Since they came online in April, Ultimate Poker has had to do little to garner the attention of Nevada online poker players. As the only game in town, they basically could sit back and wait for the players to find them. Aside from some in-house promotion around its Station Casino properties and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts (Ultimate Poker’s operating company, Ultimate Gaming, is owned by the Fertita Brothers, which also own Station Casinos and the UFC), Ultimate Poker was getting their message out for a minimal expenditure. With the debut of WSOP.com from Caesars Entertainment and 888 Holdings on September 19, advertising is now becoming important as each company looks to seize their place in the market.
According to AdAge.com’s E. J. Schultz, that battle will start this Sunday when Caesars will roll out its first television advertisement for their regulated online poker room. Schultz reports that the advertising company Zambezi (from Venice, CA) will drive that advertising launch with a full-fledged assault on all forms of media, including radio, print and digital alongside the television campaign. Schultz reports that Caesars’ approach to the advertising will be the “whenever, wherever” opportunity to play online poker from home.
Caesars and Zambezi will also be looking to use a bit of humor in their advertising. AdAge shows one of the WSOP.com ads, featuring your everyday “Average Joe” who lacks the ability to show a “poker face.” Against 1998 WSOP World Champion Scotty Nguyen, the “Joe” displays all types of tells as Nguyen cackles and takes his money. “Enter WSOP.com,” the “Joe” says, “where I don’t need a poker face.” Other ads point out the ability to celebrate without scorn from your live opponents and a particular radio ad points out that you can “catch a flush while (you) flush.”
Schultz quotes Zambezi founder and managing partner Chris Raih as saying the ads are going for the comedic approach to try to make online poker inviting. “We’re creating new behavior,” Schultz quotes Raih.
Ultimate Poker’s ownership, Ultimate Gaming, has been using their own in-house creative resources for any advertising, but that may be about to change with the Caesars/888/WSOP.com entry. Schultz states that Joe Versaci, the Chief Marketing Officer for Ultimate Gaming, is now reviewing advertising agencies that would take over the marketing campaigns. At stake is not only Ultimate Poker’s Nevada operation but also the operation from their partnership in New Jersey with the Trump Taj Mahal for complete online casino gaming, including poker, which is expected to open shop later this year.
The Ultimate Poker television ads are very straightforward, pointing out that they were the first legally regulated online poker site where players could play for real money. The ads push the ability to cash in and out easily, either live or online, and the opportunities to win money from playing on the site. Surprisingly, at no point in this particular advertisement does Ultimate Poker make usage of perhaps one of their biggest assets, site ambassador and “Big One for One Drop” champion Antonio Esfandiari.
The advertising wars are going after what has been, to this point, a rather limited market in Nevada. According to PokerScout.com, Ultimate Poker is the 37th ranked online poker room in the industry with a seven-day average of 139 cash players (Ultimate Poker anticipates dealing its 20 millionth hand within the next few weeks); active for slightly over a week, WSOP.com’s seven-day average is 63 players, ranking it 42nd on the PokerScout charts. These numbers do not take into account tournament action (both Sit and Go and multi-table) that is occurring on the two sites, however.
The first salvo in the Nevada online poker advertising wars will be active this Sunday night and in a stunning fashion. Caesars will be advertising WSOP.com during the series finale of AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” which is expected to draw huge ratings across the nation. The ads, however, will only be seen in the state of Nevada. Other marketing moves by Caesars are branding on room keys for Caesars properties and, as Ultimate Poker did, in-house displays at their casinos.
