Want to extend a gambling brand into the world of entertainment? Try a football documentary

The Media Plan

The gambling industry is a saturated market. How can brands stand out?

Wavemaker was given that challenge when pitching for William Hill’s business. According to executive creative director Ann Wixley, William Hill needed to “build deeper connections with their audience that went beyond betting transactions” and “strengthen their position as an established voice in sports”.

To do so, the WPP agency sought to extend the brand’s reach into the world of entertainment through a football documentary series.

“The strategy was to amplify William Hill’s existing sports heritage, build on the success of [William Hill podcast series] Up Front, by creating engaging story-driven content that could resonate with fans on an emotional level, positioning William Hill as a true entertainment brand,” said Wixley.

In partnership with Sky Media and production company Dead Films, William Hill decided to sponsor Gaffer, a series focused on football managers that premiered on Sky Sports in August.

Beyond standard gambling times

The goal of the partnership was to reach William Hill’s most dedicated football fan customers, albeit outside the standard game-day hours.

“A lot of the media we serve is around key betting times, in line with what William Hill sees from a betting perspective,” said Wixley. “Gaffer gives us an opportunity to talk to our audience outside of these periods, when they’re not looking to place a bet.”

Thus, apart from the documentary, Wavemaker created a “carefully crafted media plan” that looked to ensure Gaffer reached key sports audiences at scale.

Wixley explained: “The campaign launched on Sky Sports with primetime TV slots and extended across social media, Sky on demand, YouTube and OOH in high-impact locations.”

She added that, given it was William Hill’s first time collaborating on a docu-series, working with partners “experienced in high-quality sports content was essential”.

“Sky’s expertise in sports documentaries and Dead Films’ exquisite levels of production provided us with the confidence that Gaffer would be produced and delivered to the high standard required to engage and impress,” she said.

Measuring success

To measure whether the campaign resonated with the intended audience, Wavemaker sought to understand engagement with the documentary and William Hill brand on social media platforms.

“We monitored views and conversation sentiment on Sky Sports’ Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels,” she said. “With this data, we can assess how well the content resonated with audiences and fostered discussions around William Hill as more than a gambling brand.”

Across all social channels, shared views of Gaffer episodes reached 13.65m as of the end of September — 220% above the target total.

Wavemaker also evaluated earned media coverage with the goal of measuring brand authority, such as by tracking mentions of the documentary in sports and marketing publications.