BOWMANS AWARDS VERIFICATION

Best Sportsbook Offers and Promotions

In December 2005, market research was commissioned to determine the direction of the brand in a cluttered market. On the results of a large sample of the active database that completed the questionnaire, a marketing strategy was planned to understand what players want, to build up technical resilience, tackle any functionality and navigational issues and benchmark us with competitors. All initiatives would increase acquisition, conversion and retention.

As an acquisition tool, lines prices, sign-up bonuses and special bets were most important to our sportsbook customers. In poker, the volume of the prize money and the variety of tournaments up for grabs converted new visitors. As a brand our customers liked the fact that Bowmans were sophisticated and professional. Users wanted regular but targeted contact (i.e. product eshots), so this was a way to gain market share via loyalty.

A very high percentage of sports customers played poker. This meant there was a lot of room for cross fertilisation without cannibalism.

From all the above, we established our objectives to improve player experience. We needed to make our offers as important a persuasive factor as trust. Word of mouth would be the key driver to acquisition. This would be ‘money-can’t-buy’ marketing. And both the bonuses and the ‘look’ would propel us more than anything else.

We also revamped everything from the welcome emails to the welcome download pages, weekly eshots and monthly loyalty statements. The ‘look’ extended from website to microsite to sports stadium. ‘Get in the game at Bowmans.com’, the new strapline reflected the fact we could afford to edge toward the lifestyle market without losing heritage and trust.

To sum up, the website makeover just before the start of NFL season achieved improved overall brand and site experience, removed barriers to entry, helped build retention, strengthened communications and developed loyalty.

This award with Gambling Online Magazine illustrates the fact that we believe we have met all of our objectives in making our book at Bowmans.com—the place to get in the game on the net!