The world of iGaming is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and the spotlight is increasingly shifting towards emerging markets that offer untapped potential. These promising markets, Nigeria in Africa and Colombia in Latin America stand out as key players. As an industry-leading iGaming agency, Samba Digital has successfully navigated these untapped markets, helping brands establish a strong foothold and maximise their presence in these regions.

The Rise of iGaming in Emerging Markets:

Emerging markets like Nigeria and Colombia have witnessed a surge in digital transformation, with increased internet access and smartphone usage. As a result, the industry has been presented with a golden opportunity for brands to capitalise on the growing desire for online entertainment.

Nigeria, with its youthful demographic and a passion for sports, has emerged as a hotspot for iGaming. The same can be said for Colombia, where a combination of regulatory reforms and a tech-savvy population has paved the way for a thriving iGaming ecosystem.

Samba Digital’s Approach:

Samba Digital, with its extensive experience and global presence, has honed a strategic approach tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities presented by each emerging market. By partnering with major iGaming brands, we’ve facilitated successful market entries, surpassing initial expectations and establishing long-lasting relationships with both clients and local stakeholders.

With a relevant iGaming experience in Brazil, Samba Digital’s team is used to dealing with the challenges and opportunities of the emerging markets; giving us the knowledge to advise our clients on the best practices and most adequate campaigns for each objective.

Localised Campaigns:

Understanding the local culture, preferences, and regulatory landscape is paramount when entering emerging markets. Samba Digital conducts in-depth market research to create customised campaigns that resonate with the target audience. This includes leveraging local influencers, understanding popular sports and games, and ensuring compliance with regional regulations.

Digital Marketing Expertise:

In the dynamic world of iGaming, digital marketing plays a pivotal role. Samba Digital applies cutting-edge digital marketing strategies, including social media campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), and targeted advertising, to enhance brand visibility and engagement. By harnessing the power of data analytics, we continually optimise campaigns for maximum impact.

As iGaming continues to captivate audiences in emerging markets, strategic entry and sustained success demand a nuanced and well-executed approach. Samba Digital’s prowess in crafting localised campaigns, leveraging digital marketing expertise, and navigating regulatory complexities positions it as the go-to agency for brands looking to make a mark in these untapped markets. With a finger on the pulse of global trends and a commitment to excellence, Samba Digital is leading the way in shaping the future of iGaming in these dynamic regions.

The reception to our recently published article on keys to growth in Brazil  got us thinking: there is potential for a content series here! So we called on our wide network of expert Community Managers to provide us with more of their wisdom. Out of our sorting sombrero came Alejandro Martinez Gutierrez, an experienced Community Manager from Mexico City who currently serves some of our highest profile clients and has previously held posts at the Mexican Football Federation and the Mexican National Team.

Given Messi’s arrival in the MLS (which we played our own humble part in), the world’s eyes have turned state-side in anticipation of a footballing boom prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But to the south of the border the US’ co-host for the competition- Mexico-  with its population of over 128m has long been host to a vibrant league, passionate fans and has exported some world-class players including Javier Hernandez, Rafael Marquez and Hugo Sanchez.

With this being said, Alejandro has dived into a little more detail below on how rights-holders around the world can best tap into this vast fan base.

1. DON’T IGNORE THE USA

It’s a little strange to start an article on Mexico by talking about the USA, but bear with us.  The Mexican Men’s National Team’s games are the most viewed in the USA, ahead of global giants like Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester United and even the US National Teams themselves. Alongside this, not only do the Mexican National Teams count on over 60m fans in the USA, but over half of the population growth in the USA in the last decade has been Hispanic, making them nearly as large as the entire population of the UK.

This audience in the USA is young (52% being between 18-34) and more diverse than the typical football fan (32% are female). To ignore the power of this young, diverse and engaged fanbase is to miss a key pillar of engaging the Mexican audience but also adds an extra dimension: which platforms do they want to be engaged on?  In which language? Who are the creators that influence them? I can feel another article growing from these questions.

