It’s true that with the right digital marketing strategy you can sell practically anything, and an effective digital marketing strategy is absolutely crucial to the success of a new product. Whether it’s utilizing social media channels, SEO or paid advertising, it’s a major ingredient for getting your brand in front of the right people.
But digital marketing is not just effective for new tech, products and services - it can also help revive the fortunes of existing, unfashionable or even forgotten products. One such product that has enjoyed a revival due to effective digital branding is bingo.
The problem
The game of bingo dates back almost 500 years and is today played globally, although in the modern era it has traditionally not been seen as the hippest of hobbies. Often typecast as being slow-paced, bingo is sometimes associated with elderly people.
For decades, bingo has been played in dedicated halls, most prominently in North America and across Europe, where its popularity, though holding steady, has never really exploded to challenge other trendier gambling pastimes like roulette, blackjack and poker.
The opportunity
The rise of online gambling created a huge chance for bingo online to reinvent itself and earn a lucrative slice of revenue in an industry expanding at an eye-popping rate. The aforementioned games, and especially poker, were natural fits for online play, but bingo still had an image problem.
The challenge for digital marketers was to make the most of bingo’s qualities as a game that is casual, doesn't require intense planning or strategy or necessarily require you to place huge stakes to have a great time. By ticking these boxes, bingo could earn a place at the top table of the industry.
The solution
In a crowded marketplace - which is still growing - many of the largest online casino providers pulled out all the stops to offer players the biggest choice, the best odds and the latest technology. And though there were – and still are – a number of websites that have a focus on a particular game, the majority have a range of many available to play.
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This allowed bingo to sneak in the back door and brands quickly realised that the game provided a softer and more relaxed environment for players, compared to the more high-octane decision-making of others.
They were also able to adapt the rules to even better suit casual play, creating versions of the game that didn’t last as long, making them even more appealing to players who aren’t interested in making a huge investment in time.
Digital marketers behind the brands have also been able to place focus on the “low stakes” element of bingo. While other games can be a little daunting for players not wishing to risk too much, bingo offers games tailor-made for this kind of player, requiring small stakes and offering small prizes.
By shining a light on the game’s existing strengths, digital marketers have been able to revive the game of bingo online. Today, millions play bingo online include a huge percentage who’ve never set foot in a bingo hall.