Betfair: FRONT ROOM

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Television

Advertiser: BETFAIR

Product/Service: ONLINE BETTING

Agency: ALBION

Date of First Appearance: Oct 17 2009 12:00AM

Entrant Company: ALBION, London, UNITED KINGDOM

Entry URL: http://www.betfairfootball.com/front-room/

Executive Creative Director: Nick Darken (Albion)

Creative Director: Andre Moreira (Albion)

Senior Planner: Sam Ashken (Albion)

Account Director: Matt Roskill (Albion)

TV Producer: Petrina Kilby (Albion)

Account Manager: Neil Potter (Albion)

Media placement: TV Teaser Campaign - 5 spots - Sky Sports And ITV - 17/10/2009

Media placement: TV Campaign - Weekly Spots - Sky Sports And ITV - From 25/10/2009 to 22/05/2009

Media placement: Front Room Hub - Betfairfootball.com - 19/10/2009



Results and Effectiveness

Since the start of the campaigns, 46,000 new customers have joined Betfair and bet on football.

Overall acquisitions are up 50% compared to the same period last year.

On one big footballing weekend that the Front Room was on air, the highest number of new customers ever outside of a major tournament signed up to Betfair.

And as an unexpected bonus, with its 3 millionth customer signing up during the campaign, Betfair became the world’s biggest betting community.

The 5 fans have become local celebrities in their own communities, recognised by other fans at the game, and even interviewed by local newspapers.



Creative Execution

The Betfair Front Room is a microcosm of the Betfair exchange.

We cast 5 genuine, betting football fans, and then filmed them – unscripted – every week through the football season.

We visit The Front Room ‘as live’ and see the guys disagreeing with each other about anything and everything to do with football, taking the mick out of each other and settling their differences by shaking on a bet.

A multi-platform creative vehicle, The Front Room is driven by the contrasting personalities of 5 different football punters, and their ongoing one-upmanship and betting.

Delivered through weekly instalments on TV, spots were bought around content our audience were watching anyway – key football games on Sky Sports and ITV.

And we continued the narrative online, with daily film content on a campaign microsite, and our 5 fans blogging and tweeting about their bets and the week’s events.



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

Betfair has long been the destination for expert punters to bet on horses. But the brand had no credibility with mainstream punters, who neither associated Betfair with football nor understood why the exchange product was different and better.

We isolated a target audience of football fans who bet as part of the ritual, to add to the excitement of the match and for banter with their mates. They are competitive and are constantly trying to get one up on their mates.

Unlike traditional bookmakers, Betfair is a community of fans who bet against each other. So behind the clever technology, Betfair is really just a whole load of football fans being football fans: disagreeing with each other and ultimately having a bet.

And because you bet against other fans, Betfair is in a unique position to enable one-upmanship. And because you get better value, you get more bragging rights.