Don’t gamble on reaching your audience

A successful digital marketing campaign depends on a multitude of factors, which all need to play to your favour in order to identify and move customers through your marketing funnel and turn impressions into sales. As is generally true in life, the first step of that customer journey is often the hardest. The top-of-funnel step, often referred to as awareness or outreach, is where you cast a wide net and try to reach as many potential customers as possible, in the hope of creating engagement and interest.

Success at this phase often relies on two key attributes of the person you are reaching.

1. Is this person part of your target audience?

2. What is the mindset of that person?

Who do you want to reach?

Having a clear working definition of your target audience is crucial to an effective marketing campaign. Chances are, if you are reading this article, then you are interested in reaching, through digital advertising, an audience that is online. A smart choice considering that, according to the Office for National Statistics, 87% of all adults in the UK “use the internet daily or almost every day”. If you understand your target audience to be adults aged 18-35, then the number climbs to 99.5%. But how do we make sure the people we are reaching are actually part of our more specific target?

Finding your customers

For many years, online marketers enjoyed finding their target audiences with relative ease. Websites and online tools tracked peoples’ online habits and were able to form a strong understanding of that person in order to serve them highly relevant advertisements. But that all changed with the passage of the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR), which sent shockwaves through the digital marketing community.

Many of the tools and techniques for using behavioural data to identify and track individuals were severely hindered. We at onload {media} searched for and found a solution that works for us: an ad network that gives advertisers access to a massive, untapped audience through partnering exclusively with online casinos.

Many advertisers are looking to engage with 18+ audiences: car manufacturers, luxury goods, upscale fashion, to name just a few. Casino audiences are rigorously verified as over 18 and casino operations are subject to strict regulation by the UK Gambling Commission.

An engaged audience

Any advertiser knows that getting the message seen isn’t even half the battle. The real challenge is in turning that impression into engagement.

With online casinos, you can get your video ad in front of an audience that are already paying to consume entertainment. In more succinct wording, they are in consumption mode.

What’s more, they are happy to sit in front of a screen for an average of 12 seconds to wait for it. This valuable time – the seconds between the consumer selecting a game and game upload – could be filled with relevant and engaging, non-skippable ad content to occupy and entertain them. The perfect audience.

A growing audience

Not only are gamers in online casinos a receptive audience, they are also a growing audience. According to the British government, nearly 9 million people are regularly spending both time and money in online casinos. This number has steadily climbed by about half a million people each year since 2014, with the largest year-on-year growth happening in the 25-34 age group. With distribution like that, the value of tapping into the casino market is clear.

An improving image

We know casinos don’t historically have the best reputation. But in recent years, the British government has stepped in and begun passing regulations to improve the operations of online casinos. The impact has been a reformation of the industry into a more legitimate online venue for entertainment. Online casinos are now some of the safest sites in the UK, but the lingering negative image has kept it an untapped resource. Now is your chance to be a part of the positive change. If you’re keen to learn more about the casino market, get in touch with onload{media}.