsbook as ESPN Bet. The offering might be the exclusive sportsbook of the network.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel had strong presences on the Super Bowl, with DraftKings running a star-studded business with Hart (together with an activation around betting on Molson Coors’ first spot at the sport in greater than 20 years). That form of high-profile, buzz-worthy marketing will proceed throughout this season.
“In and across the NFL launch and the Super Bowl are exciting moments for us, in terms of each acquisition and general engagement,” Sherman said. “We’ll proceed to deal with retired players as we take into consideration NFL and activation and bringing that to life in engaging ways to attach with Kevin and our promotions.”
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