Exclusive: BetMGM inks broadbase omni-channel content deal with Almost Friday Media

BetMGM has agreed an exclusive multi-year partnership with comedy-driven content network Almost Friday Media (AFM).

The deal, geared around an omni-channel approach, will see AFM produce content to be used across social media platforms including YouTube and Discord as well as live streams, podcast, events-related content, merchandize and newsletters.

In return, Almost Friday users will receive exclusive access to special co-branded promotions, betting opportunities, merchandise, and live events surrounding sports biggest moments.

Delivery of content produced as part of the BetMGM partnership will be via a coordinated media plan across the whole Almost Friday Network.

BetMGM chief revenue officer Matt Prevost noted the partnership’s potential for delivering new customers through unique content.

“Elevated, organic content is a key ingredient in our plans for keeping BetMGM’s voice differentiated as a premium online gaming platform” he explained.

“Almost Friday Media is a great partner to help us continue to distinguish ourself as an industry leader,” Prevost added.

Speaking to EGR about the genesis of the partnership, AFM president and COO Andrew Kenward confirmed discussions had first begun in early 2022, with AFM entertaining many potential partners before siding with BetMGM.

“We started getting some introductions and thinking about things during the holiday season, which is peak for football, and evaluated several opportunities before picking the one that made sense for us,” Kenward told EGR.

“We’re a lifestyle brand. We throw a lot of parties, we have tonnes of events. We actually manage a DJ who has a residency at an MGM property, the Borgata in Atlantic City, so there was already this other layer of exciting ways we could activate together.

“As much as we are a digital brand, we’re very much about getting people together in the real world, and compared to the other potential partners, BetMGM provides way beyond what anyone else could deliver, which was super exciting for us,” Kenward added.

Launched in 2019, AFM began as a way to broaden content generated via the Friday Beers Instagram account, which lampoons current events and aims to provide off-the-wall comedy about weekend culture in the US.

The network has since grown to more 25 brands with an audience of over seven million followers and delivers over 120 million unique impressions per week. It has attracted investors from a number of different areas, including Sharp Alpha Advisors managing partner Lloyd Danzig.

The AFM portfolio includes a dedicated sports betting Instagram account, Dr Locks, which provides a comedic, sports betting-themed commentary on US sporting events.

Expanding on the motivations for the BetMGM deal, Kenward explained: “The big reason we decided to partner with BetMGM, and we’d been talking to four or five of the bigger players in sports betting and gambling, was the app, which was the most seamless to use, it worked incredibly well.

“That was a key thing for us, we didn’t want any friction to impact our community, because ultimately, that lands back on us.”

Kenward continued: “We want to be able to translate sports betting for the sports fan who’s not a sports betting expert on how to enjoy using the app, and we’re going to be creating specific interactive branded bets with BetMGM, which we’re super excited about.

“For example, creating a single game parlay around Josh Allen, we can pre-select a BetMGM-approved slip, and can deliver it to our fans in a one-click type experience rather than a more cumbersome process.

“We’ll then create content around these moments, which we’re doing naturally anyway. We produce a tonne of comedic content during the football season; this partnership will give us more of a betting focus,” the AFM COO added.

Central to the partnership is a dedicated content-delivery plan, in which content is created for utilization by BetMGM on AFM brands by the AFM team and then approved by the BetMGM content team.

“We operate in a similar way to other broadcasters like ESPN where content is bought in blocks, but rather than having some third-party agency creating the commercials and delivering it to ESPN after MGM’s approval, ours is a more direct and fluid relationship,” Kenward told EGR.

“We’re also going to have a regular rhythm of content through the Friday Beers Instagram account, the Dr Lock account and the rest of the accounts, using them to drive people to the app.

“One thing we have focused on is finding niche communities and speaking to them authentically, for example we operate a comedy hockey-lifestyle brand, empty netters, which we’re definitely going to activate when hockey kicks up again,” he added.