The 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico is touted as the largest football event in history, lasting 39 days, a 25% increase over the 2022 edition, with the number of participating teams increased to 48, 50% more than the previous tournament. This sports extravaganza spanning three countries presents unprecedented customer acquisition opportunities for global sports betting operators, but many also face the "aftereffect" of user loss post-tournament. Nicolas Bell, Senior Vice President of Marketing Services at Sportradar, points out that focusing solely on short-term traffic during the event is insufficient; operators need to strategize for the long term in advance. The real winners will be those who plan well in the dimensions of brand building, marketing rhythm, and user trust. Relevant sports betting industry compliance cases and user operation guides can be found on the PASA official website for reference.
Pillar One: Balancing Short-Term Traffic and Long-Term Value, Strengthening Brand Foundations
Operators often fall into the trap of "focusing on acquisition over retention," but the core of long-term competitiveness lies in the accumulation of brand value:
Golden ratio for budget allocation: It is recommended to initially split the budget 50:50 between performance marketing and brand building, then dynamically optimize based on market maturity and competitive landscape to avoid over-reliance on short-term promotions;
70:20:10 budget model: 70% investment in proven efficient activities, 20% for optimization testing, and 10% for trying innovative approaches, while establishing a cross-departmental review mechanism to transform test results into internal operation manuals;
Rejecting "bonus-driven users": Users attracted by short-term bonuses have very low retention rates. Brand exposure should be used to increase familiarity and trust, encouraging users to choose the platform for the brand experience rather than the incentives.
Bell emphasizes, "Attracting users during major events is not difficult, but keeping them after the event is challenging and requires brand value support."
Pillar Two: Early Planning + Dynamic Adjustment, Hitting the Right Marketing Rhythm
The timing and flexibility of marketing directly determine customer acquisition efficiency, and blindly following trends can lead to missed opportunities:
Start pre-event warming up early: Data shows that in the last three international football tournaments, betting interest rises three to four weeks before the start, with registration and initial deposit peaks occurring two weeks before the event. Brand marketing needs to start at least three weeks in advance to capture user attention;
Adapt flexibly to the progress of the event: When local teams advance, user interest surges, and marketing efforts should be increased accordingly; if the team is out, investments should be scaled back to avoid wasting resources;
Rapid iteration and optimization: The core value of the pre-event warming period is to test messaging and target audiences, adjust strategies based on data feedback, and prepare for the high-intensity marketing of the knockout stages.
This "early planning + dynamic adjustment" model allows operators to maximize the input-output ratio during the event.
Pillar Three: Focusing on Trust and Relevance to Deepen User Connections
In a homogenized competition, trust and scenario relevance are key differentiators:
Building trust through compliance: Regulation is not a constraint but a crucial means of establishing credibility, especially for Generation Z users, for whom transparency, compliance, and financial security are primary considerations when choosing a brand;
Leveraging event scenarios: Creating marketing content that resonates with users' emotions around key moments like goals, red cards, and last-minute victories, ensuring messaging aligns with user experience;
Personalization empowered by technology: Using Sportradar's Sports Moments technology, based on real-time data to automatically adjust ad creatives, achieving scenario-based reach across programmatic advertising, outdoor large screens, and social platforms.
During the European Championship, a brand achieved a 73% increase in deposit amounts and a 90% reduction in customer acquisition costs compared to competitors through localized dynamic outdoor advertising, proving the powerful effect of scenario-based marketing.
Technology and Data: The Underlying Support for Long-Term Competitiveness
To implement the above strategies, a robust technology and data system is essential:
Breaking data silos: Integrating marketing data, CRM insights, and channel performance data to build a full-funnel marketing intelligence system supporting real-time decisions;
Embracing an open ecosystem: Investing in open APIs and industry collaborations to quickly integrate new data sources and marketing tools, avoiding delays caused by system restructurings;
Leveraging collective industry intelligence: By aggregating and anonymizing industry data, trends can be anticipated early, reducing the risks and costs of independent exploration.
The World Cup is not an endpoint but a catalyst for operators to achieve long-term growth. Only by moving beyond short-term traffic thinking and focusing on brand, rhythm, and trust can operators continue to lead the market after the event.
————
This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original deep channel for gambling:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
