Back in early 2020, while working at Betsson as head of concept development, I was asked to come up with some treatments for a series of reputation management videos for the Malta iGaming industry, to counter negative opinion in the general public. The client was IGEN, the iGaming European Network, an organization representing the leading iGaming companies in the country. I quickly put together a few ideas and presented them for the core IGEN team.
But a question had occurred to me while working on the concepts, and that was 'where would these videos be hosted, and how would people find them?' I developed these concerns into a parallel concept, this time for a portal which would be a natural repository for all iGaming-related content, but also a resource for anyone looking to move to Malta for a career in the industry. I presented this proposal, which I called 'Project X', to the core team shortly thereafter.
Proposal for a new consumer-facing portal
In this proposal I made the case for a comprehensive online guide to the industry, and presented customer segmentation, content and structure proposals, branding design, as well as naming and marketing strategies.
The proposal was extremely well received, and with a few small tweaks to the concept, the decision was made to put out an RFP for a web consultancy to build the site. A feasibility study was carried out to determine if we could automate the aggregation of all members recruitment ads on our site, and this was then approved for implementation. The contract was eventually awarded to London-based 106 Communications, and the branding identity was also finalized together with them at this time.
New identity for WhyIgaming
Promotional video for WhyiGaming.eu
We went ahead and created the first of the videos, with the aim of promoting iGaming as a career choice and Malta as a destination, and for this we worked with London motion graphics agency HACCHI.
Managing the whyiGaming.eu website
The site was launched, and to appeal to the target audience it was given a striking visual identity, making use of emotional and powerful imagery of people and environments specially chosen to highlight the lively and diverse nature of life in Malta, and the young and dynamic culture of iGaming. This is an extremely diverse industry, and Malta is a very culturally diverse country, with a young population but an ancient history, and the juxtaposition of these contrasts creates an exciting visual tension.
The iGaming industry is very tech-oriented and operates on the cutting edge of innovation, which is why companies are constantly looking to recruit new talent. The whyiGaming site aggregates recruitment ads from all IGEN members to make finding a career match that much easier, and also hosts interviews and profiles of employees telling the story of their individual journeys.
The whyiGaming social media channels
After leaving Betsson to focus on consulting, I was again approached by IGEN CEO Enrico Bradamante and asked if I wanted to come on board to manage their marketing channels, as well as work with the industry-wide CSR initiatives which I had been working with alongside my role at Betsson. Soon I was managing the website content, social media channels and organizing environmental clean-ups for volunteers from the many member companies. Our whyigaming.eu website is currently attracting around 5.6k unique visitors a month, we are exploring ways to make it even more useful as a resource to drive more traffic. I also work with SEO optimisation of the site and publish content from members on the various social media channels.
Publishing news content and press releases
One fun part of the job is creating content for the site's 'News' section, where I get to choose a topical subject and write about it, often interviewing the subject. Most of the news articles concern activities which we are currently driving, be it the ongoing co-operation with the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Enterprise, the corporate social responsibility events which we organise, or sponsorships of deserving individuals and organisations.
CSR volunteer events
Some of the Instagram posts from the CSR initiatives I have been running for IGEN network volunteers. These raise awareness around environmental degradation, give iGaming employees the chance to give something back, and help raise the profile of the industry.
Gaining attention
Getting noticed! Times Of Malta published a full page piece on our Earth Day clean-up in their tech supplement. We were also covered by specialist iGaming media sites like capital.mt.