The pros (and the cons) of influencer marketing

Episode 4 of Hot Paper Lantern (HPL Digital Sport)'s reach and retain webinar series with SBC and SBC Webinars, going into influencer marketing

As we’ve seen with numerous examples in recent years, influencer marketing can be boom-or-bust. DraftKings experienced soaring stock prices after bringing Michael Jordan on board, while securing Jamie Foxx has seen BetMGM gain unprecedented publicity. 

On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent antics with the Coca-Cola bottles at his Euro 2020 press conference draws parallels with Kawhi Leonard’s similar Gatorade controversy at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, two incidents with major sports stars that proves ‘influence’ works both ways. 

This is why the fourth episode of SBC Webinars’ Reach & Retain series, sponsored by HPL Digital Sport, will look at the power of the influencer and where brands can use them successfully. 

Drawing on the findings of the recent ‘Executive Reality vs User Expectations’ survey in conjunction with YouGov and SBC Americas, the webinar on July 22nd at 11:30am ET will discuss how brands can use influencer marketing to scale their user base, increase revenue, and make their business more attractive to investment and acquisition.

As the aforementioned survey showed, there is an important place for using influencers in the present and future of sports and sports betting marketing. Among users that consider themselves sports bettors, 35% of males and 34% of females, as well as 35% and 39% of all sports bettors ages 18-34 and 35-54 respectively, all placed ‘Expert Content, including journalism, videos and advice’ among the most important factors in choosing which apps and websites to frequent. 

Additionally, 39% of bettors aged 18-34, and 34% of all female bettors placed social media content among their most important factors, while 35% of 18-34 year old bettors listed celebrity endorsements as one of their key deciding factors. 

With the thirst for, and power of influencer marketing apparent not only in the actions of the major operators, but also in the answers given directly by players, our panel featuring Gethin Evans, Chief Marketing Officer of Spotlight Sports Group, Phil Leif SVP of Marketing at HPL Digital Sport and David Isman, Head of Marketing and Analytics at Jock MKT, together with moderator Brad Evans, formerly of FTN, will get under the hood of influencer marketing in the sports betting space, discuss effective utilisation of influencers; from sourcing them to working with them, and what sort of ROI to aim for and expect from working with them. 

Tapping into the reach and level of trust they have with their audience, utilising the right influencers can enable a company to turbocharge the scaling of their user base, and in Episode 4 HPL will examine best practices in using influencer marketing to increase the value of your business.

Register for free for ‘Scaling with Influence’, taking place Thursday July 22nd at 11:30AM ET, by clicking here