2021 Gold Public Sector

Agency: M&C Saatchi

Client: GambleAware

Campaign Name: Bet Regret: Tap Out

Campaign Overview

Persuading risky sports bettors to place less impulsive, heat-of-the-moment bets they later regret.

Strategy

While a relatively small number of people - around 400,000 - experience a gambling disorder, there are around 2 million people experiencing small amounts of financial and mental harm; they are at risk of something more serious developing.

Research showed that although risky bettors see themselves as calculated, they often place impulsive bets they didn't think through and which they regret instantly.

To make matters more complicated, the audience wouldn't make big changes to how they gamble, because they didn't think it was a problem.

The mechanic needed to prompt a behaviour so simple and beneficial, they'd ask themselves, ‘Why wouldn't I do that?’

The team collaborated with a behavioural science expert to devise a number of techniques that would help bettors think more about the bet they were about to place. To make sure the intervention worked a two-week trial testing four techniques was conducted. Tapping out of your betting app just before placing the bet, was a clear winner. It successfully added friction, but in a positive way that made bettors feel better about their decisions.

Creativity

A memorable branded action: 'Tap Out for time out’ was built - an attention-grabbing creative with a wrestler acting as a guardian angel helping people to tap out and think about their bet before placing it.

Why?

Because the campaign called for a figure of authority and showmanship to grab our audiences' attention.

And who better to get people to tap out and grab attention than the kings of tapping out?

WWE wrestlers, childhood heroes of many bettors, acted as our guardian angels saving bettors from risky bets.

Two TV ads showed our wrestling star watching unassuming bettors from afar before flying in the moment they were about to place a bet without thinking.

With swift wrestling moves, he got them to tap out for some time to think.
We also got WWE legends Kurt Angle and Big Show to record themselves for social media telling bettors to tap out and David James gave inspiration on what to do when tapping out.

Results

Almost 40% of the campaign audience now try to tap out regularly when betting, rising to over half for the higher-risk audience.

Despite the increase in online gambling in 2020, the number of risky bettors decreased.

Qualitative feedback from bettors provides useful context to the quantitative results:

“I felt more in control. In the past, I have just placed bets without even considering the consequences.”

The Team

M&C Saatchi - Matt Lee, Deputy Executive Creative Director - Danny Jones, Creative - Jordan Morris, Creative - Bruce McKelvie, Head of Film - James May, Business Director - Jamie Roston, Senior Account Manager - Carole Raeber, Strategy Director - Andy Harris, Head of Design