The evolution of creative advertising in betting and gaming

When I first left Paddy Power to start my own creative agency, The Tenth Man in 2018, I did so with a hefty legacy on my shoulders from 20 years of breaking boundaries and creating newsworthy campaigns.

One of the chief considerations I wanted to bring to The Tenth Man was not the usual humdrum of how to stay compliant or what the best social media tools are for the industry. I wanted to plan for the future, to anticipate where it’s headed and to bring some of the fun back to the industry – after all, the entire point of the industry is entertainment.

There is little doubt that the category is consolidating rapidly. This has been the case in Europe since 2015 and the US is now catching up fast. That means that the big players will continue to outgun everyone with advertising spend, partnership deals, sponsorships, etc. It’s textbook marketing: deploy a strategy of excessive voice to grow your market share.

But it’s also predictable, and let’s be honest: it’s formulaic and a little dull (for example, cast a few relatable punters in your ad, insert celebrity and the antics ensue). The category is starting to behave a lot like Procter & Gamble – inoffensive brand-response advertising that wouldn’t make a nun blush. But this is where the opportunity lies. 

The sector is ripe for a new disruptor, an operator both smart and savvy enough to carve a different path and step outside the norms. I understand the importance of ESG, but I don’t believe that it has to, or should, limit creativity. Just look at the drinks industry and how well they show up. What is gambling’s equivalent to the Southern Comfort ‘Beach’ ad or the Guinness ‘Surfer’ ad?

Betting and gaming chief marketing officers and senior marketing leaders would do well to put down their copy of ‘How Brands Grow’ and instead, grow a little bit of mettle themselves.

How to “grow one’s mettle”

By far one of the best things a chief marketing officer and their marketing or PR agencies can do is to step outside the norms of the category. This immediately gives the brand some clear space to play in and eventually, to own. I’d also encourage them to remember that the most important role of advertising is to entertain. Fun first, selling second.

Most marketers get this the wrong way around, or worse again, just focus on the selling piece. That is the role of performance marketing and will do absolutely nothing to build your brand over time. 

Written in the largest possible letters on our office walls is ‘For the Fearless’. Those aren’t just words: it is why people come to work here and why clients come to us. Fearless campaigns are hard to create but it’s why Tenth Man in Dublin and London can help. Whether it’s creating a brand strategy from the ground up or helping build brand fame – we know the playbook because, essentially, we wrote it.

Finally, it’s important to remember that compliance, ESG, fun and entertainment are not at odds with one another – and keeping both in mind will help create incredible, memory-searing campaigns.

Former Paddy Power advertising director and head of mischief, Ken Robertson is regarded as the architect of the famously irreverent Paddy Power brand. He spent a large part of two decades causing global mayhem on behalf of the mischievous bookmaker – from hijacking some of the world’s biggest sporting and cultural events to infiltrating North Korea with Dennis Rodman. Taking his unique experience in disruptive brand building, Robertson set up The Tenth Man in 2018 as an independent creative agency with the single-minded focus of creating original and disruptive communications for brands who dare to be different. With offices in London and Dublin, the Tenth Man has rapidly become one of Europe’s fastest growing creative agencies.