Pic: Fusion Shooters
FOURTH generation bookmaker Paddy Power revealed the secrets to his brand success in the city last week when he joined Network Limerick for its October networking event in the Savoy Hotel.
“Engaging with customers”, he said, “is key”.
Paddy pointed out to those in attendance at the plush city centre hotel that “you can’t buy engagement” and explained that where an impact can really be made in advertising is through “mischief”.
Mischief, he said, has become so central to the Paddy Power brand, that they have a person employed as ‘Head of Mischief’.
“Our brand purpose is to create the most engaging, entertaining betting experience helping punters live on the wild side of life while our brand personality is edgy, original and witty,” he declared.
Paddy also said that in the company’s early days they took out massive ads on the days where they made big pay outs giving the impression they were much bigger than they were. They got so much back from their customers, he said, as they developed a reputation that “Paddy Power paid out”.
“We weren’t just a name, we meant something,” the bookmaker commented.
Paddy also shared stories in Limerick behind some of their most controversial adverts, which saw Paddy Power bookmakers hit the headlines across the world. These included crashing the Brit Awards dressed as Daft Punk and revealing the Paddy Power famous green underpants on the red carpet, Nicklas Bendtner flashing them at the Euro 2012 clash with Denmark which saw the player being fined by UEFA and taking to the skies during the Ryder Cup to deliver a sky Tweet campaign supporting Team Europe.
“A stunt”, he says, “was over a year in the planning”.