2. HIGHLIGHT THE PLAYERS & MAKE THE FANS PROUD

Those who had read our previous article will know that we highlighted the players as a key for driving engagement in Brazil. Mexican fans are no different in the sense that they love to see their stars succeed in the top European leagues.

To illustrate this point Mexican followers make up over 17% of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Instagram followers and over 10% on TikTok. The success of the Premier League Club’s  former Mexican striker, Raul Jiminez, was undoubtedly a major factor and goes to show the power of leveraging your Mexican stars, even after they have left the club.

Even if this is simply through a graphic or a photo, like Feyenoord did for Santiago Giminez, Mexican fans are filled with pride to see their heroes revered and recognized by European clubs.

HATTRICK ⚽️⚽️⚽️

SANTIAGO GIMENEZ#ajafey 0-4 pic.twitter.com/ijBTmdPzCS

— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) September 27, 2023

3. MEXICO IS GREAT

Sharing a border with the cultural behemoth which is the US can sometimes mean that Mexico slips under the radar globally. Our previous point spoke about celebrating the stars that come from Mexico but they aren’t produced out of a vacuum. Although the stars quite often ply their trade outside of Mexico, they are deeply rooted within their pueblos and hearing their stories and backgrounds is an integral way of demonstrating the diversity of Mexico and what is great about it.

Take this example from West Ham United. There are a lot of barriers blocking the path to Mexican athletes reaching the top level and so by showing him speaking about where he came from and what he had to sacrifice in order to get to his position now underlines everything that is chingon about the country.

De Tlalnepantla para el mundo. ❤️🇲🇽

“Viajaba casi cuatro horas para entrenar”. Eres grande, @EdsonAlvarez19. 🔝 pic.twitter.com/7kEGGwOYdJ

— West Ham Español (@WestHamEspanol) August 10, 2023

4. CELEBRATE THE IMPORTANT DAYS 

Dia de los Muertos is the most important day in the calendar, not just in Mexico but around all of Latin America. Our recent article shows how our creative studio, Força, helped our clients celebrate this special day with posts attaining- on average- 30% higher engagement than on standard days. This commemorative shirt that we supported Leeds United with was also a recent highlight which, with the help of the Mexican page, Invictus Somos, won over 1m impressions on LUFC’s ES X account.

But it isn’t just Dia de los Muertos that is notable. Mexico’s independence day, Dia de la Independencia is just one example whereby authentically highlighting the traditions, music and customs of the day can secure you great engagement, good press and build your community. We’ve already talked about celebrating the stars that are making waves in Europe but this is about celebrating Mexico and its history as a nation which is integral to connecting with the fanbase.

¡FELICES FIESTAS PATRIAS A LA FAMILIA MEXICANA! 💚🤍❤️

🎶 ¡𝒜𝓎, 𝒶𝓎, 𝒶𝓎, 𝒶𝓎, 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶 𝓎 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓈!
𝒫𝑜𝓇𝓆𝓊𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑜 𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝑒𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓃
𝒞𝒾𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓏𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈… 🎶

🎉 ¡VIVA MÉXICO, VIVA CHELSEA! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/QWhoD3zh0p

— Chelsea FC en español (@ChelseaFC_Sp) September 15, 2023

5. HUMOUR

As with Brazil, humour is a big part of life in Mexico so allow your team the creative freedom to play with memes, gifs and current trends to engage the community. Experienced Community Managers who really understand their audience will be able to leverage key moments in your club’s season or tournament and respond in a culturally-relevant way that shows the community that they have their finger on the pulse and understand what is currently being talked about on socials and on the street.

If you want to be compa with the Mexican audience, you need to understand what makes them feel good, be happy, laugh, and connect with you. It’s not imperative to add humour to your posts, but it is 100% recommendable if you want not only to engage with them, but connect – which is the most important part to win the continued engagement of the audience.

