Poll: What will be the buzz phrase for ICE 2017?
With the world's largest gaming exhibition kicking off in London next week, we ask what this year's hot topic will be
The gaming industry will come together next week at London’s ExCeL Arena for three days of drinking, eating and maybe even a little work.
The presentations and panel discussions will inform much of the industry strategy for 2017, and some buzz words will come up over and over again.
Last year, respondents to the EGR poll picked out consolidation as the hot topic, and sure enough 2016 saw more than its fair share of M&A activity.
So what will dominate the 2017 conference?
Personalisation seems sure to be near the top of the list, with no firm yet nailing the strategy, and the promise of genuine differentiation for anyone that can.
BetVictor’s head of sportsbook product, Eoin Ryan, told EGR Intel recently: “Personalisation of the customer experience will undoubtedly improve customer retention and ultimately product uptake – we don’t see any risk here, only opportunities.
This year’s conference could also see the discussion of gamification taken to the next level, with betting becoming an increasingly-accepted part of the entertainment industry.
“Players are looking for entertainment rather than quick wins and we need to find a way to cater to their needs,” Mr Green CMO David Nordberg said recently.
“We’re not only competing for the player’s money anymore, we’re increasingly competing for their time as well. With mobile and free-to-play games taking up more and more of the player’s time the egaming industry will be forced to gamify the user experience to a much larger extent.”
Another trendy topic could be machine learning, with operators set to embrace the area in 2017, according to LeoVegas’ head of sportsbook Andreas Bardun.
“With more games and betting opportunities than ever the demand for more accurate searches, personalised content and recommendations has never been greater,” Bardun said.
“The use of machine learning will also help improve marketing and customer segmentation which always have been a big problem in this industry.”
Finally, retention is likely to generate some buzz, with operators looking to secure their own players, as new player acquisition gets ever more costly. Several firms have pledged to focus on brand-building and CRM in 2017, so watch for it to be on people’s lips at ICE.
With that in mind, what do you think will be the biggest buzz phrase next week? Have your say here.
The poll is now closed.