Marketing & CSR in the CIS Region

Double Espresso Show with Rasmus Sojmark

The latest episode of The Double Espresso show just dropped, and features SBC CEO Ras Sojmark sit down for a fascinating chat with Adjarabet CMO Irakli Davarashvili in the lead-up to SBC Summit CIS, taking place on the 13th and 14th of October 2021 in Kyiv.

Rasmus tapped into Irakli’s marketing expertise in the CIS region, and particularly in Adjarabet’s two-key markets, Georgia and Armenia. Irakli gets into the importance of leading the way on corporate social responsibility (CSR), despite the comparatively lax regulations on it in their key markets.

The two also cover the packed sporting calendar, using Euro 2020, the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Qatar World Cup, as well as the use of free-to-play games to attract, entertain and activate players. Irakli lays out where he sees sports marketing in the CIS region going over the next few years, including social media and the importance of sponsorship agreements.

Finally, Rasmus gets Irakli’s thoughts on new market expansion, marketing’s role in deciding and planning for new markets, and weighing this up against business development needs and priorities.

00:10 - Intro

00:58 - How do Adjarabet manage, coordinate and perfect marketing across their key markets of Georgia/Armenia? How challenging have the last 2 years been? How Adjarabet have adjusted to remote working. How the sporting calendar has and will continue to bring the sports betting world back to normality. Adjarabet having to keep an eye on the regulatory environments in Armenia and Georgia, particularly from a marketing, advertising and promotional standpoint.
04:14 - The development of the markets in the region, Georgia being the only regulated market for a long time. Taking the responsibility to drive forward with CSR, despite the comparatively lax regulations. Wanting to present the betting industry in a positive light, get closer to the people and become a more positive influence. Discussion of Adjarabet’s CSR activities during the pandemic.

06:52 - What’s Irakli’s take on marketing for the rest of this year and for 2022. The importance of sports sponsorships and influencers and getting closer to the players. Continuing to ramp up on CSR, to be at the forefront of responsible gaming in the region. Irakli’s laser-focus on entertainment, providing fun for the players both with the product and the brand’s content.

12:08 - Using the Qatar World Cup and other big events to attract new players, and different types of players. Adjarabet as part of Flutter. The importance of providing good quality content in the region.

15:42 - Expanding into new markets. This being a challenging time to grow and expand in the industry but always an eye on new markets. Irakli’s role in deciding which markets to expand into, and weighing up marketing needs and priorities against Business Development needs and priorities.

18:08 - Outro