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Rebranded as the New Football Pools, it is the UK s only football pools game andSportech aims to position it as the number one football prediction site introducingit to a younger audience of fantasy football fans as a test of skill to be playedagainst friends and colleagues.
As the phenomenon of social networking intensifies and social media optimisationadvances, Ambergreen has been appointed to lead the ongoing online campaign.
The agency will first lay solid optimisation foundations, ahead of a multi-millionpound through-the line advertising campaign launching the New Football Pools thissummer. Supporting its online position the New Football Pools profile will beboosted by a deal with Ladbrokes to distribute the game in 1,700 betting shops.
Sportech s acquisition last year of Vernons Pools, makes the New Football Pools theonly pools game in the UK. The company now aims to leverage the heritage ofLittlewoods Pools and put the pools back firmly in the heart of the footballcommunity.
Tino Nombro, Ambergreen MD explains: The internet is the natural home for thepools. If the pools didn t already exist, it would surely have been invented byfans online. Community thrives in the evolving digital environment of social media.
And the pools has such a strong heritage within the football fraternity it will befascinating to see how we can open it up to a new audience already primed to receiveit. Our aim is to put the pools back in the heart of the football community.
Ambergreen s strong track record and deep understanding of the gaming industrycombined with its pre-eminence in search engine optimisation made it a naturalchoice for Sportech s new online team, brought into re-invigorate the brand.
New Football Pools is using new technology to make the pools easier and moreenjoyable to play. The online re-launch this summer will include pod casts, anonline magazine and new games based on Premier and Champions Football Leaguefixtures, targeting the true football enthusiast who will see the New Football Poolsproposition as a test of skill and knowledge.
The campaign faces a number of challenges. The launch of the national lottery tenyears ago had a significant impact on Littlewoods Pools, as it was then. Since 1994the number of people playing has fallen from 10 million, one in three of the adultpopulation, to just 700,000 a week.
The football environment is saturated with information sources and the New FootballPools faces stiff competition from news, sport and gaming sites. By retaining thecore values of the traditional pools but incorporating modern technology andunderstanding today s social behaviours, Sportech aims to differentiate it from allthe other sites by positioning The New Football Pools as the number one footballpools based prediction site.
Dominic Starkey, Littlewoods Gaming Head of Online Marketing comments: Onlinegaming is one of the most fiercely competitive markets and denied paid search, arobust and sophisticated organic search strategy is absolutely vital to succeed inthis aggressive sector.
Organic search is critical to online gaming and Ambergreen has the best searchmarketers in the UK. Plus, they have a proven track record of success in the onlineand gaming sector. I have worked with Ambergreen before and I like the way theywork. They are honest, trustworthy and they get the results.
Ambergreen will conduct rigorous market research, including keyword research anddemand, competititor research and link analysis. This combined with their marketknowledge and experience makes Ambergreen well equipped to create a powerful onlinestrategy. Social media optimisation will be a big part of this. Ambergreen willoptimise the new content management system currently in development. The campaignwill also target the insatiable overseas interest in English football, seeking toattract new players in eastern Europe and the Far East.
Founded in 1923, Littlewoods Football Pools was the first pools game in the UK. Thegame is based on predicting the outcome of top-level football matches set to takeplace in the coming week.
Through its links to football, including ongoing contributions to the FootballFoundation, Littlewoods Pools alone has given back over 600 million to the UK'snational game. The New Football Pools will continue this tradition as the onlygaming community where every player gives something back to the game of football.
