Dumb Sportsbook Marketing

sd2 · Mar 22, 2004

Marketing learned in college can be useful,but in the real world you're at sea if you don't know your SPECIFIC market almost as well as most devoted client! Because I'd moved the Best schedule one book sends out didn't get to me in time, but one put out by American Basketball Insider. (Sure, I can print out a schedule from the Web, but I like it in one little, handy book.)

Problem was that they had only 4 blank boxes for the NCAA tournament games played last Thur and Fri. This defeats the whole purpose of a schedule, so I dropped an email to VIP Sports, the main advertiser, and, I believe, the owner of the schedule. (A lot lot books are in the publishing biz.)

I get this reply from a marketer at VIP: "With all due respect, sir, the games for March Madness are not decided far enough ahead of time to have in a magazine." He said there was "no sense" in including more than a few blank spots, and didn't I find the sports data in the mag useful?

Well,no. It included all teams tournament records going back 20 years - basically crap. And I asked him if this was his belief why even put 4 blank spots in each day? And why did they- properly - leave blanks for each game of the conference tourneys?

VIP is probably a good book, tho their betting pages require too much scrolling around. But this kind of stupid marketing efforts inform us still that this is a business in its infancy. Dumb and dumber right now, one day they should smarten up.

Tico · Mar 22, 2004

That's what happens when people that don't know sports make sports marketing decisions.

sd2<---------> VIP

Alejocruz+ · Mar 22, 2004

Sometimes poeple who not only don't know sports run the show, they don't know sh!t about the sportsbook industry either, and i say it as a personal experience.
It hurts to see someone take a completely stupid choice, and not being able to do anything about it

WildBill · Mar 22, 2004

Just understand how some of the books operate. They open up telling investors how much money is out there to be made, not quite letting on how much the top 10 books make and how strong their hold is on the business. Then they start operating and of course the results just don't pan out the way they expect. A lot of times the investors and managers will be patient, but someone's head has to roll and you know marketing guys are always first to get blamed. So they chase out marketing guy, or if the guy is smart he jumps ship quickly. Then it comes time to get a new guy. They think well that was our problem, what we need is a top notch guy in the role. So they go out on a dream search, thinking they will get a big guy from a top book. Now if you had a spot at a big book why would you leave for these guys? There aren't no stock options in case the place takes off, they never can match the money you make because you get paid mostly in commission. There just is no way for these lower-rung books to get these guys. So they go to plan B. They figure well if we can't get a good quality guy that did exactly what we want, we are going to get some guy cheap, but energetic. They open the doors for a lot of good people, but anyone that has the ability to do well in the job is insulted by their offers. Simply put you can't make a whole lot in commission being a lower-rung book marketing guy. Almost all your new customers are going to be sharper players that won't deposit much and usually will finish ahead. So then the Plan C, what usually happens, is they just do it by committee. Some family member of an owner or some manager just says "hell with it, I can do this", but of course he has no clue how to.

I don't know if VIP is doing it that way as they generally have an excellent operation, but you would be shocked at how many books operate this way. Marketing and just about every department at times have people hired in this ABC plan. So when you call customer service and get lousy answers and a sense that no one knows a thing, you are probably right.

jerseyjoe · Mar 23, 2004

Wild Bill just curious who you think the top ten books are?

HuckFinn · Mar 23, 2004

Wild Bill, that was probably the single most accurate post I've ever read here. Well put.

WildBill · Mar 23, 2004

Thanks Huck,

I have done some modest consulting work at some mid-tier books and right away I could see how weak management was, especially the places that gave too many jobs to family members. I have said it before, professionalism would make books run 10 times better, but most people running books are too ego-centric to go in that direction. The ones that are run professionally are all the top books that people here regularly cite.

As for top ten books, I hate to say. I really avoid being a strong supporter of any book because I don't see their numbers and I don't see how they really are going about their business. The ones I do know will readily admit they aren't at that top of the line status, but they gladly accept that. I do regularly hear from industry insiders the same stuff you see on here, books like Pinnacle, Olympic, Hollywood, WWTS, etc. are all about as safe as you can find. But that doesn't mean they will always be that way so you must always be cautious and not leave too much in any one book. Always work under the assumption that you could lose what you have invested, no matter how remote the possibility seems.

sd2 · Mar 23, 2004

Good post, W Bill, and your inside knowledge about how the offshores market. I cited one example, and sometimes I see things that punctuate your observations. For one, the sportsbooks in general beieve their clients and potential clients to be near imbecilic.(Cripes, maybe they're right!) Note the free football mags we receive each year, allegedly impartial, but each with a section telling us the "highest rated" books, which of course are those that secretly put out the magazine, or at least pay for the financing of same.

Well, as the famed old journalist HL Mencken once said, "Nobody ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public."