Q&A: Corey Padveen, director of global social business strategy at t2 Marketing International
Corey Padveen, director of global social business strategy at t2 Marketing International, on why operators have been slow to embrace mobile social platforms
EGR MI: Why have many operators been slow to embrace mobile social platforms?
Corey Padveen (CP): Facebook and Twitter are the incumbents; they have stood the test of time and have generated tangible monetary returns for the operators engaging on the platforms. Instagram, Snapchat, and other emerging marketing platforms, though popular, are not entirely understood by many operators and there is little evidence to support direct financial returns from their adoption in the gambling sector.
So for operators that do not boast a personal connection with players via their cultivated social media personality, these platforms become less crucial since the focus of these operators is largely conversion-oriented.
EGR MI: Are egaming firms missing a big opportunity to target millennials and the 18-24 year-old demographic?
CP: By focusing entirely on the networks with the highest direct return or the most active direct database [fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter] gambling operators are sitting stagnant while a massive paradigm shift takes place with regards to consumer behaviour.
Relationships have never mattered more and as weâve seen in the last few years in particular, those brand relationships are being nurtured on mobile. Ignoring mobile-first opportunities that might exist on networks like Instagram or Snapchat can mean a slow demise in active player registration, a more difficult â and costly â player retention process and a significantly reduced average player lifetime value.
EGR MI: How important will live streaming become for engaging with mobile audiences?
CP: Live streaming is an extremely popular trend at the moment, and on Facebook, that trend is further exacerbated by the fact that live-streamed content is given priority in usersâ newsfeeds. At the same time, live streaming â whether it is on Facebook or Periscope â is not going to suit every brand, and the content needs to be well planned and well curated in order for the endeavour to have an impact on players that might tune in.
Again, the benefit to engaging on these highly interactive and, by their very nature, far more personal platforms rests largely in the growth of an operatorâs relationships with its fans and followers.