1. RESTYLING AND PATENTS
The flexibility and velocity in acknowledging global changes have allowed Espresso Games to keep up with the times. In order to do so, the company has pursued the first of its marketing keys: it has established a new way of planning its future and through its restyling, it has entrusted the brand with the role of an ambassador of this renewed identity that focuses on Product and Marketing.
In recent years 70-80% of players connect to play with their smartphones. This massive use has made it necessary to shake up visual communication in terms of graphics, information and marketing. While trying to grasp the new trends and the need of the new generations to be part of a community, Espresso Games has created a series of Social Slots with a patented mathematical system that embody three elements that characterize the community: sharing a common goal, competing with other players, and going beyond the man v machine relationship by choosing human interaction.
This marketing strategy reflects both the company’s willingness to listen to the needs and desires of the players, and to pursue multiple patents that are very difficult to obtain in an industry where inventing something unique and intangible is almost impossible.
2. CROSS MARKETING
Cross marketing is another key and should be imagined as a triangle made up of Digital Strategy, Storytelling and Horizontal Marketing. Those who do not communicate today don’t exist. The digital revolution has obviously involved the gambling industry as well. Media, web and press: each channel is connected in some way and, to achieve good results, iGaming companies must always be on the forefront as brands.
At Espresso, we also love storytelling: we like to share our innovative projects, successes and achieved milestones, firstly within the company, between colleagues and departments, and then outside of the company, with our longstanding customers and with potential new clients. Sharing is a powerful marketing tool that makes us one of the most communicative studios in the industry.
Espresso Games discovers new trends through digital elements, with the awareness that social media potentially transform a story into a commercial message, an idea into a trend, making the brand live in a sort of virtual dimension, disconnected from the company in its more material sense.
3. BLENDING AMONG DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES
The third side of the triangle is horizontal marketing by which we mean interaction and design with parallel worlds to gambling. Espresso Games has always tried to broaden its horizons and not limit itself to drawing inspiration only from the gaming industry.+
Our team is curious and fascinated by the creative influences that can arise between apparently different worlds, and our goal is to interact and speak to a much wider audience. This is the reason why we collaborate with partners from different fields: to give some examples, we have an ongoing cooperation with FashionTV Gaming Group, a part of the prestigious television channel, in the production of games for the luxury and lifestyle brand. The same type of collaboration started with the luxury design brand Alexander & Maximilian Rich.
Furthermore, Espresso Games draws inspiration from the world of entertainment and cinema. To pay homage, we decided to raise awareness about the brand and our creations at the Cannes Film Festival during the 72nd and 74th editions. The Pavilion Italia inside the Hotel Majestic has been an important location for Espresso Games since 2019. It has actually raised the interest and curiosity of screenwriters, producers and organizers present at the event.
The focus has always been the parallelism between the two worlds that have always influenced each other. Just to give an idea of what we are referring to, we can mention a few movie or slot titles, such as Gladiator, a movie that becomes a slot, or 21, which tells the world of casinos and gambling, drawing inspiration from a true story. The Pavilion Italia was also a perfect showcase to Espresso for the launch of its two themed slots: Cinema and Cinema One, a tribute to the cinema of 1900, from the black and white era to the 1950s. This year, the gambling/cinema combination has strengthened, and the 75th Cannes Film Festival was a wonderful setting for Espresso to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
4. EDUCATION
To mention another important field, university education is dear to Espresso. In fact, our brand has become an ambassador for the entire iGaming industry in the classrooms of Higher Education. Cinema, iGaming and the world of education come together for a common purpose. Espresso Games has made its knowledge available by contributing to the creation of the module entitled The Language of Online Gambling, included in the Level I Master Translation and adaptation of audiovisual and multimedia works for dubbing and subtitling. With the coordination of Professor and Screenwriter Antonio Falduto, the Master course has now reached its twenty-first edition.
Indeed, a meeting was held during Cannes 2021 and it gave the world of cinema the opportunity to observe how the production of online games takes place, starting from the storyboard to the final product. Professor Falduto was pleasantly surprised for the similarities with the production of an audiovisual work.
The Espresso brand will remain connected to the world of cinema and universities to sponsor and implement concrete projects that create mutual professional opportunities, starting with the training of new professionals able to reap the benefits of an enlarged industry and develop new synergies.
5. DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRODUCT
Another successful marketing key is the deep knowledge of the product. At Espresso, the various departments do not have a life of their own. They do not create and develop in an individualistic way. On the contrary, the philosophy of the company is to bring the different departments together and cooperate to create uniformity and ensure a deep knowledge of the product.
To be able to promote and sell a product it is essential to know the product to perfection. This helps to recognize its strengths right from the very first development. As a matter of fact, the Espresso marketing team is present together with the graphic designers and developers during the first brainstorming that give life to the games and also in the early development stages.
Thanks to this active participation, the marketing team will have the right tools to be able to present the product to the rest of the industry, highlighting its most important features. It is certainly a winning strategy!
Business profile
Espresso Games is a historical brand founded in 2002, known worldwide as a prestigious and successful boutique studio. It has been broadening its presence in regulated markets, such as Italy, Spain and Colombia.
Tiziana Cannizzaro has been working with Espresso Games since 2017 in the role of Head of Marketing, Business Development Italy and Regional Account Manager. For her part, Annalisa Zia joined the company in 2019, working as International Business Manager and Key Account Manager. They both make up a strong team that oversees all marketing activities, ensuring they fit to the general strategies of the firm.