Industry
Betting
Brand
Smarkets
Google in App Campaign
TL;DR
Maximizing Market Share at Cheltenham: Leading Smarkets’ Strategic Entry into YouTube and GAC Video Advertising
Context
The Cheltenham Festival represents the most competitive period in the UK betting exchange calendar. For Smarkets, standing out among industry giants during this peak season was critical. The project required a high-performance video campaign for their first-ever foray into Google App Campaigns (GAC) and YouTube promotion. The challenge was to deliver premium, high-converting motion assets within an incredibly tight timeframe to capitalize on the festival's massive betting volume.
Role
Art Director & Lead Motion Strategist I took full ownership of the campaign's creative lifecycle, moving from Art Director to Lead Strategist. I acted as the primary liaison between the client and the creative team, managing stakeholders including the Global Motion Design Director. My role was to transform a high-pressure brief into a scalable video framework, overseeing both the creative vision and the operational delivery.
Key actions
Creative Orchestration & Leadership, leading a multidisciplinary team of six designers through the research and storyboarding phases, ensuring the "pilot" concept met both brand standards and performance requirements.
Cross-Functional Direction, directing copywriters to ensure a seamless narrative flow, aligning messaging with visual triggers optimized for the betting audience.
Agile Stakeholder Management, implementing a rapid feedback loop and weekly check-in system, allowing for five major iterations across multiple formats and sizes within a single week.
High-Efficiency Production, developing an optimized production workflow that delivered a complete suite of high-fidelity video assets in just 50 working hours, ensuring Smarkets hit the festival's critical launch window.
Performance-Driven Design: Translating Creative Excellence into Long-Term Strategic Partnerships
Business Impact
Top-Tier Performance, the campaign's inaugural GAC and YouTube assets outperformed 70% of comparable agency clients, ranking in the top 30% for engagement and conversion.
Commercial Growth, the success of the Cheltenham campaign directly led to Smarkets signing a six-month contract extension, moving from a project-based relationship to a long-term strategic partnership.
New Channel Validation, successfully validated YouTube and GAC as viable acquisition channels for the client, providing a data-backed blueprint for future high-stakes event campaigns.
Operational Velocity, demonstrated the ability to lead a team to deliver high-quality, complex motion assets in an "express" timeframe without compromising on brand integrity or performance.
