TAB Social Betting Ecosystem
TAB, Australia’s largest wagering brand, sought to redefine social betting by transforming it from a solitary activity into a vibrant community experience. Our mission was to design a platform that would connect users, enhance engagement, and foster a sense of belonging among punters.
Melbourne, Victoria
Visit Tabcorp.com.au
Entertainment Providers
$1.61 Billion USD (2024)
1,001-5,000 employees
Problem Statement
In a post-pandemic world, user expectations for social interaction in betting had evolved. TAB faced challenges in clarifying what social betting meant for its users and creating a platform that would empower users to become content creators and brand advocates.
Process
To tackle these challenges, we employed a user-centric approach:
Discovery Phase: We conducted a deep dive into the existing Bets Friends product, creating a journey map that highlighted the user experience across four key stages: Adoption, Follower, Creator, and Advocate.
Persona Development: We refined existing personas by adding social betting characteristics, ensuring our designs met the needs of both existing and emerging user segments.
Design Phase: We proposed several strategies to create a thriving ecosystem:
Community Building: Enhanced TAB Profiles to showcase user expertise and performance metrics.
Organic Connections: Developed a robust search function and AI-driven recommendation system to connect like-minded punters.
Gamified Competitions: Introduced dynamic leaderboards, seasonal tipping competitions, and venue-specific challenges.
Rewards and Incentivization: Developed a multi-faceted reward system integrating with the existing TAB Offers platform.
Competitions: Introduced micro-competitions and venue-specific challenges.
Sharability & Talkability: Revamped TAB pages to be more shareable across social media platforms.
Innovative Features
We developed several innovative features to enhance user engagement and create a seamless connection between online and offline experiences:
Community Profiles
Introduced a new public profile feature that allowed users to showcase their identity, share personal stories, and build a following within the community. This feature enabled users to establish themselves as experts or enthusiasts, fostering a sense of belonging and reputation.
Gamified Competitions
Implemented a comprehensive gamification system that included:
Public Tipping Competitions & Leaderboards: Users could participate in public competitions, competing against others in various betting & tipping challenges.
Internal Achievements: Users could unlock badges and achievements based on their activity, such as completing a certain number of successful bets (e.g. 50 bets won). This approach encouraged users to engage more with the platform and strive for recognition.
Rewards and Incentivization
Developed a system where users could earn rewards based on their popularity within the community. For instance, users who gained a significant number of new followers (e.g., 50 new followers in the last hour) or whose tips were highly popular would receive rewards. This strategy ensured that the content platform sustained itself by motivating users to share valuable insights and tips.
Sharability & Talkability
Users could share links to races, images of winning bets, and create custom “bet cards” for social media, enhancing the platform’s visibility and encouraging cross-platform engagement.
Results/Outcomes
Our strategies aimed to significantly increase user engagement by creating a more interactive and rewarding experience. Key outcomes included:
Enhanced User Engagement: Encouraged users to interact more with the platform and engage with the community.
Increased Community Building: Fostered relationships and interactions among punters, enhancing user loyalty and satisfaction.
Takeaway
By integrating (staggered over time) social features and gamified elements, we helped TAB create a vibrant community experience that transformed social betting into a collaborative and engaging activity.
