Paddy Power Betfair

The Challenge

As one of the most recognised names in sports betting, Paddy Power Betfair is known for its bold, attention-grabbing marketing campaigns. However, in a crowded marketplace — and one subject to strict advertising regulations — the brand needed to ensure that its communications were not only memorable, but also relevant, resonant, and motivatingfor its core target audience: football bettors, particularly those engaged in in-play betting.

The objectives were to:

Test the effectiveness of TV and press adverts with real bettors to see which creative approaches cut through.
Understand the emotional and behavioural triggers that drive betting activity, especially during live matches.
Identify how marketing could best align with customer mindsets at different stages of the football experience (pre-match vs. in-play).
Ensure future campaigns struck the right balance between entertainment value and betting relevance.

The Solution

Skopos created a bespoke online consultation community with Paddy Power’s core audience of “footie bettors”:

Interactive community hub: A closed online space where members could view and discuss Paddy Power’s current and proposed campaigns.
Qualitative techniques: Discussion threads and live chat sessions encouraged open sharing of opinions, humour, and spontaneous reactions to creative content.
Quantitative add-ons: Surveys and polls embedded in the community measured cut-through, recall, and likelihood to bet in response to specific campaign elements.
Trigger-point exploration: Research sessions drilled into when and why bettors were most likely to place in-play bets, and how advertising could best align with those moments.
Iterative feedback loop: Campaign concepts were tested in waves, giving Paddy Power and its agency real-time input for refinement.

The Outcome

The programme gave the Paddy Power Betfair brand team direct, actionable insight into how to maximise the impact of their advertising:

Identified the key moments and triggers (e.g. team line-ups, goals scored, penalties awarded) that fuelled in-play betting — and should be emphasised in comms.
Highlighted which campaign elements had the strongest cut-through (humour, cheeky irreverence, topicality) and which risked confusing or disengaging bettors.
Provided clear guidance to the advertising agency, enabling future campaigns to be better timed and more sharply aligned to betting behaviour.
Strengthened the balance between brand personality and bet-driving relevance, ensuring Paddy Power ads remained distinctive while also commercially effective.
Delivered a framework for ongoing consultation with bettors, keeping the brand close to its core audience.

As a result, Paddy Power Betfair was able to plan future communications with greater precision, reinforce its reputation for entertaining, memorable campaigns, and ensure advertising activity directly supported in-play football betting growth.

Paddy Power Betfair

The Challenge

The Solution

The Outcome

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