Tech talks: Static content is dead  

The age of static content is dead – the future of engaging visualisations that can capture attention is here – and it’s all powered by AI.

If we look at the tech industries, and how AI is used to produce content, such as game engines with video games, you can now see how producers can create movie-level quality within the medium.

Take UNREAL 5’s new game engine (really do!), which allows you to scale games like never before – and you have something truly revolutionary. Animators can now create visuals that are amazingly disruptive and deliver life-like movie-level experiences, and this can be crossed over into many aspects of tech-based marketing.

You can already see this moving content on a typical evening, which can be used to deliver messages to audiences, such as with Netflix and other on-demand sites, where trailers of the film play in each dynamic box as you move the mouse.

Of course, this is great – but with it comes plenty of noise. Take casino and sports betting, looking at the effect of dynamic approaches which gather much more attention – such as autoplay, or gif banners, this is already the first stage in the production cycle of dynamic content.

This is different to the widgets that we already know that allow you to see live scores and odds – but instead, we’re starting to see dynamic elements that allow you to tell the story through animations themselves.

What this means is that rather than with gifs and the like, you’re able to present without animation, but rather dynamic and automated content that tells a tale.

How does this work in sports betting for example? Well, every time a new game or story unveils itself, including, let’s say Formula One, you can cover the event, but as we all know in betting, it needs to be tailored to bettors’ preferred sports.

Machine-learning generated content is the solution here. In this case, it offers the tech that allows the creation of content in seconds rather than hours – using live data to generate an immediate story out of a particular pattern of betting.

This is changing the way advertising is (and can be) perceived in our industry. It backs up the case that creating stories is an essential method to attracting audiences in our market.

Merging media, along with stats and odds is already out there. Look at the recent WSOP (World Series Of Poker) tournament. You have the participants playing poker live but it is not enough, instead, as research shows, you need to provide content and context around it, which they’ve used to great success.

Telling a story

Betting, after all, is an entertainment industry and being able to create dynamic content of this nature is exactly what the future is all about – the audience has, quite simply, moved on from an outdated model of marketing.

Can the tech provide for this already? Of course – it’s waiting to be used. Companies need to shift their thinking from generating value-orientated content (i.e., ‘come here, bet now, win bonus’) and rather focus on the unfolding drama of the event and a reason to become part of the story.

Again, looking at the likes of Formula One, the narrative created around Lewis Hamilton is what creates a compelling call to action and a desire to get involved and this is what excites players.

Live data powers all this and lies at the foundation here – turning those numbers into a story is exactly what is already powering acquisition and retention – it’s all about attracting eyeballs and then engaging them.

Of course, dynamic content does require higher bandwidth, especially when consuming such content via mobile, and you need to be able to load that quickly. Looking at the introduction of 5G, we’re already on the verge of infinitely more possibilities providing more options and overcoming challenges.

My call, as a tech-first marketing expert, is to urge content and marketing departments within our industry to make betting a part of the entertainment mix.

Streaming, for example, can produce narratives and indeed short-form documentaries on betting (easily created with today’s tech), such as some of the world’s best horses which defied the odds to come out as winners. We’re already seeing this direction taken, with certain betting operators creating stories behind super-successful outcomes.

When it comes to AI, in many ways we’re only just getting started. The seminal Life 2.0 book on the subject offers a good insight into this. It argues that as AI becomes more sentient, it will need to start to make money to support itself. AI can, in effect, create its own ‘studio’ where it renders and creates animations for each viewer, done in a way that suits each segmented audience member.

This returns to my original thesis, and one that I stand by – operators need to become a media entertainment company if they want to continue to evolve and engage.

Bonus campaigns to attract punters, for example, are becoming a thing of the past – they offer a utilitarian function and nothing else. To provide a compelling call to action that can retain, we need to create one beyond just utility, with a method that can guide attraction to a betting event. In effect, a true reason to get involved rather than unlocking a future free bet.

Welcome to the new world – where adverts for betting will no longer look like ads. Tech and AI are here and readily available to create personalised angles and stories.

Without trying to sound too dramatic, this is ignored at operators’ peril. Continue to promote odds and special offers, rather than a narrative and you’ll likely end up on the scrapheap, just like the one in I, Robot.

Alex Kornilov is CEO and founder of Betegy. His company provides global betting operators and media outlets with analytics and data visualisation by generating high-quality personalised content using machine learning algorithms. Betegy’s clients include the likes of ESPN, Yahoo Sports, bwin, Parimatch, Tipico and Sportsbet.io,