888 launches “Made to Play” master brand strategy

The “Made to Play” initiative will unify the 888casino, 888sport and 888poker brands under a single brand positioning.

888 will support the strategy with a multi-channel marketing campaign which, launching today (11 March), will include adverts that will appear across television, social media and video-on-demand channels.

The marketing campaign will initially focus on the UK before being expanded to additional countries over the coming months. 888’s sub brands will each also launch their own Made to Play campaigns later in the year.

“The launch of our Made to Play master brand strategy is an important step for us, combining each of the strong brands we have built over the years under a consistent message that articulates what makes 888 stand out from the crowd and why our customers love playing with us,” 888’s vice-president of strategic marketing Sivan Finn Shalev said.

The launch of the strategy comes after 888 this week posted a 15.4% increase in revenue to $980.1m, as the business prepares to acquire the non-US assets of William Hill. 888 expects this to complete during the second quarter of this year.

In an earnings call following the results announcement, 888 said that it hopes to build on its name recognition in Germany, the Netherlands and Ontario, as it anticipates a slowdown of its existing business in mature markets such as the UK in 2022.

“In these markets, we already have experience, we have brand presence, we have teams working on them, we have marketing material, we have everything that it takes to make those a significant part of our portfolio of growth countries,” chief executive Itai Pazner said.

Last week, Great Britain’s Gambling Commission issued 888 with a fine of £9.4m over a series of social responsibility and money laundering failings, including setting its deposit threshold for financial checks at £40,000.