bet365 Partners
Source: bet365

Catena Media and Better Collective react to the relaunch of bet365 Partners

Companies who fail to evolve will see their customer base slimming, said Catena Media’s Gloria Cereda in response to the roll out of bet365 Partners – a shiny new affiliate programme for the most successful online sports betting operator.

Over the years, bet365 has been fully committed to enhancing its relationship with marketing partners by providing industry leading products, insights and tailored support. As a result, bet365 relaunched its affiliate programme this month to bet365 Partners.

As part of an interview for the SBC Leaders magazine, two of bet365’s key partners give their reaction to the programme’s new look. Gloria Cereda, Catena Media’s Director of Commercial, was joined by Josh Pizzie, Head of Commercial at Better Collective.

Cereda reserved special praise for the new media gallery, which will allow affiliates to get ‘more impact’ from their marketing messaging, while Pizzie told us that the live stats feature was the most anticipated upgrade for Better Collective.

Pizzie added that all operators should be focusing on the speed and granularity of data, with Cereda agreeing that the sharing of such data – as well as the openness over future plans – is “no longer an igaming taboo” but the driving force for global partnerships.

SBC: What can you tell us about your history working with bet365?

GC: Catena Media and bet365 have been working together for a long time, the relationship has grown from being UK focused into a multi geo approach. Today, Catena and bet365 work together on a global scale and support each other’s growth in key markets. 

Catena Media has high ambitions to continue its expansion in Europe, the US and LatAm territories and I strongly believe that bet365 and its team will be one of our key partners wherever we decide to go. 

Across the years, the amount of data and information shared between the two companies has increased and I think this has been a key part of the relationship. Sharing information, data and discussing future plans is no longer an igaming taboo but the driving force behind global partnerships such as this one.

JP: Better Collective has a strong historic partnership with bet365 based on mutual trust and an open dialogue. At BC we have always valued the partnership with bet365 and look forward to a continued strong collaboration in the years to come.

SBC: And how excited are you about the upgrades to the platform?

GC: I am very excited to see that bet365 has finally developed a media gallery. I have always found it quite interesting that bet365, a pioneer in the online world and the most successful sport operator, had not given its affiliate partners some of the basic tools to create tailored and exciting campaigns. The media gallery will allow affiliates to make sure that their messaging has more impact. 

The new backend also has a more dynamic, younger look – what a fantastic face lift! I cannot wait to continue to explore its functions and see what further developments this great team will make to bet365’s approach towards affiliate marketing.

JP: We are of course super excited about the upgrades to the bet365 platform.

The live stats feature is probably the most anticipated upgrade for Better Collective, as this feature will enable us to optimise new campaigns and channels far more efficiently and will be instrumental to the continued growth of our paid media division.

Live stats will also enable us to follow performance and optimise in real-time in conjunction with key events such as the upcoming European Championships.

We’re also looking forward to the new compliance section which will be a great resource to ensure that Better Collective’s ever-developing internal guidelines continue to be fully aligned with those of one of our most important partners.

SBC: Traditionally, how has their programme compared with other brands?

GC: I think the bet365 programme, compared to other brands, has always lacked essential data in the backend to properly track and understand performance. It required extra manual work from an affiliate perspective to evaluate campaigns and was limited in terms of landing pages and marketing material.

I am very excited to see that they have now improved their platform and are definitely heading in the right direction. The best strength of bet365 has always been their amazing ability to retain customers which incentivises affiliates and media partners to work with them on long term projects and campaigns.

JP: bet365, historically, has been a provider of consistent and reliable data, which creates a transparent partnership where both parties can express their opinions about the areas where operations can be strengthened. It’s this honest dialogue that ensures long-term value for both parties.

SBC: How has your demand to see the most granular data evolved?

GC: Online marketing is all about data. Clicks, sign ups and first deposits can all be affected by utilising data. The more information that operators and affiliates gather, and most importantly share, the more effective their acquisition and retention campaigns will be. 

The marketing cycle between operators and affiliates has traditionally been a “broken” one with affiliates owning the player intent data (being the first point of landing for the players) and the operator owning data related to their behaviour after depositing. 

Between 2017 and 2018, we have seen a big shift in terms of how operators measure affiliate success. In 2017 delivering thousands of NDCs would have been considered a successful campaign, but today there is a new important metric: the lifetime value. 

In order for an affiliate to respond to that request successfully, it meant that operators and affiliates had to fix that broken cycle – it took the industry a few years and there is still room for improvement today. 

Merging the initial intent of the player with the behaviour after deposit allows to fully optimise campaigns, acquire high quality players and have an impact on retention numbers.

JP: Better Collective has grown considerably in recent years, with continued M&A activity increasing our global footprint in regulated markets. With this growth and scale there is an ever-growing need for more data to guide Better Collective’s internal optimisations and growth strategy.

SBC: What is the future for affiliate tracking with the biggest operators?

GC: In my view, affiliate tracking is becoming more sophisticated every day, with affiliates and operators having to optimise each click and campaign. It is no surprise that link structures used a few years ago only for paid marketing are now becoming of common use even for all other marketing activities. 

With a crowded online offering and very savvy users, it is no surprise the conversion war requires sophisticated tools. Companies who stay behind will definitely see their brand awareness decreasing and their customer base slimming. 

JP: The future of affiliate tracking, which would result in growth to both volume and value, would see affiliates able to pull insights instantly, in real-time and across any combination of parameters.

It’s this combination of speed and granularity of data that all operators should focus on to better equip their partners with the insights needed to effectively optimise campaigns and maximise results.

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