Our Work / Betfair brand campaign

Betting as it should be

Betfair revolutionised betting in 2001 when Bert Black invented the betting exchange. This used the power of the internet to allow punters to match bets against each other, rather than betting against a bookie. It’s was like the eBay of betting.

This had loads of benefits for expert bettors. They could bet in-play for the first time. Name their own odds. Lay as well as back. Hedge, to ensure they made a profit. Lots of people started to make a living out of betting.

But there are only so many people in the UK who take betting that seriously. So Betfair asked Albion to help them take their brand mainstream; to take their benefits to anybody who fancies a flutter on the football.

We helped them define their brand proposition (‘Betfair punters bet against each other, so they get better odds, which has made us the UK’s biggest online betting company’) and positioning (‘Betting as it should be’).

Then we wanted a creative platform that would stand out in a busy market, and demonstrate the Betfair difference. So we created the Pixel Punters, who symbolise punters matching bets.

They first appeared in this TV advert. (Look closely and you’ll find Rick Astley in the crowd.)

And then we used them across an online campaign too:

The results from this campaign were pretty amazing:

• Awareness among online bettors rose from 16% to 60%.
• Consideration rose from, well, nowhere really, to first in the market.

Betfair then took the Pixel Punters to heart, and wanted to use them as their brand identity across everything they do. So we developed brand guidelines, international advertising guidelines, and continue to work with them to constantly evolve the ‘Punters and what they get up to.

Tagged as: Banners, Betfair, Branding, Community, Digital, TV