BetMGM’s UK Managing Director Gethin Evans sat down with iGaming Expert to provide greater detail around the firm’s creative strategy when it comes to marketing in a new market.
Speaking on episode 501 of the iGamingDaily podcast, Evans revealed that darts has truly captured the attention of the UK audience, and the company’s title sponsorship of the Premier League enables BetMGM to tap into regions across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe during the 17-week roadshow.
“MGM is a very famous global gaming super brand, but it’s also an American brand and it’s important for us to activate that and make that resonate for UK audiences,” explained Evans. “How do you make MGM mean something in Aberdeen, Leeds or Exeter? The Premier League Darts is a great vehicle for us to do that”.
He also underlined the importance of the Premier League establishing a regular Thursday night spot on Sky Sports, which garners significant viewership, the continued backing of the Sky Sports hype train and consistent viewership and engagement of Sky Sports News.
Darts is an additional ingredient to an already thriving portfolio of partnerships for BetMGM, aligning well with their collaborations in racing and Premier League football.
Central to the positivity around BetMGM’s association with darts, Evans lauded, is the job that the PDC and Sky Sports do in terms of elevating the sport on social media.
The firm’s energy is also mirrored by the sport itself and the personalities of those on stage as it grows across markets and eyes engagement amongst a myriad of demographics across Europe.
Evans also backed darts to take off in the US market, emphasising his belief that the audience there simply needs a star to get behind in order for the sport to elevate and to accelerate its trajectory amongst US sports fans.
In terms of the impact of darts and the success of the Premier League, Evans stated that you really feel it when it enters whatever city is in, especially as it ventures to markets not regularly tapped into by the major sporting events.
However, he also cautioned against the hype around darts reaching a crescendo before dying out as quickly as it arrived.
“Darts is still early on in its journey, and there’s a bit of novelty to stuff [so] it’s up to the rights holders to make sure that they manage that very carefully to not get fatigued,” said Evans.
“Very often, you see things can burn very brightly, but they can also burn out very quickly as well. So, there’s a massive part of managing that properly, managing your events and talent. All that stuff comes into play as you get to a place where you [consider how] you keep this energy sustainable.”
Evans also went into detail about how the firm maximises the roadshow of the Premier League – taking a localised approach and heightening the star power of the hometown hero each time they are hosted in a new city.
