Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) has pledged £20 million investment in marketing and customer proposition for the remainder of 2018, after being boosted by strong growth across core metrics and KPIs.
Announced as part of the firm’s preliminary full-year 2017 results, it’s hoped the cash injection will boost the Paddy Power brand in the UK and the Betfair brand amongst international markets.
Marketing spend in the British sports betting market has increased by roughly 19% per annum in the last few years, something that PPB claim has led to Paddy Power having “a lower share of voice”. The firm estimates that their share of the industry has dropped from 15% in 2014 to 12% in 2017. To reverse this trend, PPB will increase the level of marketing investment in Paddy Power.
PPB also conceded that Betfair “remains sub-scale in most geographies outside of the UK and Ireland”, and announced that a number of markets with promising growth characteristics will be explored as a result.
PPB Chief Executive Peter Jackson said: “Following the successful completion of our European technology integration, Paddy Power customers are now enjoying the fastest sports book app in the market. Our considerable development resources will now be focused on bringing more new products to customers, some of which will be delivered ahead of the World Cup.
“We saw the benefits of investing in our customer propositions in 2017, with Sportsbet launching a number of product features that give extra value to customers and Betfair moving to a clear market leadership position in its football pricing. Now the Paddy Power brand is operating with an improved product, we will increase marketing spend to align with its mass market positioning and step up the retention-focused investment that we started in 2017.
“At the same time, we also plan to increase our investment in international markets. Our scale, leading customer propositions and strong balance sheet mean we are well positioned ahead of the regulatory and fiscal changes expected in the UK, Australia and the USA. Our strengths in operating efficiently and responsibly will enable us to build a business that can sustainably generate shareholder returns over the long term.”
