Hard Rock rolls dice on Droga5 for its new sportsbook

Hard Rock Digital, the interactive gaming and sports betting entity for the Hard Rock brand and Seminole Gaming, has named Droga5 creative agency of record for its new Hard Rock Sportsbook app. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight. With the appointment, Hard Rock Digital is looking to develop integrated creative and strategic communications that will aim to “break through the online sports betting category in a meaningful and unique way,” according to a statement by the company. The campaign will incorporate digital, social, and out-of-home components and is “squarely targeted at the millennial and the 21+ Gen Z customer who certainly view sports and sports betting differently than older generations have,” said John Koller, chief marketing officer, Hard Rock Digital. The first work is expected to debut in Florida later this year and expand to other markets in 2022. According to Hard Rock’s website, the sportsbook already exists in New Jersey and Iowa and is expected to be available in Florida and Indiana soon. Legal challenges However, there appear to be some legal hurdles for online sportsbooks in the Sunshine State. The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times have reported on court challenges by casino owners to halt online sports betting in Florida. The lawsuits were filed after the state entered into a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that permitted anyone in the state over the age of 21 to place and collect online bets on sporting events starting Oct. 15. One of the lawsuits claims that the Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Department of the Interior acted outside of their powers in allowing the compact to come into law. While the Seminole Tribe has the legal authority to begin sports betting on the original October date, according to Action Network there will be a hearing on the issue on Nov. 5. Koller declined to comment on the pending lawsuits or an official launch date in Florida. Not your father's sportsbook While specific creative direction was not disclosed, it's clear Hard Rock Digital will not be your father's sportsbook. “The digital world is changing rapidly, and in particular, the online sports betting category is increasingly where millennial sports fans live,” Koller said in a statement. “For the launch of Hard Rock Sportsbook, we needed to collaborate with partners with strong strategic insights, creative rigor, and feet firmly planted within sports culture," said Koller. “During the pitch, we looked primarily for an agency that would connect emotively with the millennial and 21+ Gen Z target audience, rather than just throwing a bunch of offers at the customer and basing the campaign only on fanship, which is so common across the category,” he added. “The marketing team at Hard Rock Digital comes from a hugely diverse background and we have all led major marketing launches that drove success through touching the heart, as well as helped the broader business. We needed an agency that shared that more inclusive view and we know that Droga5 will be that agency that helps us build that foundation with sports fans.” Big opportunities This is the latest example of how the legalization of sports gambling has led to a flurry of new business opportunities for agencies. August in particular was a big month for sports betting brands and agencies. Fanduel hired Wieden+Kennedy New York as its lead creative agency, simultaneously unleashing a new campaign that will continue to get heavy playtime during the NFL season. In late August it was reported that Wynn Resorts is slated to spend more than $100 million this football season marketing its new sports-betting app and the company debuted a TV commercial directed by and starring actor Ben Affleck and basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The ad was written and produced out of Laundry Service. Also, in the same month, Emperor Caesars Entertainment unveiled its Caesars Sportsbook app, accompanied by a campaign that features ongoing TV spots starring actor-comedian J.B. Smoove portraying Caesar. Caesars Entertainment and William Hill, which Caesars acquired earlier this year, collaborated with Dentsu’s 360i on part of the campaign that ran on local and national TV during the Olympic games. In July, VaynerMedia was hired to help DraftKings with its social media efforts, working with the sports gambling company’s in-house agency. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight. “Hard Rock Sportsbook’s launch represents a whole new chapter for the brand, and we’re excited to bring its innovation and vision to the forefront,” Scott Bell, ECD, Droga5 New York said in a statement. “There’s incredible potential for Hard Rock Digital to play a role in modern culture at the intersection of sports, entertainment and technology, and we’re looking forward to creating fun work that engages sports fans and sports bettors everywhere.” This is the latest win for Droga5 which is following up a strong 2020. Earlier this month the agency was named creative and media agency-of-record for global energy technology company Enphase Energy. Also this year, Droga5 has won accounts for U.S. Cellular and Adcolor.

Hard Rock rolls dice on Droga5 for its new sportsbook

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