Writing for SBC News, Commercial Director John Cook deep dives into the findings from the latest SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report as he explores some of the trends shaping the B2B marketing landscape.
The evolution of B2B marketing in the iGaming industry has been a quick-fire lesson in how to adapt your digital strategy, shaped by rapid digital transformation, increasing competition, and a growing demand for measurable, high-quality engagement.
In the last few years alone, we’ve moved from an era of ‘spray and pray’ mass-branding approaches to something where carefully considered advertising placements are more valuable if you want to gain qualified leads.
The findings from the latest SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report provide more than just a snapshot of how industry professionals currently approach media partnerships; they offer a roadmap for where the industry’s best practices are actually emerging.
But one thing from the report was clear: if you’re still marketing in the same way you were five years ago, you’re going to fade into the background.
From exposure to engagement
Historically, B2B marketing in this sector relied on visibility, and there were three ways of achieving this: trade shows, print publications and mass-branding. While these channels still hold value, the report highlights that there’s a considerable shift towards strategic, outcome-driven marketing.
Today’s objectives – brand awareness, thought leadership, and lead generation – reveal a much more sophisticated sales funnel. Suppliers are no longer satisfied with just ‘being seen’ at an exhibition; they want to influence and educate the audience and, ultimately, convert that audience into sales leads.
Interestingly, the data shows that while lead-gen is viewed as a short-term sprint (0–6 months), true thought leadership and brand awareness is much more of a marathon (6–18 months).
This dual-speed strategy highlights a key evolution: B2B marketing in iGaming is now operating across multiple timelines simultaneously. Companies must balance immediate ROI with longer-term brand positioning – if those two timelines aren’t talking to each other, you’re wasting half your budget.
The dominance of digital
The report’s findings on media couldn’t be clearer: digital is the undisputed king. With a modal score of 10 (a strong preference) for digital, and several respondents opting out of the survey at the print section, the message is loud and clear: print is no longer the heartbeat of the industry.
The reasons for this are equally telling. In an industry that is obsessed with data, the inability to track the reach of print advertising has become somewhat of an Achilles’ heel for many marketeers. If you can’t measure it, then it effectively struggles to justify its place.
However, the report does note that print is more ‘polarising’ rather than obsolete. Print has always been used as a prestige status – being able to see your CEO featured on the front cover of a leading industry magazine can do wonders for positioning your brand as a thought leader. But print has, in recent years, become a niche play – great for high-impact campaigns but only when it can be intertwined with a wider digital campaign.
Content is king, but context is queen
We often hear that ‘content is king’, but the survey shows that many decision-makers are getting pickier about what ends up in their royal court. In 2026, there’s a bigger appetite for editorial content and sponsored articles, long-form brand storytelling, co-branded research and whitepapers and gated content for lead generation.
Notably, long-form storytelling received the highest possible modal rating (5/5), indicating a strong appetite for depth and narrative. This reflects a broader industry trend: decision-makers want insight, not just advertising.
At the same time, there’s a telling contradiction. Display advertising and webinars are among the most frequently used formats – likely because they’re easy to scale – yet they rank lower in perceived importance. This suggests that marketers may rely on familiar tactics, even if they don’t consider them the most impactful.
If you want to stand out, then you ultimately need to stop shouting and start prioritising value-driven content. Decision-makers want insights that help them solve problems, not another generic advertisement flashing in their peripheral vision.
However, it’s still important that marketers continue to reassess legacy tactics that are overused but undervalued. Quality and relevance are increasingly more important than reach alone.
The KPI paradox
Despite iGaming priding itself on being a data-rich industry, marketers are still struggling with consistency across KPIs. The report showed that 58% of respondents do not formally measure ROI. We’re obsessed with impressions and traffic, which was cited as the most commonly tracked data (48%), but we’re struggling with actual revenue attribution.
Qualitative factors such as lead quality and content engagement are also heavily emphasised. It’s a paradox. We demand data from our products, yet we’re lenient with our marketing metrics. We see a clear tension between vanity metrics such as likes and views, and sanity metrics like partnership value and lead quality.
It’s time to move beyond vanity. A unified measurement framework – one that balances the hard numbers with qualitative engagement – is essential if you want to keep your budget for 2027 and beyond.
Trust as a currency
Another defining feature of modern B2B marketing in iGaming is the shift towards sustained collaboration. The era of ‘one off campaigns’ has come to an end …
Nearly 60% of respondents now prefer partnerships lasting 6–12 months. Why? Because continuous engagement allows for better storytelling, stronger brand positioning and more reliable performance tracking.
But these relationships aren’t built on a transaction alone; they are, and must be, built on trust. Of course, these relationships come with their own unique sets of challenges. The report highlighted budget constraints, ROI concerns, and – critically – trust issues as being the biggest concerns.
The report also highlighted significant concerns regarding ‘skewed reporting’ from media partners. In an industry where everyone is a ‘market leader’, transparency has become a competitive advantage.
Media partners who act as strategic collaborators, rather than just vendors, are the ones winning the long-term game.
Integrating the ecosystem: media meets events
iGaming will always be an events-driven industry, and respondents to the survey felt the same. But the wall between the show and the media has crumbled – 78% of respondents now state that media is vital to achieving their event goals, with these two verticals acting as complementary to one another, rather than in competition.
Gone are the days when you just turned up with a stand and a bowl of branded pens. Pre-event promotion, on-site digital visibility and post-event content amplification are now a single, connected lifecycle. Content, PR and digital campaigns are imperative to extending the lifecycle of event participation.
If your event presence isn’t embedded in a broader media ecosystem, you’re leaving money on the table.
Positioning yourself against your competitors
While data on exact media spend is limited, the report suggests that, on average, around 20% of marketing budgets are allocated to media.
However, the lay of the land in the media space is also very telling. It appears that a relatively small number of publications continue to capture a large share of media spend from B2B suppliers, indicating that trust, reputation and perceived value are playing increasingly influential roles in partner selection.
It’s no longer about what you say, it’s also about where you say it. A valued media partner can be integral to your media strategy – and when you can effectively balance that performance, consistency and reliability, you can establish your position as an industry leader.
The bottom line
The iGaming B2B landscape has come a long way from what it was before the pandemic. It’s evident that we’ve moved from broad exposure to strategic, data-driven strategies that continue to influence how we approach our marketing activity.
There’s been an overall shift away from traditional channels, as many prioritise those verticals that can demonstrate measurable impact – whether it’s thought leadership, storytelling or research, this is all playing a role in creating value for decision makers.
In an increasingly sophisticated market, the winners will be those who can balance the art of a good story with the science of accountability.
Measurement continues to be a weak point as many companies lack robust ROI frameworks, but we are starting to see that change, slowly but surely. I’m sure that if we were to conduct this survey again in two years time, the answers here will be very different.
Brands are now also starting to think more about the long-term, focusing more on trust, transparency and collaboration rather than one-off campaigns. And finally, those that can find the sweet spot when creating an integrated campaign across media and events will be in a much stronger position to deliver sustained impact in 2026 and beyond.
But despite the changes in how we approach marketing, one thing is clear: B2B suppliers need to invest in high-quality content, build trusted partnerships, adopt robust measurement frameworks and embrace fully integrated marketing strategies
Those who can balance creativity with accountability will be best positioned to succeed in an increasingly sophisticated and competitive industry.
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