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THE MARKETING GURUS at gambling giant Paddy Power have no qualms about courting controversy.
There was uproar when the bookie gave odds on the outcome of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial – “money back if he walks” – and the company has clashed with sporting officials for sponsoring athletes to wear underpants emblazoned with its logo.
While these kinds of madcap publicity stunts have usually worked well with UK and Irish audiences, the sense of humour has sometimes been lost on punters abroad, according to Paddy Power Betfair chief executive Breon Corcoran.
“I think being Irish, I’m kind of pre-disposed to think that Irish brands have a resonance everywhere, but that’s not always the case,” he told an audience at the Web Summit in Lisbon this week.
“Five or six years ago, we thought that the answer to most problems might be a Paddy Power, Irish-themed, entertainment-led brand.”
Corcoran said the firm – which boasts on its website that it does the “marketing equivalent of running up and slapping you in the face” – has learned to tone down the high jinks and respect cultural sensitivities for certain audiences.
“There are cultural nuances in all these markets,” he said. “In Italy, for example, consumers tend to see gambling as a less frivolous affair than the Paddy Power brand might suggest.
We famously ran ads involving a porn star and then got feedback that gambling for our Italian customers was much more serious than that. A frivolous entertainment brand wasn’t what they wanted.
North Korea
Corcoran acknowledged that Paddy Power’s appetite for mischief “occasionally can go across the line”.
“A couple of years ago we sponsored Dennis Rodman, a US basketball player, on his tour of North Korea, which in the first instance seemed like a fun thing to do, but rapidly deteriorated into almost a geopolitical scandal.”
Paddy Power agreed to sponsor Rodman’s visit to the country, famous for its human rights abuses and nuclear posturing, so he could to play an exhibition match for dictator Kim Jong-un, but the company was swamped by criticism and pulled out.
Corcoran said he sees the company as more of an “international business with Irish roots as opposed to a fundamentally Irish business”, especially after its near-€10 billion merger with UK rival Betfair.
The betting group has used its suite of brands – Paddy Power, Betfair, Sportsbet and TVG – to re-package its marketing to suit punters in different markets.
For example, the company operates in Australia under the Sportsbet name, which Paddy Power acquired in 2010.
A well-known online bookie, Sportsbet enjoys “a much more Australian positioning and resonates because it’s relevant to the customers there in a way that an Irish brand wouldn’t,” Corcoran claimed.
Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie
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Gambling is a serious addiction with untold negative consequences. All advertising should be banned.
I know Paddy wouldn’t like that idea but then again strip away the smooth corporate exterior and who is Paddy Power really at the end of the day?
A parasite who profits from the misery of others.
How good was it to see them end up with egg on their face over the Hillary Clinton fiasco.
Why are addiction problems for the few always a problem for the majority of people who put a bet on and don’t lose the house? Same with alcohol. Everybody should stop drinking because afew people can’t stop. Deal with your own problems.
The thing is that Paddy Power couldn’t give a toss about the likes of you with your fiver each way on the grand national… the guys with the problems are their bread and butter.
Alcohol and cigarette ads are highly restricted. Much less for gambling. Online gambling is especially dangerous. While you’re playing poker at 2am after a few beers you could be up against someone in a country where it’s 2pm, or playing against a team of people out to take you for all you’ve got. The algorithms ensure the odds are always stacked against you. Great example was a “50/50 double or nothing” option before you cash out, where the outcome was decided before you even opted in.
@Vincent Wallace:
Well I certainly didn’t argue for a ban in my comment Vincent. I do realize that that would be an impossible proposition.
A ban on advertising is what I suggested, in the same manner as tobacco advertising has been removed from the public space.
@Eddie Simon:
They’ve done this before in paying out early on the premiership.
On the face of it a generous offer on their part but the bottom line is that by releasing funds which would have been tied up till the final days of the season now there is a strong likelihood that the same funds will find their way back into the conpany’s coffers before the season ends.
Is online betting tax free?
Yes
Correct. Advertising gambling is illegal in many eu and Scandinavian countries
Get your mates round the house to watch the football, Keep an eye on the Half Time Bet365 next goal prediction from “a proper geezer” film star. Have a bang on that, nice one my son, nice one.
I hear Paddy Power are sending their staff down to the dole office to collect their punters cash directly. Those people are their bread and butter.
Dead right.
Telling it as it is. That would be impossible and highly Illegal , if Paddy Power were cought even trying that they would be done for. Don’t believe everything you here. What I have seen before is Pubs keeping social service cards and giving it back to punters who are on tick the day they collect there welfare. Not sure if this is happening in Powers but you should report it to the authorities if it is.
And if their is ant.paddy powers staff reading this and doing that. You will be prosecuted for fraud if cought. Not Paddy Power.
Vincent…are you serious? Don’t you get it?
I get it.
Paddy power is not a gambling site or bookies anymore. .it’s a non loss business that won’t even take a chance on a gambler who shows any savy what so ever
That’s right Fanny. It’s about profits $
Love to know how much money poorer people loose on Paddy Power
They really are stealing from the poor to give to their rich shareholders
The whole on line betting business should be regulated and taxed more
I’m banned or reduced to very small stakes with all the major bookmakers. Funny enough, 2 of them reduced my stakes to small money even though I was initially losing money with them. Their tracking software flagged me early on because I was beating their SP 80% of the time.
Even though the horses I backed mostly lost on a new account, because I was taking an early price (the night before) and most of those horses were subsequently heavily backed, they knew I was a shrewd punter and decided that I was bad for business! They only want mug punters and let’s be honest, they won’t be penalised because of the tax revenue they generate for the government. I stick to the betting exchanges nowadays, it’s harder to find a decent edge with Betfair & Betdaq but at least they won’t restrict my betting.
Paddy Power. The Knacker Wing of the Sports world.
Anyone winning no matter how small paddy closes accounts
All the online bookies are at it. They’ll promise you the earth to get you betting consistently with them but the first sign of them losing money and they’ll close your account or else limit your bets.
Screw Paddy Power and all other bookies. They are a stain in so many places
Eventually, and sooner rather than later, all gambling companies will be banned from sponsorships like the cigarette and beer companies before them.
have your say