So there we have it, some more tips from Samba Digital’s expert Community Managers on how to nurture and grow your Mexican digital community. Mexican fans are in the Top 20 followers for all of the Premier League clubs’ official X channels and comprise over 2% of PL’s clubs’ total follower count, which puts them as the 6th most powerful following in the world. There is evidence here to suggest that this large fanbase  still has much room for growth prior to the 2026 World Cup.

But to properly exploit this potential, an expert team that are native, on the ground and adept in the nuances of the country, language and social context is crucial. If you’d like to find out more about how our team could help you with your internationalisation approach, do contact us in the box below. But for now, we say goodbye to Alejandro as he has a lot to catch up on after the weekend’s action. Gracias y hasta luego wey.

A Turkish club closes 2023 as the one with the most interactions, while a Saudi team has the highest engagement and a traditional English club has the greatest reach

Galatasaray, from Turkey, was the club with the most interactions on X in 2023: 131.1 million. The Turkish team surpassed the Spanish giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, 2nd and 3rd with 105 and 100 million interactions, respectively.

Completing the top 10 clubs with the most interactions this year are five traditional English teams (Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Arsenal, Liverpool FC and Manchester City), another Turkish club – Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray’s main rival – and the Brazilian Flamengo, the only club outside of Europe, in 10th.

In the ranking of the 20 clubs with the most interactions, the double appearance of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr stands out.

The reason is the club’s need to maintain two profiles on X: one in Arabic, for its local fans, and another in English, for the entire international community.

Combined, the Arabic and English pages accumulated 66.51 million interactions, a mark that would see the club join the 10+ list, ahead of Manchester City. In the individual analysis, the English account had 41.6 million interactions (11th); the Arabic page, on the other hand, had 24.9 million, ranking 19th.

Saudi club is the engagement leader; South American is 2nd

Speaking of Al Nassr, the club of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Anderson Talisca became the engagement leader on Elon Musk’s social network, with 10.1%.

The Saudi club’s English page proved to be effective in communicating the team’s routine to the world, following massive investments to sign big stars for the Saudi Pro League. The Arabic page is not among the 20+.

In 2nd place comes Fluminense, which ended 2023 as the world leader in engagement on Instagram. The Brazilian club repeated the excellent work carried out by its digital team, reaching the second place in the X ranking after a year that saw the return of Marcelo, a 4-1 thrashing of archrivals Flamengo in the final of the Rio de Janeiro state championship and, finally, their first-ever Copa Libertadores title.

The list also showcases other surprises, such as the English account of Galatasaray (6th highest engagement), and Inter Miami CF, of stars Lionel Messi and Luís Suarez (3rd highest engagement).

City’s dominance on the pitch is not reflected in the digital world, and United has greater reach

Despite having won five titles in 2023 (UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, Premier League, UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup), Manchester City was only in 9th place, with 60 million interactions, behind its top four local rivals.

Ironically (or not!), Manchester United, City’s main rival, ended the year with the greatest reach of its publications among all clubs.

In total, the 1959 posts made in the year reached 5.76 billion accounts on X, a number that shows the size of the Reds’ brand, even in a year in which their main local rival won everything they could.

For comparison purposes, Manchester City was the club that made the most posts in 2023 (6,433), reaching 3.265 billion accounts.

Another United rival, Liverpool FC came in 4th place, with 4.25 billion accounts reached. The closest rival was Real Madrid, with 5.2 billion.

As we celebrated the holiday season and rang in 2024, here at Samba Digital we helped turn it into a digital celebration! Our teams worked tirelessly to help our clients capture the magic of the festive season through captivating social media posts.

In a world where connectivity is key, we understand the importance of creating a vibrant online presence, and what better time to do that than during the holidays? Our talented team of digital creators designed eye-catching, heartwarming, and joyful social media posts. From Christmas celebrations to New Years, it’s all about engaging with your audience! 

