SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Better Collective has hired Sarah McChesney-Gordon as Head of Commercial Projects to focus on developing and commercialising its new flagship data and odds-powered proprietary creative and adtech suite, BetSense.
McChesney-Gordon shares with SBC, how her wealth of experience will also play a crucial role in key commercial projects across the wider business ecosystem.
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SBC: Congratulations on your new role at Better Collective! What was it about BC that prompted you to make the move?
Sarah McChesney-Gordon: Thank you, I am absolutely thrilled to have joined this dynamic group. Better Collective has always been a company that I’ve admired from afar for its great people, innovation and unwavering ambition, so it was a bit of a no brainer when the new opportunity came about. What drew me in is Better Collective’s audacious vision of becoming the leading digital sports media group and I firmly believe that the group has all the right ingredients to achieve that. The energy pulsating through the company is infectious and I cannot wait to be part of the journey.
SBC: What will your new role entail?
SMG: I am joining the relatively new Brand Partnerships Team, which has an exciting global remit to drive revenue opportunities beyond affiliation. My role is crucial in ensuring that we strategically develop the right ad tech and media avenues for our existing and new partners.
Better Collective is significantly investing in ad tech and with my background at Fresh8 and Sportradar, a core focus of mine will be to drive forward the development and success of BetSense Ads. With BetSense Ads we can offer massive advantages in automation, relevancy and performance benefits for our own and operated (O&O) sites and partners. The potential for growth and success is enormous, so I am very excited to explore the possibilities that lie ahead for the product.
SBC: You’ve held a number of high-level positions at companies from across the igaming space, including Fresh8 and Sportradar. How will your experience at these companies shape your approach to the role of Head of Commercial Projects at Better Collective?
SMG: With over 14 years of experience in the ever evolving igaming space I have been fortunate enough to see many different sides of the industry in action including operator, AdTech start-up and sports media/technology groups.
Working in such different environments has allowed me to see first hand what works and how success can be achieved. I am confident that with the entrepreneurial spirit Better Collective has in abundance and its global scale we have as a rapidly-growing group, we can deliver the right value proposition for our partners.
SBC: For those that might not know, can you give us an overview of BetSense? How is this taking rich media ads to the next level?
SMG: BetSense Ads is our new product that brings together all the core functionality that we believe our partners want and need to drive optimal new customer acquisition as well as supporting their efforts in customer retention and re-activation. This innovative product delivers dynamic ad formats displaying the most relevant and personalized content all in local language and, with design at the forefront, it also makes the ads really stand out on the page. For example, we want to have sports fans engaging with upcoming Women’s World Cup content on our sites, seeing the most relevant line-up and injury stats, alongside exciting, real-time betting opportunities.
A massive benefit to our partners is having the BetSense ads technology available to them while also having access to our high intent sports betting community of +250M monthly impressions. With our evolving audience targeting segments, we have a product that is scalable and relevant to users at all marketing touch points. That is what I believe truly makes Better Collective stand out from the competition and reinforces the group’s position as an industry leader.
SBC: How do you plan to develop Better Collective’s BetSense even further?
SMG: First effort is to make BetSense ads the best sports betting product it can be. We want to be leading the charge in that space, pushing the boundaries on how we improve sports fans’ betting experience and consistently drive strong ad performance for our partners.
Beyond sports betting, our sights are firmly set on how global non-betting brands can access and benefit from the growing Better Collective network. As exemplified by our recent acquisition of Playmaker HQ, our sights are firmly set on how we engage with more “entertainment-oriented” and casual sports fans. This expansion opens up for exciting developments across the Better Collective group when it comes to new ad formats and access to inventory. Busy and exciting times ahead!
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Sarah McChesney-Gordon – Head of Commercial Projects @ Better Collective
