Super Bowl Gambling Lets Publishers Expand Their Brands

Online sports gambling has exploded in the U.S. since its legalization in 2018, putting savvy publishers in a position to profit off the $52.7 billion fans wagered on professional athletics in 2021, per data firm Morning Consult. Several have generated millions in revenue by signing multiyear partnerships with gambling operators, and many of these arrangements pay a commission for each new gambler the media company delivers. The influx of bettors also acts as a flywheel for publishers' other products, with gamblers purchasing tickets, merchandise and digital subscriptions. So for publishers like Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated, which inked multiyear arrangements with DraftKings and U.K. betting company 888, respectively, the Super Bowl represents a pivotal opportunity to attract new gamblers and broadcast their suite of custom offerings. But Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated have taken different approaches to their promotional efforts, a divergence that reflects how publishers have used their sportsbook affiliations to deepen their brand identity. Gambling platforms trumpet the diversity of their betting options, but they also rely heavily on marketing to attract and retain users. As such, publishers and their brand associations play a critical role in differentiating one gambling product from another. For marketers, the scale and audience makeup of publishers are more important than whether they offer a gambling product or how they promote their betting offerings, said Brian Wieser, global president of business intelligence for GroupM. But marketers working directly with a specific title are likely advertising for brand purposes rather than performance, so the way a publisher showcases its identity through its gambling offering ultimately reflects advertisers as well. "If you're a marketer outside of an endemic category, it's hard to justify why you would buy from small properties rather than the open web," Wieser said. "But if you are in a category endemic to sports gambling, you almost certainly would want to build your brand with sports aficionados, even if it didn't drive performance." Live broadcasts and heavy social promotion The majority of Bleacher Report’s sports betting promotion occurs within its B/R mobile app—a fitting platform, given the importance of social media to the youth-oriented brand. The publisher has one of the most engaged social media followings in the world of sports, and its betting handles alone have surpassed 1 million cross-platform followers, according to the company. Franchises like House of Highlights and Game of Zones, for instance, both started as social media activations that later grew into standalone businesses. Over several years of experimentation, Bleacher Report has settled on a Super Bowl promotion strategy that favors livestreaming and interactive content, which nets more engagement and higher viewership, said Mike Denevi, director of brand strategy for BR Betting. It groups its Super Bowl efforts into two buckets: live shows and social media activations. Bleacher Report will air two content series, which aim to build interest in Super Bowl bets before the game starts. Their focus on prop bets (in which bettors wager on miscellany such as the color of the Gatorade or who wins the coin toss) aims to encourage inexperienced gamblers. Then, on game day, the publisher will air three content productions. These efforts stem from Bleacher Report’s growing emphasis on creating franchisable content, which it can then build into an ongoing universe after the game. “Our goal is to continue to create as many scalable and repeatable original franchises as possible to funnel people into our app and to continue to grow on social,” Denevi said. Inside access and brand prestige Authentic Brands Group, which operates the Sports Illustrated brand, caters to a different readership and has employed a subtler strategy that underscores its pedigree to promote its sports betting efforts. On its gambling platform, SI Sportsbook, operated by 888, Sports Illustrated will offer a variety of custom bets, such as accumulators, which encourage fans to begin betting in January by turning wagers into free tokens that activate during the Super Bowl. Like Bleacher Report, it will also offer countless varieties of special odds, prop bets and other promotions. But its primary efforts aim to highlight its long history of reliability as a source of sports journalism, said Daniel Dienst, executive vice chairman of strategy, ventures and tactical operations for Authentic Brands Group. The marketing blitzes of the last year are unsustainable, and when they end, bettors will ultimately gravitate toward the brands they trust, Dienst explained. In that vein, Sports Illustrated points to its coverage and editorial credentials as an incentive that big marketing budgets can never imitate. The brand also plans to entice bettors with "money can't buy" experiences in the future, including invitations to exclusive gatherings, such as its Sports Illustrated: The Party event. Both approaches rest on the same premise: that the legacy of Sports Illustrated is its strongest draw to bettors. “The dog is the media business, and the tail is the gambling business,” Dienst said. “Our journalists will never be handmaidens to the gambling business. Sports Illustrated is a thought leader, and people are attracted to that.” For all the latest Super Bowl advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2022 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories about the Big Game. And join us on the evening of Feb. 13 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials anywhere.

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Super Bowl Gambling Gives Publishers a Chance to Expand Their Brands

Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated are taking different approaches to the Big Game

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg