SPORTS.COM Case Study

CLIENT
Until it ceased trading in June 2002, Sports.com operated both a bookmaking business and a sports content arm, with the betting business owning an active customer base of 24,000 and revenue of £8.8 million in the 6 months to June.

NEEDS
Sports.com wanted a way of converting sports fans visiting its content site to regular punters. It believed in the model of promoting team-specific bets to fans, but needed a cost-effective way of achieving this - one that didn't require the editorial team to be constantly updating links and buttons surrounding the site's copy.

SOLUTION Connextra delivered context-matching adverts and hyperlinks that automatically promoted bets for teams that were mentioned within a page's editorial. Realising that the success of the solution depended on encouraging non-punters and irregular betters to open accounts, Connextra developed a calculator-style advert that dynamically displayed the amount each bet would win based on a £10 stake.

RESULTS
The adverts developed by Connextra delivered above-average response rates, over £180,000 of gross turnover and a margin of 14.6%, confirming that sports fans do indeed provide a profitable opportunity, providing that they can be marketed to in a cost-effective manner.

Sports.com | Victor Chandler | Bet365