Sportsbet.io on sport partnerships: there’s a lot we want to bring to life

Partnerships between gaming brands and the world of sport are nothing new. But finding ways to truly harness the potential of these relationships has never been simple.

At Yolo Group’s Tallinn HQ, the branded jerseys from around the world that adorn the walls suggests the operator’s Sportsbet.io brand has found the right balance.

In conversation with SBC News, Chief Brand Officer Shane Anderson breaks down the company’s outlook and strategy behind such alliances, in addition to elaborating on the growth benefits that can accompany such link-ups, challenges associated, and much more.

Understanding the word partnership is critical

The necessity of ensuring a natural alignment with customers that will ultimately prove to be mutually beneficial is of the utmost importance when assessing a potential partner in this field, he begins.

In turn, this delivers a range of opportunities to focus on, centred around what truly matters the most and ties-in with the user and fan experience. 

“We know our customers love sport, and I think that we’re always on the lookout for partners that share our values,” Anderson says. 

“Then it becomes natural for us to want to work with sporting leagues, teams, ambassadors, those groups that have an affinity with us when it comes to things like innovation.

“When we’re thinking from both a brand and product perspective, it is about placing ourselves at the heart of delivering a fantastic customer experience. 

“The other angle that goes into that is enhancing community building through what we like to think are best-in-class content initiatives.

“It matters to us that we can work with those leagues and teams in particular when it comes to contributing to things like social responsibility initiatives that are certainly at the heart of their communities and are really important to us.”

With a range of alliances having been secured across numerous sporting disciplines, Sportsbet.io is not immune to assessing market preferences. However, what potential complexities could ensue when it comes to the localised nature of popularity.

For Anderson, this boils down to the initial process of selecting a partner, in addition to understanding and committing to the drivers and objectives of each.

“Once you do that, that literally lays out the roadmap for success,” he explains. “Whenever we go through that process, we need to make sure that we’ve outlined what the expectations of both sides are and how that can be managed both from a strategic and resource perspective. Always having aligned values is very important.

“We make sure that we’ve got clear ambitions in the market that matter to us both. That way, we can always align on what we can deliver for long term success and growth. 

“I think the partners that we work with understand and certainly align with what we need for brand awareness and promotion, as well as the importance of collaboration.

“We make sure that we understand the market that we want to be involved in. We try to align with the right partner for that market, and we also make sure that we’ve got that shared approach to delivery. 

“That’s been one of the key ingredients for us, and it’s certainly the way that we always look when it comes to having a conversation with a potential partner.”

How to effectively mitigate headwinds?

When dealing with a professional sport in any capacity, it would be shortsighted to believe that everything will simply be plain sailing. Encountering challenges is arguably inevitable, but how are the impacts of these constructively diminished?

This, he continues, centres around both parties being fully committed, as well as understanding the drivers and objectives that exist for both sides. 

“When you’ve got that as an initial starting point, then it allows for so many ways you can navigate through what some of those challenges would be,” he states.

“I think the way we always try and look at it, trust and transparency can never really be underplayed in partnerships. 

“There’ll always be challenges that may impact one partner more than another, or one partner completely and not the other, and those things happen often. But I think having an ability to have open and honest discussions with both sides is a necessity for success.”

Maintaining a focus on collaboration to facilitate a long-term deep and positive relationship, the importance of regular meetings and communication channels are also hailed as critical when you have to manage any issue or challenge effectively.

“We do that with our partners,” Anderson says. “It allows us the ability to always be on top of things before it becomes a major issue.”

Maintaining global momentum

Undeniably, one critical plus point of securing a wave of such partnerships is the impact that this can have on a brand across targeted markets, whether that be simply cementing your place or making an initial splash.

However, in addition to being key in helping to establish initial headway, Anderson sees one major positive in the evolution of strategic partnerships in recent times. 

“There’s a constant adaption to what is needed in new markets, and that always ties back in with both customer experience and expectation, as well as technology,” he remarks. “Those areas are always critical to Yolo group and our brands.

“Being able to cross promote with the partner through well thought out and executed campaigns is critically important, especially as personalised experience and continuous connection remains so important for customers. 

“I think the other thing is that we always want to be able to partner with organisations that are always wanting to create contextual experiences so that we can collaborate on creating opportunities and experiences that resonate deeply with the fan base.”

With opportunities plentiful, Anderson shares much confidence regarding an ongoing ambition of evolving a passive viewer into becoming an active participant through these opportunities.  

What’s to come?

There’s significant news to come from Sportsbet.io, hot on the heels of a pair of recent announcements that have already captured a lot of attention.

The first of these came courtesy of a two-year agreement alongside Matchroom for the sponsorship of three World Snooker Tour events, namely the Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions.

“The reality is that it’s all about timing, and now is the time to partner with Matchroom,” Anderson notes. “They’re globally known for their ability to bring outstanding sporting events and concepts to life.

“They’re phenomenal innovators. They know how to create really engaging content and, importantly, they understand their audience so well.”

January also witnessed the Sportsbet.io brand ambassadorial roster strengthen further with the addition of NBA star Tristan Thompson, who brings a “deep passion for the cryptocurrency space” to the company.

In addition to heaping praise on a “great fit”, Anderson closes the discussion by looking at the doors that this collaboration will open up when it comes to the creation of content opportunities.

“Personalised events give you a great opportunity to deliver some phenomenal fan and customer experiences,” he concludes. “The thing about Tristan is that he gets it. He believes in it. He’s genuinely excited about what he can bring to life through these opportunities.

“It’s a marriage made in heaven in a lot of ways, and he really wants to create some amazing connections with the communities attached to Sportsbet.io. We’ve got a lot of plans with him. 

“There’s a lot that we really want to bring to life. We see this as being a really exciting pathway for us.”