The opening day of the SBC Summit Rio provided an exploration in how operators can engage with players in an authentic way.
In a challenging market with influencers, streamers and alternative channels, an Affiliate Leaders panel took to the stage as part of the Rivalo-sponsored Marketing and Affiliation track, to dive deeper into the best avenues for collaboration.
Simon Hovmand-Stilling, CEO for South America for Better Collective, emphasised the importance of the industry showing the market ‘respect’ when looking to capitalise on what is rightly, and widely, hailed as a huge opportunity.
He stated: “It’s definitely worth the investment of having feet on the ground”, which became a common theme throughout the session.
Taking a slightly different approach, Thomas Carvalhaes, Senior Business Development Manager for LatAm at GR8 Tech, warned the industry that Brazilian consumers will take your word, and hold you accountable.
“If you say you’re going to be paying them withdrawals in less than an hour, and you don’t do that, they’re going to bombard you with complaints”
“Don’t lie to them. Don’t make any promises you cannot keep. That’s it,” he commented.
“Fastest payments, fastest withdrawals. If you say you’re going to be paying them withdrawals in less than an hour, and you don’t do that, they’re going to bombard you with complaints, public complaints, they’re going to bombard you with social networks, rightfully so, because we should not be stating what we cannot deliver.”
As Anastasiia Gepolova, Head of Marketing at Traffic Balance, reiterated a call regarding the critical nature of undertaking a sufficient amount of research, Vanda Silva, Chief Corporate Officer at Clever Advertising, issued a reminder regarding the need for a localised approach. A key topic that was delved into in the earlier stages of the discussion.
As the quartet of panellists were tasked with looking at what operators need to remember when beginning out in a region with particularly high-traffic by moderator Gilda Caldas, Marketing Manager for Brazil at Afiliapub, Hovmand-Stilling reflected on a “steep learning curve” one year after moving from Better Collective’s Danish homeland.
Issuing a reminder that “it’s all about sports”, with football unsurprisingly highlighted, his key advice to operators centred around that of localisation.
“You just need to dive into the culture and do your research on cultural differences so you know how to promote.
“Remember, Brazil is definitely not just one market. Essentially, every state is very different. Their behaviour is very different. The interest of the people in every state is very different,” he noted.
As Silva echoed the comments of her fellow panellist, Gepolova first touched upon the attractive opportunity afforded to affiliates courtesy Brazil due to such a large volume of players.
“You just need to dive into the culture and do your research on cultural differences so you know how to promote. But overall, I think Brazil is a great market,” she advised.
Picking up the baton, Carvalhaes gave his own input on what operators, affiliates and media and marketing companies must keep in mind when pondering the decision to enter the region.
“Do your homework, try your best to understand the local culture. What happens a lot of times that I’ve seen is that operators from overseas come into Brazil, launch their business, Google Translate, put a sombrero on Ronaldinho and say, hey, that’s Brazilian enough,” he said.
He added: “Then they don’t make it. Then you know what? The market’s not good. Is the market not good or you haven’t done your homework? Have you hired local talent that understands the culture and people and makes it relevant to them
