Fortuna is one of the largest betting offices in Central Europe. In Slovakia, it is striving to corner the market, which is becoming increasingly strenuous due to strong marketing activities of the competition.

Branding of leagues with its name, frequent spots during (but not only) sports events, billboards, banner campaigns, cooperation with athletes, teams or associations – these are just some of the activities in which companies offering betting services or gambling are literally crawling all over each other.

Nowadays, betting is perceived as a form of entertainment rather than a hard gambling or pouring money down the drain. When done responsibly, it can be another excitement for viewers while watching their favorite sport.

Who is our target audience?

Many fans already have their preferred betting agency and getting users from the competition is quite challenging. Interesting target groups include people who enjoy having fun and watch sports mainly in their leisure time, for example, just because of a few popular names. „We believe that thanks to native articles, we can reach potential new clients who would probably never reflect on standard forms of promotion,“explains Andrej Čillík, marketing specialist at Fortuna.

That is why Fortuna saw one more opportunity in addition to the marketing activities mentioned in the first paragraph – content marketing in cooperation with the top online media. And not only sports, but also lifestyle media. „We are aware of the need for long-term, continuous and at the same time ‚non-violent‘ communication of topics related to sports betting, which may seem to the general public at first glance, miles away,“ adds Andrej Čillík.

Creating an editorial plan

There are a loads of sports and other events that you can bet on at Fortuna every year. Apparently, our articles cannot cover everything. The task of mEleven was to propose an editorial calendar for the whole year so that it reflected the popularity of individual sports, teams or personalities, taking into account seasonality, but also information from the client, with which sports and events they want to focus on more and with which less.

Throughout the year we focus not only on football topics, but also on hockey and the increasingly popular MMA. In the past, however, we also prepared content about politics or the Superstar singing competition. 

„We are also striving for some form of general enlightenment of the betting world and its introduction to the general public. Using particular examples, we explain the element of entertainment and enhancing the experience associated with watching sports and other broadcasts from major events,“ says Andrej Čilík.

The preparation of sports content has its specifics

Sports coverage is demanding mainly because it is changing rapidly. New and new information is coming, favorite athletes are injured, or new stars will appear. Therefore, this type of content cannot be prepared well in advance. The complexity can be multiplied by the fact that the articles should be eye-catching even for fans who are not top experts in the given sports. Indeed, the promotion of the client and his special offers is a must, and in the best case scenario they should be getting new bettors.

Important details

There are several editors in our editorial team who are actively involved in sports journalism (Sportky.sk, Sport.sk, Tenisovysvet.sk and others). We haven’t found the topic that would be a bolt from the blue for us. Skillful editors will further refine the articles and ensure that the client is adequately promoted and that the call-to-action elements are on their place.

You need to spend a lot of time on headlines

Last but not least, the editors and rewriters will make sure that the client and the media agency have enough quality headlines for each of the articles, as they will „sell“ the content to readers at the end of the day.  

And not only in online magazines where they are published, but also within the Strossle advertising platform. Through it, the content is then spread to dozens of other media in order to increase the reach and extend the life of articles. We try to keep the headlines diverse, and we are preparing more native and more product-related versions for A/B testing.

Why does it work for us?  

As in sports, teamwork is the key to success. The client arrives on time with his requirements, proposals and also with confidence in our work. At mEleven, we then strive to respond as quickly as possible and deliver quality content to which there are minimal or no comments. The media agency, in turn, will provide suitable placements in the online media and additional distribution with the Strossle advertising platform.

Sport is an integral part of mEleven. In the team we have a hockey referee Marek or Filip, who became such a fan of cycling that for several years he has been regularly recording the most listened cycling podcast – Cyklopodcast. That is why we are delighted that our cooperation with Fortuna works for us, and we are pleased that Andrej Čillík from Fortuna is of the same mind. „We are happy with the cooperation with mEleven in the creation of content, as proved by the long-term continuous cooperation. We are planning to expand our cooperation in the future.“