A tech-driven approach to activating sports betting partnerships

Sport's most ambitious clubs, franchises and organisations are increasingly aware that betting sponsorships can provide more than just a financial boost to their commercial portfolios. Research shows that the combination of betting on and watching sport is a powerful and mutually beneficial proposition for both sectors.

Sports betting partnerships are being activated in a digital-first way. Sportradar's Director of Global Sponsorship Sales Hampus Lofkvist explains the opportunity in an evolving digital landscape. Research shows that the combination of betting on and watching sport is a powerful and mutually beneficial proposition for both sectors.

Sportradar has built a multi-channel marketing platform focused on supporting clients to engage, acquire and retain customers. It has a bespoke iGaming demand-side platform and industry-leading personalisation and customisation technology.

Rights-holder digital inventory is built into most betting sponsorships. Traditional digital assets are static, devoid of live data or odds, and are supported by inefficient or infrequent updates. Poor data feedback can make it difficult for rights-holders and their betting partner to understand the performance of a particular product or campaign.

Tech-driven solutions like Sportradar’s Publisher Products have become increasingly important in activating sports betting partnerships. The National Hockey League”s collaboration with betting operator OlyBet has already had a tangible impact. During the 2022 Stanley Cup finals, NHL integrated ad:s publisher products to serve contextually relevant and dynamic advertisements.

Tech-driven approach to activating sports betting partnerships is important in today's consumer habit world and market economy. Sports enthusiasts demand more from rights-holders and operators. Building awareness and affinity is no longer enough. Operators want to see the ROI. Carefully curated digital campaign activations can be used to better demonstrate the true value of a sponsorship.

Incentives for digital activation performance are becoming more prevalent in sports betting partnerships. The opportunity to trigger such incentives has led forward-thinking rights-holders to invest in technology to better leverage their fan data and digitalactivation capabilities.

Hampus Lofkvist is Sportradar's Global Sponsorship Sales Director. He has 15 years of experience in the sports marketing industry. Hampus started his career in sports Marketing at Uefa in Switzerland. He is based in London and is a keen football and tennis player. The team is integrating Sport Radar data-driven tools and ad tech to improve the efficiency of digital sponsorship activation.