Creative Execution

Introducing Twitter Cup. A real time virtual race driven by tweets, following which horses lead the conversation. Users could see what was being said about the horses, check out their odds and place a bet on the mobile enabled microsite. A Twitter Cup competition, promoted across Facebook and Twitter, got the ‘casual punter’ audience interested. Rich media buys ran across sites we knew that punters were consulting to get the edge. On Melbourne Cup day, a real time social media lab was set up. We conducted live social listenings and reached out with bespoke infographics to influential punters.

Twitter Cup gave people the edge, and correctly predict Fiorente as the race winner. TAB reached 1.7m in social across the Melbourne Cup – just shy of the number of people that watched the race on TV. We organically trended on Twitter; a pleasure that our competitor paid around $8,000AU for. Our brand was discussed more across the Melbourne Cup than all of the competitors put together, with a massive 65% Share of Voice. Most importantly, TAB secured an 18% uplift in online betting across the period.

Melbourne Cup. It’s one of the world’s most prestigious horse races. Except for bookmakers. It’s their busiest and most profitable day of the year. It’s also the most competitive; the Australian wagering market has seen a mass influx of online bookmakers. Unsurprising given online turnover is growing at three times the % rate of offline for the wagering category. With over 20 brands offering punters identical offers and deals for Melbourne Cup, we needed to allow TAB to stand out from the pack, dominate SOV and drive a resulting [2%] increase in bets. Punters weren’t interested in the odds and markets – it was the insights on who they should be punting on that was top of mind. The target were turning to their own networks and specifically Twitter to get this ‘edge’. What if TAB could bring punting knowledge into a single tool?