SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEW

ILLUMINATING“IN-PLAY BETTING” OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE FA CUP FINAL

INTRODUCTIONOnline gambling has been on the rise for some time, some estimates suggest a 20% growth year-on-year for the past decade.

In-play betting is becoming an integral part of any online offering, With social media playing an important role: recent figures from independent mobile advertising network InMobi revealed up to 69% of mobile web users indulge in multi-screen activities while viewing TV.

This presents a unique opportunity for both online and traditional betting companies with instant odds available in living rooms and pubs around the country.

This report looks at the social media tactics used by 16 bookmakers during the match itself. From kick-off to the final whistle.

THE FA CUP FINALWigan Failed To Read The Script in a Largely Uneventful Game

• Wigan Athletic began the day as rank outsiders, available at odds of between 6/1 and 10/1.

• Manchester City were expected to win it, and win it big. A 3-0 victory was as low as 7/4 pre-match.

HOWEVER

• The game was largely uneventful with the first (and only) goal scored in the dying seconds of the game. There wasn’t even a yellow card until the 60th minute.

• This would mean that betting companies would have to work even harder to get their odds across, with little chance for fluctuation.

THE BATTLE OF THE BOOKIESPaddy Power’s Engaged Twitter Following Meant That The Company Was Able to Secure More Posts Than Its Competitors

Company Twitter Followers

Paddy Power 157,000

Coral 112,000

Ladbrokes 100,000

Sky Bet 82,000

William Hill 56,000

• Paddy Power were the most prominent bookmaker during the game.

• Its success was based on an engaged Twitter community. There were a wide number of retweets assigned to most of its posts.

• William Hill benefited from its Spot the Cup advertising campaign and competitions associated with that campaign.

THEMES IN COVERAGEIn-Play Betting Was Not an “In Word.”

• Just 98 posts referred to in-play gambling.

• Almost 800 posts mentioned a tracked bookmaker in relation to the FA Cup.

• Odds were a key feature of in-play betting mentions Wigan were available from 16/1 to 4/1.

• Bet365’s #InPlaywithRay and 33/1 odds on Callum Mcmanaman to score first are also evident.

KEY THEMES IN IN-PLAY BETTING MENTIONS

KEY THEMES IN GENERAL POSTS

• General betting mentions included jokes (Adrian Chiles) and competitions (FPLGIVEAWAY18)

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS• The game started brightly, with enthusiasm for a Paddy Power tweet calling for

predictions. This received 11 responses in the 3rd minute of play.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS• The opening minutes of the second half featured punters feeling smug that

they had spotted the cup in William Hills Spot the Cup competition.

• The longer the game went on the more confident people became in Wigan’s chances. This led to an upward trend through the second half.

SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS: JOKESPaddy Power Were King of The Jokes

• Paddy Power are renowned for using jokes, and shock marketing tactics, this has left them with an engaged social media following who actively retweet and engage.

• Coral got in on the act too with its tweet featuring a number of times in the early stages of the match.

• Comedy is all about timing. A Ladbrokes joke was one of the most popular tweets of the day, but failed to make a mark on its FA Cup coverage as it was posted too late.

SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS: COMPETITIONSStan James Benefitted By Aligning With a Fantasy Football Site to Promote its Competitions.

• Competitions offering free bets were an efficient way to increase coverage.

• The winner of this competition would, of course, have to register an online account to claim their prize

• William Hills’ competition offered greater riches and got people talking about its advertising campaign. This was most prominent during the half-time break.

SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS: COMMENTARYAll Bookmakers Provided Running Commentary on Twitter, Only a Limited Number Provided Odds Alongside The Commentary

• Providing commentary on the game is one of the main outputs from official Twitter feeds of tracked bookmakers. This creates a perfect opportunity to provide odds.

• Whilst Twitter commentary was commonplace. There was a limited number of posts assigning odds to the commentary

• More common were tweets where punters were provided with a link.

SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS: FOLLOWING TRENDSCallum Mcmanaman Was Trending Throughout the First Half but Was Mentioned Just 35 Times in Relation to Bets

• Callum McManaman was trending on social media as he was having a storming game. Many companies tweeted about him, but there were a limited number of posts offering live odds on him.

• The majority of posts for McManaman came at halftime, this can be seen as a missed opportunity

• Similarly Roger Espinoza’s penalty claim was a big talking point, but little was said about him; just 2 Posts in total

SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS: HALF TIME SPECIALS110 Social Media Posts were Present During The Half Time Period

• Half time is a key battleground in online gambling. Halftime Twitter specials are normally common place. But the response in this match was somewhat underwhelming

• Half time was also an opportunity to align social media with television advertising.

• Using hashtags on television adverts is a simple way of gaining social media conversation.

TOP TIPS

6 TIPS FOR ATTRACTING SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE AND GAINING IN-PLAY CUSTOMERS.

TIP 1: GET YOUR JOKES IN EARLY• Paddy Power successfully got their jokes in early meaning that

they were at the forefront of punters minds. Whilst this coverage was fairly low-value it has the potential to massively increase follower numbers through retweets.

• Ladbrokes best jokes appeared late in the day when many exhausted sports fans were heading out for the night. The tweets were hugely popular and may help to set a base for the next event, but they did nothing to help with its FA Cup coverage.

TIP 2: GET HASHTAGGING• In the hours before the match Coral launched a

competition with the hashtag #cupfinalhero. They continued to use this throughout the day and it featured over 40 times during the game.

• William Hill used #spotthefacup which aligned its social media presence with its television adverts.

• Bet365 used the hashtag #InPlaywithray to highlight some of its odds at halftime.

TIP 3: BACK YOUR COMMENTARY WITH ODDS• Callum Mcmanaman was trending throughout the

game and always looked most likely to score. He was only mentioned by one of our tracked bookies on 35 occasions.

• There was a surprising lack of live in-play odds being supplied on McManaman.

• Our analysis shows that there was an upward trend in mentions during the second half. Bookies need to strike when the iron is hot and get their odds out into social media.

TIP 4: WIN AT HALF TIME

• There were over 110 social media posts during the halftime period. This is clearly an ideal time to push odds.

• It’s also likely that many punters are refreshing their snacks or taking “comfort breaks.” This is where odds need to be really eye-catching in order to pry fans away from the fridge. Halftime Twitter specials can help with this.

• Adverts used to be an annoyance, however, bookmakers have made adverts which people look forward to seeing.

TIP 5: BACK YOUR ADVERTS

• During the halftime break on ITV there were at least 3 betting adverts.

• Bet365 use “Sexy Beast” Ray Whinstone to push its in-play odds at half time. It used the hashtag #InPlaywithray elevating the popularity of the adverts and aligning the brand

• Similarly William Hill used the hashtag #spotthefacup and included competitions based on the advertising campaign

• There was little evidence of Ladbrokes supporting its larger than life spokesman Tiziano Crudeli. There were just 4 uses of #gameon

TIP 6: SOCIAL MEDIA PARTNERS

• Stan James really benefitted from its alliance with FantasyFootyPundits with several competitions featuring during the match.

• Football tipping sites are a great place to start. Football Tips’ tagline reads “lets beat the bookies”, so if you make it on to its Twitter feed then you must be doing something right.

© 2013 Media Measurement Ltd.

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