Eli Desatnik, co-founder of Pushub and VOT Media, discussed innovative strategies for generating traffic and the importance of creativity and alternative resources during an interview with SiGMA News. Eli Desatnik will continue to share his insights as a keynote speaker at the Eastern Europe SiGMA Summit in 2024. He will also host a panel discussion on "The Effortless Push Notification" at the Affiliate World conference in Budapest on September 6.
Globally, restrictions on gambling advertising are increasing, whether due to government decisions or corporate policies. Many companies traditionally used as traffic channels are now choosing to shift their focus away from iGaming products or reduce their visibility. As a result, operators and agents may find it difficult to reach their target audience. However, Desatnik believes in the philosophy that "when one door closes, another opens," outlining how companies can discover new audiences or re-engage previous ones through innovative strategies.
Finding Alternative Traffic Sources
Desatnik notes that there are always some traffic channels more open to advertising gambling products. He suggests considering options such as push notifications, pop-up ads, content sites, affiliates, and media buying agencies.
However, he warns that expanding with alternative sources can be challenging, as the traffic generation capabilities of Facebook or Google are hard to match. "It's best to work with media buying agencies and demand-side platforms that can connect you with various types of traffic and sources," Desatnik explains.
Strategic Content Creativity
Desatnik points out that advertising regulations are rarely a simple "approve" or "deny" issue. Understanding these regulations and their limitations can lead to creative solutions. "Creative texts, images, channels, user journeys, and other adjustments can help maintain compliance without having to abandon an entire advertising channel," he suggests. While this may be challenging and resource-intensive for some operators and agents, Desatnik advises seeking external expert help when necessary. "One of the main advantages of working with media buyers or advertising agencies is that they have specialized experience and resources to address these issues," he says.
The Ukrainian Market
Regarding the Ukrainian market, Desatnik suggests integrating lead generation technologies to capture consumer interest and convert it into sales. He discusses three technologies: direct purchase of paid media without intermediaries, overcoming hesitations to share valuable data with hired traffic sources, and optimizing advertising campaigns rather than abandoning them prematurely when they perform poorly.
Purchasing Paid Media
Desatnik explains that the iGaming industry traditionally favors affiliate marketing (paying per lead or deposit) over direct purchase of paid media (paying per click or display). However, he notes a recent trend of brands directly purchasing sponsored media instead of through media buyers. "This can lead to significant savings," Desatnik points out, "as private media buyers typically charge a 30% profit margin."
Sharing Lead and Deposit Data
"In the iGaming industry, the traditional view is that it's beneficial to limit data sharing with traffic sources," Desatnik notes, "If paying per click, do not share lead and first deposit data. If paying per lead, share lead data but not first deposit data." However, this practice can harm campaign performance. Sharing data can facilitate the transition from pay-per-click to pay-per-lead, and from pay-per-lead to pay-per-first deposit. "Not sharing data is like giving someone a race car but no steering directions," Desatnik says. "Sharing lead and deposit information allows traffic sources to better optimize advertising campaigns by combining their internal data with yours, ultimately improving campaign effectiveness."
Saving Advertising Campaigns
Desatnik explains that it can be tempting to abandon poorly performing advertising campaigns, but he advises against doing so. Instead, focus on improving campaign performance. "The goal is to adjust actions to turn loss-making (red) campaigns into profitable (green) campaigns, rather than actively blacklisting poorly performing campaigns," he says. Desatnik will further explore this topic in his keynote speech titled "Optimization—From Red to Green" at the Budapest SiGMA Summit on September 4.
