The 22 immutable laws of marketing for igaming: The law of category
In the third instalment of a monthly series of articles on marketing strategy, RIZE Digital founder Nick Garner takes us through the 22 laws of marketing
“If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.”
Last time I talked about ‘the law of first winners’, which says: Being first winner in a new market is better…than having a better product in a consolidated market.
This time, I want to talk about the importance of being number one in your market category or segment. Who was the first man to step on the moon? Neil Armstrong. Who was the second man to step on the moon? Buzz Aldrin. But who was the third man to walk on the moon? That answer involves some research.
We remember number one, perhaps number two and probably not number three.
We organise our memories in an associative way. Memory athletes i.e. those people who memorise ‘things’ and recount them for sport and competition have a number of memory techniques, but the most effective is the ‘memory journey’ approach.
The technique works by visualising a place and items within it. For example, an ace of diamonds card might be located in a jewellery box with diamonds in it.
A market category or segment is a way of describing something. We usually have a mental picture of whatever the category is: online casinos, sportsbooks, bingo and lottery. They all have mental associations.
Memory triggers
Consumers don’t automatically remember market segments but their memories are triggered through needs or desires.
Somebody sees a news story about a big lottery winner, that triggers a desire to buy a ticket, and they will naturally think of a national lottery provider in their country and purchase a ticket from them. It’s easier for them to think about the first ‘biggest’ brand in that category. Why remember number two if number one does the same thing?
Some lottery players want to buy tickets from other national lotteries so they go to a reseller like Lottoland. It’s still ‘lottery tickets’, but a different category within the lottery market.
It’s much easier to remember just one ‘pair’ of things, we might say:
– Biggest gambling brand UK: National Lottery
– Biggest online sportsbook: Bet365
– Biggest mobile gaming brand: LeoVegas
– Biggest ‘fair play’ casino: Playojo.com
Since it’s easiest to remember [category] + [top perceived brand in category], these brands tend to stand out and accumulate a disproportionate amount of trust and engagement with consumers.
Let’s take a practical example of the law of category. You want to launch a new sportsbook. There are thousands of sportsbooks, so what is your unique selling proposition? If somebody thinks about your brand, what do they associate it with?
Perhaps somebody wants to emulate bet365 because they feel bet365 feels old and gloomy. Let’s say they call it Bet247. What’s the point of differentiation? If both operators intimate you can bet all the time, why would I choose Bet247 over bet365? Besides, who has heard of Bet247?
We also know customer service quality varies massively between operators. In the mind of consumers, some might see different operators in terms of ‘quality of customer care’. Perhaps Bet247 could differentiate itself by being number one on ‘24/7’ payouts, customer care and support.
Fair play
Casino players generally complain about games being rigged, brands not paying out and a lack of fairness. Over the last five years, the UK Gambling Commission has pushed responsible gambling.
Now there is a market category around ‘fairness and responsible gambling’. Playojo.com casino saw this and has led with ‘the fair casino’ message. Arguably it is number one for the UK ‘fair play’ casino category. It’s better to enter an uncompetitive market category that has scope for growth or create your own market category. What you shouldn’t do is fall for the lure of a small percentage of a huge market category with competitors that will destroy you.
As human beings we remember information in an associative way. Consumers don’t understand market segment categorisation. But they know what they want. They see a group of contenders vying to offer them particular products or services.
Be that stand out brand in that category you can dominate. After all, there’s only one number one.
This article was inspired by the 22 immutable laws of marketing by Al Reis and Jack Trout.
Nick Garner is an igaming specialist, marketing strategist and founder of RIZE Digital, an agency which specialises in web development for marketing applications. He writes prolifically and has worked within igaming for many years.