Here’s how some of our clients celebrated the holiday’s and rang in the new year:

¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO, AFICIÓN! 🎊🍾#MiaSanMia #FCBayern pic.twitter.com/Gprd0q1SnX

— FC Bayern München Español (@FCBayernES) December 31, 2023

¡Feliz 2024! ¡Feliz año nuevo, Bianconeri! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/bZa9drBKIs

— JuventusFC (@juventusfces) January 1, 2024

¡Feliz Navidad, Napolitanos! 🎄🎅#ForzaNapoliSempre 💙 pic.twitter.com/H6tVaclHHn

— Oficial SSC Napoli (@sscnapoliES) December 25, 2023

😃 Rodri, Son y Cuti te desean una MUY FELIZ NAVIDAD 🎄 pic.twitter.com/Qs9oDAbnXb

— Tottenham Hotspur (@Spurs_ES) December 24, 2023

Nuestros mejores deseos para toda la familia Blue. 💙

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! 🎄 pic.twitter.com/eMy5DUgqNh

— Chelsea FC en español (@ChelseaFC_Sp) December 25, 2023

Happy New Year, PSG family, and all the best for 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣! ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/CjhzBEaj9N

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) December 31, 2023

As we toast to the year gone by and embrace the opportunities that the new year brings, we extend our heartfelt wishes to our clients and their fans for a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Cheers to a fan-tastic celebration and a future filled with digital success!

With a wide advantage over other clubs, the Spanish duo have over 2 billion interactions each. Al Nassr and Flamengo are the only clubs outside Europe in the top 10

Real Madrid is the club with the most interactions on Instagram in 2023: 2.59 billion. Second in the platform’s audience ranking, comes the Merengues’ main rival: FC Barcelona – with 2.215 billion.

In addition to the Spanish giants, only three other clubs surpassed the one billion interactions mark in 2023: Galatasaray (TUR), Manchester United (ING) – who faced each other in the group stage of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League – and Manchester City, new FIFA Club World Cup champions.

The Spanish duo’s achievement is so significant that the Turkish club’s interactions, combined with those of the two Manchester rivals, reach the mark of 3.76 billion – around a billion interactions less than those of Real Madrid and Barcelona combined.

Next in the top 10 of the most successful clubs on Instagram in 2023 come the only two representatives outside of Europe: in 6th place, Al Nassr, a club that has the “organic boost” of Cristiano Ronaldo; and Flamengo, the club with most fans in Brazil – and which, despite not having won any trophies this year, has had a significant performance, consolidating itself as one of the biggest sports brands in the world.

With more than 778 million interactions, Flamengo’s performance is so significant that it is ahead of the ambitious Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) and Liverpool, its opponent in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. The top 10 is closed by Fenerbahçe , Galatasaray’s main rival.

Real Madrid would be the 11th club with the most followers if only the new followers gained during the year were counted

It was not only in interactions that Real Madrid led on Instagram in 2023. The club from the Spanish capital was also the one that accumulated the most new followers over the past year.

With 20.6 million new followers, Real Madrid closed the year with a 16% growth in this regard. This number alone would be enough to place the Merengues as the 11th in the followers ranking – ahead of local rivals Atlético de Madrid, which has 16.5 million total followers.

Among the clubs with the highest number of new followers, some new faces compared to previous years.

In 2nd and 3rd place, two clubs with more recent prominence in the world of football: Al Nassr – the team of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, Anderson Talisca, among other football stars – and Inter Miami CF, a club managed by David Beckham and which features Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luís Suarez, Grêmio’s standout in the 2023 Brazilian Championship.

Inter Miami, by the way, was the club that grew the most proportionally compared to December 31, 2022: 1.4k% increase. The arrival of the stars – all of them former Barcelona players – took the North American club’s social media by storm.

Libertadores Champion is the club with the highest engagement in the world in 2023

Not everyone knows what the engagement rate is. To put it simply, engagement rate is the % of users who already follow a certain page and interact with posts.

Fluminense Football Club was the world’s engagement leader this season, with 37.5% rate. The club’s year was full of great achievements – including the surprising signing of Marcelo, a Real Madrid idol who began his football journey at Tricolor.

During the year, the club also thrashed archrivals Flamengo 4-1 in the final of the Rio de Janeiro Championship, in addition to winning the long-awaited Copa Libertadores da América.

