Rank goes on front foot with new marketing strategy

Rank Group is preparing to take a more aggressive approach to marketing over the next six months with chief executive Henry Birch looking to move away from previous “meek and weak” campaigns.

The operator yesterday revealed a 75% year-on-year surge in digital profits and on the back of a migration to Bede Gaming’s digital platform, Birch revealed an overhauled marketing strategy would see a number of new TV campaigns launched in the coming months.

Speaking to eGaming Review Birch said the operator had not promoted its multi-channel business well enough in recent years and added that it was something Rank needed to be “on the front foot about”.

“Historically we’ve been a little bit meek and weak in our marketing and also we have a desire to point out to both retail and digital customers the respective channels that we have,” Birch said.

The new campaigns are to be managed by a newly appointed creative agency and while Birch would not disclose its identity, he added that the firm had responded to Rank being “pretty clear about the methods that we want”.

However, Birch denied the marketing shake-up had been triggered by the onset of the UK’s Point of Consumption tax which came into force at the start of last month.

The tax, which wipes 15% off the bottom line of UK-facing egaming operators, is expected to directly affect marketing spend.

While bookmaker William Hill is hoping to achieve some £20m in cost savings to mitigate the hit, in part by a more focused marketing approach, casino operator 32Red recently said it will ramp up its marketing spend in an attempt to take advantage of opportunities created by the new taxation regime.

A watching brief

Birch said Rank’s new marketing drive coincided with the tax’s introduction but was not “being predominantly driven by it”, and that he was instead keeping a “watching brief” of how the industry reacts to the regime changes.

“We, like the rest of the industry, are waiting in anticipation to see what happens, who will be affected and how,” he said, noting that Rank had enjoyed a “very strong December” on the back of a record week for its Mecca digital business.

“I can’t comment if that’s our own operational excellence or if we’ve benefitted somehow from the wider market, but I can point to the figures and we’re up revenue-wise 16%,” Birch said.

The watching brief Birch has taken to the PoC tax fallout extends to potential M&A activity. However the chief executive refused to rule out the Rank Group delving into the market should an opportunity present itself.

M&A activity within the egaming sector has shown signs of igniting in recent weeks with Canada’s Intertain set to make a big acquisition next week, NetPlay TV recently throwing its name into the ring as a possible acquirer, and casino group Mr Green completing a deal this week.

“There’s definitely potential, I think we’re in a wait and see mode,” Birch said. “We’re closely watching the market but I wouldn’t say we’re actively looking. Most companies are keeping a watching brief and we’re no different.”