The cost of acquisition through traditional media channels, such as radio and TV, has been increasing more and more, especially at this time of pre-regulation in the Latin American market. This fact has contributed a lot to the surge of this cost. On parallel, the affiliation market continues to grow throughout the macro region of Latin America.
The cost of acquisition through traditional media channels, such as radio and TV, has been increasing more and more, especially at this time of pre-regulation in the Latin American market. This fact has contributed a lot to the surge of this cost. On parallel, the affiliation market continues to grow throughout the macro region of Latin America.
This growing trend of rising marketing costs has been causing concern for some time, particularly for operators starting their deployment in the region or even some foreigners bringing their existing operations there. In some cases, there even was a 400-500% increase over cost numbers of five years ago. Increasingly expensive campaigns with increasingly low conversion rates are the outlook of what operators face when entering this market.
EXPLORING NEW OPPORTUNITIES
The most valuable alternative for operators, both the more established and the newcomers, is the exploration of affiliate marketing. This is the most effective way to reduce the risk of losing your capital, since the affiliate is only paid for the success of his/her activities. The operator shares the risk with the affiliate and, naturally, must also consider sharing the benefits, in a win/win situation.
However, this type of marketing, which is widely explored outside our region, mainly by foreign operators, still takes very slow steps in relation to local operators. Most of the “national” companies, or those that deal exclusively with the local market, are not exploring these types of opportunities.
The few non-foreign operators that offer some kind of affiliate program are still far from being compared to what the global companies operating here deliver. It seems that the Latin American businessman has not yet accepted this acquisition format, which could be much more useful compared to so many other activities.
The likely result of this disinterest of Latin American operators over time will be losing their place in the market, because when they wake up with this type of advertising, perhaps affiliates will be already loyal to European or North American companies that conquered them even when no one was serving the market properly.
These foreign operators are responsible for at least 90% of the entire membership volume in the gaming sector in the region. Some are already more adapted to what the subsidiaries demand on the continent, understanding that the needs of Latin Americans are different from those of the foreign subsidiary, especially since we have many new subsidiaries that need different support from the operators.
BRAND AWARENESS AND LOCALIZATION
One of the best ways to improve brand awareness is by bettering fans’ experiences. Influencer marketing has helped with achieving this in the past and, with this seeming to be 2021’s buzz-term for iGaming, you can bet that it’s not going away soon. Partnering with local creators could add a new dynamic to your strategy by providing content that is both unique and interesting. In turn, this could be useful for helping to build an engaged audience.
It’s not groundbreaking news that localization is important, regardless of the market you enter. But that goes beyond just optimizing your website for Spanish and/or Portuguese. When picking operators to promote, you need to make sure that they’re knowledgeable of the region too.
One such area that it pays to be well-versed in is the financial landscape. This is where cryptocurrency can play a role. You have to consider that around 70% of people across Latin America are either unbanked or under banked; yet 66% own a mobile device. Since cryptocurrency offers a way to deposit and withdraw, it’s something that might grow in appeal, as betting becomes more popular here. Keeping an eye on both gambling and non-gambling related trends will help you to pick better partners.
Latin America has a lot of room for growth, but the key is to start now and think outside the box. Team up with local influencers and agencies to discover what fans want to see. Once you have that knowledge, work with them to develop an effective strategy.
The market still has a lot to explore and evolve until it is consolidated, both for the affiliates who join now, and for local companies, which will eventually adapt to a business model in which chances of making profits are there to be exploited. By doing this, plus studying local landscapes, both in and out of gambling, you’ll place in a great position for success.