In the top 10 engagement there are also other Brazilian clubs: in 3rd, Botafogo, with the unbelievable feat of losing a championship after leading with a 14-point advantage over the closest opponent; in 4th, Vasco; in 6th, Fortaleza, runner-up of Copa Sulamericana; and then, the trio from the city of São Paulo: São Paulo in 7th, Corinthians in 8th and Palmeiras in 9th.

It is clear then that the consumption of digital content is not restricted to just following, but also leaving a like and commenting on your club’s posts – and also posting a joke on rivals’ pages.

Samba Digital will continue to monitor social networks daily.

Did you like it? Contact us!

In sports, visuals are everything. As fans, we love seeing a great play, a remarkable moment, beautiful images, and much more. A photo or a video allows us to remember the best moments lived enjoying the games we love. When the topic is marketing and running a campaign online, visuals are also a vital component.

They are responsible for attracting users’ attention, generating emotions, and leading them to interact with posts no matter the channels you are in. As a team or sports organization, you may have faced the following question: “Why hire a creative agency specializing in sports?”. We just gave you a hint, but keep reading this article to know more about it and how beneficial it can be to your campaigns. 

Divide to focus and conquer

Running a business and managing a marketing campaign are not simple tasks. There are several points of view to consider and different areas to take care of; therefore, the best option is to divide the effort. A creative agency specializing in sports will give you peace of mind taking care of a part or even the entire marketing campaign if they have the capability of doing so. Giving them the helm to conduct allows you to focus on other aspects of your business. At the same time, you can keep a closer relationship with the agency, see reports, discuss the campaign evolution in meetings, and much more.

Leveling up your game

Of course, one of the main reasons why hire a creative agency specializing in sports is in their name. An expert company will bring a boost of creativity to your campaign and will level up your game with new ideas, formats, enhance the quality of your posts, and propose new options that will make your team/company outshine the competition. In a world full of websites and social media channels, creative agencies must do their very best to come up with ideas and solutions that will help them succeed along with their clients. Take advantage of those benefits and approach an agency that is eager to win!

(Re)Fresh ideas to move forward

Even if you are confident with your marketing team moving a campaign forward, it is always good to look at things with the help of fresh pairs of eyes. You might not be looking to hire a creative agency specializing in sports, but you can bring them closer as a consultant to evaluate your campaign and work together in new paths that could make a difference for you in the short, medium, or long run. Maybe you are missing one piece they can provide, or their support will generate a different result from what you expected. There are different approaches that a creative agency can explore, so take advantage of the opportunity to refresh your game with the elite support that only experts can give.

Tools and Measurement

A vital part of every campaign, measurement must be taken seriously by everyone. It does not matter if you put a lot of effort and money into planning and executing a campaign and forget about the results. Looking at data is crucial, and this is something a creative agency will not miss; making sure to regroup with you often to show the numbers and share insights that will be valuable before, during, and after a campaign finishes.

Another positive point for the creative agency is tools. Maybe your in-house marketing team has access to some, but the expert agency will definitely offer more options for your business. 

Expertise everywhere

Not all companies are robust and rich enough to empower a solid marketing team with professionals who carry years of experience in the area, and it might take a while to invest in a junior group to reach the same level. In that sense, hiring a creative agency specializing in sports will bring top-notch professionals right off the bat, not only in a specific role but in different departments, depending on what you are hiring and your goals. Another positive advantage of that is that an agency carries experience in sports, knowing what worked well and what did not perform well in the past, adapting the best choices in your favor.

Savings and efficiencies

Last but not least, budget is a key component of why hire a creative agency specializing in sports. You might think it is an expensive movement at first, but bringing an agency to the game will slowly show as an efficient call. It can help you save money hiring different professionals to work in-house (and all the costs involved there). And if you realize that the campaign is costing too much, agencies are often flexible in adapting the plan and ensuring that both parties are in a good spot where they can develop their best work while you don’t struggle financially.