The industry needs resources specialised in research and analytics as well as transversal skills, combining digital marketing-specific knowledge with problem-solving and interpersonal skills such as communication, creativity, readiness to learn or critical thinking.
By Ludovico Calvi
The pandemic with its related lockdown and physical distancing measures caused not only unprecedented disruption in the way gaming organizations had to operate in order to guarantee business continuity but also forced operators to quickly train and re-allocate available resources towards digital channels.
Even before the pandemic, disruptive technological changes were transforming the gaming industry, which had to innovate effectively in order to compete and evolve. Skills and creativity are at the heart of innovation.
The quarantine and the closure of most physical gaming locations have accelerated the gaming behaviour shift from retail to digital channels. Some gaming companies have reacted promptly by reviewing organisational structures and internal processes to quickly adapt existing practices to meet the new challenges.
Content automation and personalized digital gaming experience have been key in customer acquisition and retention processes and the trend will continue to grow after the pandemic. The present and future of digital marketing is automated, responding to an ever-increasing demand from consumers for customized content with a new acquisition and engagement approach, which in recent years, has been moving from a one to all to a one-to-one consumer marketing model.
With artificial intelligence and data driven predictive models applied to marketing,
we have witnessed a significant growth in the use of automated marketing tools with significant scope to expand into automated video generation and customized animated content generation. Media content and data analytics with enhanced Crm tools are driving more and more traffic to gaming operators in a market, which in terms of prize payout and offering is flattening out.
The industry needs resources specialised in research and analytics as well as transversal skills, combining digital marketing-specific knowledge with problem-solving and interpersonal skills such as communication, creativity, readiness to learn or critical thinking.
In this respect, training, upskilling and reskilling of existing resources are playing a major role in the success of a modern gaming organisation. In our industry job opportunities will grow for highly-skilled people, stagnate for medium-skill levels and decline for the low skilled ones. Depending on specific tasks and occupation, about 35 percent of jobs will be subject to automation and this is why investment in upskilling and reskilling is indispensable.
The ability to compete through innovative Crm and Kyc tools is paramount to succeed as it is the use of social media. Gaming organisations have long-realised that social media sites are very effective as a medium to distribute gaming contents as well as details on new promotions, bonuses, and customised stats and video streaming, which not only keep their consumers on their digital platforms, but also help attract new ones.
On the back of the pandemic,
another strategic area of investment is corporate social responsibility. Innovation and product development processes will be increasingly founded on principles of transparency and ethics with the aim of generating tangible and measurable social benefits. Gaming companies, will therefore have to review their corporate social responsibility initiatives, and increase investments in projects related to the creation of value for society, the protection of the environment and consumers.
The introduction of processes and technological solutions which enhance
cybersecurity standards end-to-end -- from products, services and processes, to transactions and finally to customers – will serve as key benchmarks for evaluating gaming companies, among the market, the public, regulators and public stakeholders.
The extent and effectiveness of
measures to combat fraud and money laundering including match-fixing and collusion are other examples that may prove a commitment to social responsibility and consumer protection.