When it comes to communication on the internet, sometimes all the words can blur together. With users reading thousands of words a day, 2mee is helping sports betting and casino operators break through that wall of text with video holograms.
The company calls the product “Instant Human Hologram Messaging”. These short, custom videos feature a human talking to you instead of a text message or a push notification. The company believes the more personal touch will result in better conversion for users.
Videos capture nuance lost in text messaging
2mee CEO James Riley said the company’s roots really came from noticing these changes in communication as well as the nuance that was lost in the process.
“We started up looking at how people communicate. What are the deficiencies online? Can we create some advantage? Looking at the way we communicate. Most of our communication is text-based. So the problem with text, it strips away all of the empathy and the nonverbal bandwidth,” he explained. “We’re designed to evolve for face-to-face context, you know, if I wink, if I smiled, if I cry, you would respond accordingly to that as a person.”
Based out of the University of York, 2mee worked with IBM engineers to develop the product, which essentially works in three phases. An influencer or ambassador films a message. Marketers then can access this message in the backend and choose who will receive it and how it will be deployed. It can be sent to a single user or an entire database, depending on the scope.
One of the first trials in the gaming space for 2mee was with BetFred.
“So obviously, Fred is the face of the business, very engaging personality and character. We thought it’d be perfect to trial the technology. We trialed it at the Cheltenham Festival in the UK, and he received a 650% increase in engagement over his standard messaging, which was just a huge result for us,” Riley said.
2mee has potential for responsible gambling and KYC efforts
Marketing is one very obvious use for this technology. Where it also has potential though is in responsible gambling messaging.
“In terms of responsible gambling, it is about delivering that human message. Being able to be able to discuss or talk to a person instantaneously at mass scale, as a human-to-human conversation, is invaluable for a brand,” Riley noted.
Having a friendly face to address issues can also be useful when addressing customer service issues and some of the notorious choke points in the registration process when it comes to Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols and meeting compliance requirements. This is something 2mee is already discussing with operators, particularly US operators, as they try to manage the onboarding of new customers in the latest states to launch sports betting.
There are a range of ways operators can utilize 2mee technology, be it for a VIP or to re-engage a lapsed customer. At the heart of all of them though is bringing some humanity to the process. Riley summed it up well:
“It’s creating that relationship. It’s creating that bond of trust and loyalty and affection with the brand and customer. We’ve also been working in the affiliate space. The stats that we’re getting are immense. Across the board, you’re looking at a 30-35% click-through rate of technology, because ultimately, a face grabs your attention. Once you see a face, you target on it. And you’re interested, you want to see what it says. Who is it? What do they want to say to me? You click it, you get the message, and more than likely, you’re going to get converted into a lead as well.”
