‘Not your dad’s sportsbook’: How Rivalry is marketing against the grain

Rivalry isn’t like other sports betting companies.

The Toronto-based sportsbook was only founded about seven years ago, making it a relative newcomer compared to more established sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings. Its aim is to fill a couple of gaps in that market, targeting esports aficionados and explicitly catering to Gen Z and millennials, according to Global Head of Marketing Grant Flannery.

“Not all of them want to use their dad’s betting platform,” Flannery told Marketing Brew.

Since its inception, Rivalry has expanded its offerings beyond esports, but the company is still focused on tapping into internet and influencer culture, partnering with creators and platforms over big-name celebrities and traditional mass-media channels to connect with its audience in regions around the world.

“We’re a brand that’s a little bit degenerate, but not too degenerate,” Flannery said. “We want to have fun in what we’re doing.”

Under the influence

In recent years, sports betting companies like ESPN Bet, DraftKings, and FanDuel have tapped celebrity spokespeople to lead their marketing campaigns. Rivalry doesn’t have the budget for a star-studded cast, Flannery acknowledged, but even if it did, Flannery said his team wouldn’t want to position the brand similarly to others in the space.

“Our mantra is pretty much, ’When everybody else zigs, we zag,’” he said. “We want people to be able to resonate with [the brand] and look at it and feel like, ’That’s exactly who I would want to bet with. They get me.’”

That means that instead of tapping the Rob Gronkowskis or Kevin Harts of the world, Rivalry partners with creators, particularly in the esports space, to promote its product on platforms like X and Twitch.

Last year, Rivalry worked with retired League of Legends pro Gustavo “Baiano” Gomes for a campaign surrounding the League of Legends World Championship, which according to the company generated $3.5 million in wagers on a budget of $150,000. In April, the brand hosted a Counter-Strike 2 tournament in Toronto called Launders LAN, with people playing on computers in the same room in partnership with retired Canadian gamer Mohan “launders” Govindasamy that drew over 550 people and drove new-user acquisition, according to Rivalry.

So far, Rivalry has struck up more than 150 creator partnerships, which have been responsible for more than two-thirds of the company’s business, per Rivalry. According to the company’s Q2 earnings report, its net revenue rose 22% year over year to CA$4.7 million ($3.5 million). Creators “have a qualified audience” who are already interested in betting, or are at least generally interested in the sport or game the creator specializes in, which is part of the reason Flannery said they drive so many bets.

Parlay-vous

Rivalry also takes a regionalized approach to its marketing when it comes to both esports and traditional sports. That can mean tweaking and translating broader campaigns, like its 2024 NBA Playoffs campaign, for “local implementation,” Flannery said, or working on events like Launders LAN that can help integrate Rivalry into specific communities.

Rivalry works with creators and platforms from around the world, including the Philippines and Australia, and localizes its offerings to tie in with creators. In January, Rivalry released premade parlays, or combinations of bets, tied to esports creators like a “Baiano parlay,” Flannery said. Since the release, about 75% of premade parlay wagers on Rivalry have been driven by the creator-branded offerings, according to the company.

Flannery credits that strategy to Rivalry’s global operations: It has employees working on the ground in a variety of regions including Southeast Asia, South America, and Europe.

“There’s so many differences around the world that you really need to be of that culture to understand it properly,” he said. Having staff members outside of North America has “probably saved us from making many mistakes.”

Hedge your bets

Beyond the creator marketing space, Rivalry runs other initiatives that might raise eyebrows. It prereleased an interim cryptocurrency called “NUTZ” in May that will convert to the more official-sounding $RVLRY token when it formally debuts down the line. It’s also been known to send an actor wearing a chicken costume to live events.

Altogether, Flannery and the Rivalry marketing team are aiming to “create a brand that lives and breathes internet culture,” he said, leaning into content that his team believes users will engage with.

“It’s not about trying to intercept [our audience],” Flannery said. “It’s about being part of their conversation. We’re there for a reason. We’re not here to just put our logo there. We’re actually here to add value.”