Paddy Power Named Superbrand
Irish betting and gaming operator Paddy Power has been granted the prestigious status of ‘Superbrand’. The title is given by invitation only and honors the most outstanding brands in their field. The Flutter Entertainment owned bookmaker has become notorious for its creative and often provocative advertising campaigns. While these strategies have certainly elevated the publicity of the brand, Paddy Power has come under fire from the ASA numerous times.
Last year, Peter Crouch and Paul Potts teamed up to conduct an orchestra, recording the album “Crouchy Conducts The Classics” for Paddy Power. ©Ramazan Karaoglanoglu/Pexels
Crouch Conducts Concert
Gambling operator Paddy Power has been given ‘Superbrand’ status, in recognition of its high-impact advertising campaigns. The award is issued by invitation only to the UK’s top tier of brands. Every year, the Centre of Brand Analysis conducts independent consumer surveys to rank the best brands in the marketplace.
It has announced that Paddy Power has been included in its ‘Superbrand 2022/23’ publication. Paddy Power, which is owned by international operator Flutter Entertainment, now finds itself in good company amongst the UK’s most iconic brands. The bookmaker was praised for its outstanding marketing campaigns that have served to expose the brand to audiences outside of its usual niche.
In particular, Paddy Power was lauded for hosting a live opera show with Peter Crouch and Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts. Alongside a forty-piece orchestra the unlikely duet released an album titled “Crouchy Conducts The Classics” on Spotify. The album stayed in the top ten for two weeks, and even managed to knock Andrea Bocelli out of the number two spot in the Classical Album charts the week it debuted.
The entertaining marketing stunt was all for a good cause, as all profits raised from the campaign were donated to LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall. The funds have been used to support the charity’s work in Qatar, which hosted the FIFA World Cup and punishes the LGBTQ+ community. Same-sex relationships are criminal in the country and trans people are made to attend conversion therapy clinics by the government.
Furthermore, many LGBTQ+ people are imprisoned and subject to violence for being themselves. FIFA faced widespread criticism for hosting the World Cup in a country where some LGBTQ+ people even face the death penalty. To make a stand against hate, Stonewall filled a virtual Proud Stadium with supporters of LGBTQ+ rights.
A Market Leader
Speaking on behalf of Paddy Power, Rachael Kane said that when the bookmaker learned of its newly gained Superbrand status it “basically broke out the whole orchestra”. She thanked the Centre of Brand Analysis and those who took part in its surveys for reaching the conclusion that Paddy Power is deserving of the status.
Kane added that it is also thanks to the bookmaker’s loyal customers that it has achieved the badge of honor. The brand’s popularity is underpinned by its easy to use betting app as well as a portfolio of high-street retail shops. In addition to the best sports fixtures, Paddy Power also offers customers the opportunity to bet on political matters and popular culture.
Through its innovative offerings and creative marketing strategies, the bookmaker has managed to grow from thirty shops to 500 across the UK and Ireland. Alongside its online betting products, it hosts a variety of poker, casino and bingo games. Since its 1988 launch, Paddy Power has expanded to become a market leader, merging with Betfair in 2016 to found Flutter Entertainment.
According to data collected by Sprout Social, Paddy Power has been the most talked about brand on social media for the last six years. Brandwatch found it to be the most talked about brand on social platforms in the UK and Ireland during Euro 2021. The bookmaker boasts a 72% share of all social engagement in its category.
The brand’s commitment to safer gambling initiatives has been praised as it seeks to ensure that its customers are not harmed by the use of its products. Access to tools like deposit limits and self-exclusion help users to retain control and enjoy gambling safely. In recognition of its progressive approach, Gamcare awarded it the Advanced Safer Gambling Standard.
Mischievous Stunts
Paddy’s Power’s status as a household name in the UK and Ireland is in no small way thanks to its outlandish and mischievous marketing stunts. The brand describes itself as being unafraid to say the things that everyone else is thinking, a position that has landed it in hot water on a number of occasions.
While the brand’s latest campaign with Peter Crouch and Paul Potts could be called nothing less than a success, not all of its antics have been received so well. In 2012, Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner wore a lucky token for the brand during the European Championships. The plan was for Bendtner to reveal his lucky Paddy Power pants after scoring a goal.
However, the marketing team was left head in hands when the striker forgot to do so after scoring his first goal. Fortunately, the pants wielded their power once more and Bendtner scored again, this time remembering to pull down his shorts to the crowd of bewildered supporters. Paddy Power’s lucky pants stunt caught the attention of sports fans, but FIFA responded less fondly to the brand’s antics, issuing a fine.
For the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Paddy Power conducted another attention-grabbing stunt. The #ShaveTheRainforest campaign saw the brand post a picture on Twitter of trees chopped down in the rainforest near Manaus to spell “C’MON ENGLAND PP”. Social media collectively lost its mind, and even Dominic Monoghan of Lord of Rings fame called out the bookmaker in an expletive-ridden post.
In fact, the image was doctored by a talented team of designers who never set foot in Brazil. Through courting controversy and garnering newspaper headlines, Paddy Power highlighted the issue of deforestation in the Amazon. At the time, Greenpeace stated that an area the size of 122 football pitches is cut down every ninety minutes.
