Challenge

• With a huge influx of digital customers, the Ladbrokes marketing and analytics teams were challenged with revamping their marketing strategy to move toward an omnichannel plan for customer communication and campaign targeting.

• The primary objectives were to increase monthly actives on sportsbook by 5% and to increase the efficiency and ROI from DTC (direct to customer) campaigns.

Task

• We were tasked with helping create the Single Customer View - this involved centralising retail, digital and omnichannel customer and sportsbook transaction data.

• Creating a data scientific Customer Lifetime Value model.

• Creating a Customer Lifetime Value powered segmentation model.

Approach

• Defining success: the key KPIs chosen to measure success were overall retention actives, month to month churn rate, overall sportsbook turnover, retention rate of DTC campaigns, turnover uplift from DTC campaigns, ROI from DTC campaigns and opt-out rates for email, sms & push.

• Amalgamating data to create Single Customer View: there was a significant amount of data validation and testing to ensure the data tables were arranged in the correct and optimal manner. Customers were centralised under a single identification code to enable correct tracking of customer spending patterns and spending power.

• Creating Lifetime Value model: we used an AI-powered machine learning model to project lifetime value of customers using a wide range of key demographic and performance variables. The results were tested to ensure robustness and statistical significance.

• Creating segmentation model: using the Lifetime Value projection and customer spend recency, we created the segmentation model. Customers were split into groups using cluster analysis to allow for statistically significant control and target groups.

• Optimised campaigns: the segmentation model enabled efficient and targeted DTC campaigns; including spend stretch, cross-channel and reactivation campaigns.

Results

• The Single Customer View was hugely beneficial across the business. It enabled more accurate reporting, easier direct customer communication for the CS and Operations teams, and importantly set the foundation for an analytical and data-science led marketing strategy.

• There was over a double digit percentage increase in sportsbook monthly turnover and monthly actives. The month to month churn rate dropped by over 15%.

• DTC spend-stretch campaigns proved hugely successful – one of which resulted in over 130% ROI in first 6 months.

• DTC retention campaigns were also a success: increased reactivation rates from retention campaigns from average 5.2% to average 10.5% per campaign.