Fantasy Sports vs iGaming: Complete marketing guide
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Fantasy Sports and iGaming are two verticals that offer exciting opportunities, but they’re not the same.
Knowing the difference can be your ticket to setting up campaigns in a way to engage the very right audience.
Fantasy Sports is all about strategy and skill, where users create virtual teams based on real players. iGaming, on the other hand, revolves around your knowledge of stats, experience, and entertainment.
Each has its unique audience and marketing approach. Let’s explore how you can tap into these markets and make the most of them.
iGaming vs Fantasy Sports – Overview
Fantasy sports involve creating virtual teams using real-life athletes, with participants competing based on player statistics. Success is driven by knowledge and strategy. In contrast, iGaming involves placing bets on outcomes of events, such as sports games and other events.
- Skill vs. Luck
Fantasy sports heavily depend on skill, research, and strategic decisions. While luck influences individual matchups, long-term success is primarily skill-based. iGaming is more luck-driven, and sports games require analytical skills. - Financial engagement
Fantasy sports participants pay entry fees to join leagues, with limited financial risk focused on competition and enjoyment. iGaming involves direct wagering before or within the event. - Demographics
Both activities attract similar demographics, with a majority being young, college-educated males with substantial incomes. Fantasy sports players are 64% male, while iGaming participants are 60% male.
How to run iGaming and Fantasy Sports campaigns
Understanding the differences between Fantasy Sports and iGaming is just the first step. It’s important to use the right advertising methods suited to the audience’s unique behaviors and preferences for effective marketing.
Effective marketing formats for iGaming
Popunder ads are highly effective for iGaming due to their broad reach and user retargeting capabilities. This format allows advertisers to capture user attention without being intrusive, ensuring a wide reach over a long-term campaign.
The goal is to attract users back to an iGaming site or app over time, making Popunder ads an ideal choice for sustained engagement.
Effective Marketing Formats for Fantasy Sports
Push notifications are recommended for Fantasy Sports because they deliver high engagement and prompt immediate conversions.
This format is particularly effective as it targets users already interested in fantasy sports and prompts them to take quick action.
Popunder ads can also be effective when sourced from highly converting traffic types such as social traffic or direct click traffic. Social traffic, a new type offered by PropellerAds, boasts high conversion rates, making it a valuable asset for Fantasy Sports marketing.
Case study: Generating $7,000 in daily revenue by targeting NFL fans
One of our partners ran a successful iOS campaign for several fantasy sports offers focusing on NFL fans during the NFL 2022-2023 season. The campaign used Popunder ads with CPM and SmartCPM bidding models, targeting active fantasy sports fans through retargeting.
The straightforward approach involved a prelander directing users to the App Store. The campaign targeted American states where fantasy sports serves its clients.
As a result, during the NFL season, the campaign generated over 2,000,000 relevant users for the most popular app offer, maintained an active retargeting audience, and achieved stable daily revenue exceeding $7,000 for some offers.
The campaign peaked around the Super Bowl, with impressions reaching over 1.2 million on key dates.
| Date | Impressions |
2023-02-17 | 87,819 |
2023-02-16 | 232,203 |
2023-02-15 | 24,340 |
2023-02-14 | 13,978 |
2023-02-13 | 13,543 |
2023-02-12 | 1,244,433 |
2023-02-11 | 1,216,631 |
2023-02-10 | 926,650 |
2023-02-09 | 668,855 |
2023-02-08 | 31,242 |
2023-02-07 | 66,488 |
2023-02-06 | 122,048 |
Differences in target audiences for iGaming and Fantasy Sports
The target audiences for iGaming and Fantasy Sports share some similarities but also have distinct differences.
Fantasy Sports
Fantasy Sports participants are typically sports enthusiasts who enjoy the strategic aspect of managing virtual teams. They are often highly knowledgeable about sports and seek a competitive, skill-based activity.
iGaming
On the other hand, iGaming attracts a broader audience interested in a variety of betting activities, including sports betting. This audience enjoys the thrill of wagering and the potential for quick financial rewards, even if it involves a higher element of luck.
Marketing strategies tailored to each audience
Fantasy Sports
For Fantasy Sports, the marketing strategy should focus on emphasizing the skill and strategy involved. Highlighting the competitive aspect and providing tips on player performance and team management can attract more dedicated sports fans. Using push notifications to keep users engaged and informed about upcoming matches or player stats can also be very effective.
iGaming
For iGaming, the strategy should highlight the excitement and potential financial rewards. Popunder ads can be used to reach a broad audience and bring them back to the platform for more betting opportunities. Emphasizing responsible gaming and offering tools to manage spending can also help in retaining users and building trust.
Expert opinion on iGaming and Fantasy Sports marketing strategies
So, what do the experts have to say about these marketing strategies? Maria Kotova, Head of Advertisers Growth at PropellerAds, offers valuable insights into the differences in marketing approaches between traditional iGaming and Fantasy Sports. According to Maria:
“There is a difference between traditional iGaming and Fantasy Sports when it comes to marketing campaigns.
iGaming focuses on wide reach and user retargeting to bring users back to an iGaming website or app over time. In other words, it’s all about maintaining broad reach over the long term, with Popunder ads being a top format for iGaming.
Fantasy Sports, on the other hand, targets a narrower audience and typically requires immediate conversions, often within the same browser session, because there’s a smaller chance that users will return.
This is why Push notifications are ideal for Fantasy Sports, as they are designed to engage users with high-level interaction. However, Popunder ads can also be effective here, especially when sourced from highly converting traffic such as Social traffic or Direct click.”
Her insights highlight the importance of choosing the right ad format and targeting strategy based on the audience’s needs and behaviors. For iGaming, the focus should be on broad reach and long-term engagement, while Fantasy Sports requires immediate and highly engaging interactions.
Social traffic for iGaming and Fantasy Sports Marketing
In addition to traditional marketing formats, there’s an exciting new option from PropellerAds that can significantly boost your campaign’s success: Social Traffic.
Social traffic refers to users who are engaged through social media platforms. This type of traffic is highly targeted because it reaches people based on their interests and activities on social networks.
By tapping into social traffic, you can access a group of users who are already primed for interaction and conversion.
Benefits for iGaming and Fantasy Sports
- Highly targeted audience
Social traffic allows you to reach users who are more likely to be interested in iGaming or Fantasy Sports based on their social media activity. This targeting can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates.
- High engagement
Users coming from social platforms are often more engaged, making them more likely to respond to ads, participate in Fantasy Sports, or revisit iGaming sites.
- Real–time interaction
Social media allows for real-time interaction, providing immediate feedback and engagement opportunities, which are crucial for Fantasy Sports and require quick conversions.
- Cost–effective
Compared to other traffic sources, social traffic can be more cost-effective, providing a high return on investment through better-targeted ads and lower competition.
Social traffic, combined with formats like Push notifications and Popunder ads, can create a comprehensive marketing strategy that leverages the strengths of each traffic type. Whether you’re focusing on iGaming or Fantasy Sports, integrating social traffic can help you achieve better results and a higher engagement rate.
Drive more conversions with Fantasy Sports and iGaming
We’ve covered the key differences between Fantasy Sports and iGaming and the best ways to market each. Use social traffic, popunder ads, and push notifications to reach your audience and drive conversions.
PropellerAds has the tools you need to engage users and make your marketing campaigns successful.
Ready to start seeing better results?
Launch your campaign today!
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