Writing for SBC News, SBC Media Commercial Director John Cook dives into the world of branding – and why iGaming companies need to look beyond the aesthetic of a brand, and instead focus on the values that differentiate you from the crowd.

There are very few brands in the world that are instantly recognisable. Whether it’s the distinctive silhouette of Apple, the swoosh of the Nike tick or the golden arches of McDonalds, decades of consistent branding and immersive marketing campaigns have created an instant connection between visual identity and brand reputation.

However, if you were to ask why it is that many people are able to instantly recognise these companies, you might find that most have already formed an opinion of what the brand is about, regardless of whether they’ve bought a product. 

McDonalds has centred much of its brand building around being an affordable fast food brand, built for convenience. Nike’s ‘just do it’ slogan has become synonymous with high-performance athleticism and quality sportswear, while Apple … well, it’s all about innovation, technical excellence and having a device that can access a plethora of information all from the touch of a button.

Now, it’s easy to assume that branding is all about aesthetics. After all, the visual element of any brand, company or product is the first thing you notice. 

In the B2B gambling industry, we spend a significant amount of time refining logos, exhibition stands, websites and visual identities. And of course, the visuals are certainly important, but they are not what creates long-term value. They’re simply the visual cues that remind people of what your business already represents.

However, when looking at branding, we need to look well beyond the visuals and instead look at what defines a company. The real question is, therefore, much less comfortable: If your company disappeared tomorrow, would anyone actually notice?

People aren’t going to miss your brand because you had one of the busiest stands at an exhibition, or that your logo looked shinier than everyone else’s. They’re going to miss your brand because they genuinely believed that your business added something that added value and couldn’t easily be replaced.

In an industry where products are differentiated by small tweaks in their architecture, or markets targeted, establishing your brand and showcasing how it adds value to your partners is becoming more important than ever. 

After all, features evolve, platforms improve and your competitors will inevitably catch up. A strong brand isn’t built on the assumption that your product will always be different. It’s built on giving customers a reason to choose you when the products themselves become increasingly difficult to separate.

A brand should explain why you exist

Rather than putting visual identity at the start, middle and end of your marketing strategy, the iGaming industry needs to shift its focus towards the purpose of a brand.

Every organisation should be able to explain why it exists beyond the products it sells. What problem are you trying to solve? Why does that problem matter? Why should an operator choose to work with you rather than with one of the dozens of alternatives offering a remarkably similar solution? Those questions sound simple, yet they’re surprisingly difficult to answer.

Too often, suppliers define themselves by product. They talk about game portfolios, payment solutions, platform capabilities or AI-powered features, assuming that product innovation alone will create differentiation. While those capabilities undoubtedly matter, they rarely explain why a business exists. They explain what it does.

The strongest brands have always gone further than that. They create confidence before the sales process has even begun because the market understands what they stand for and, more importantly, what they consistently deliver.

That distinction becomes increasingly important as our industry matures. Operators aren’t simply looking for another supplier. They’re looking for partners they can trust to solve problems, understand their commercial challenges and deliver on the promises they make. 

A product might secure the first conversation, but a brand built on credibility is often what carries the relationship forward.

Values are something you choose … or are they?

Once businesses begin thinking about branding, the conversation often turns towards values: Integrity, innovation, sustainability, social responsibility, ESG, etc. We’ve all seen the marketing materials from brands looking to be the most responsible, sustainable, innovative. 

And yes, they’re all worthwhile aspirations, but too many organisations make the mistake of treating them as marketing statements rather than operational commitments.

Brand values are not defined in the boardroom, nor should they be. Values should emerge organically as a result of how your business runs on a day-to-day basis. If customers consistently describe your organisation as knowledgeable, transparent or dependable, those aren’t values you’ve chosen – they’re values you’ve earned.

But why does the origin of those values matter? Let’s be honest, most modern buyers are now very savvy at identifying the gaps between marketing messaging and reality. 

I can almost guarantee that 90% of the press releases that landed in my inbox this morning are claiming that the company in question is ‘innovative’, ‘customer-centric’ or, a personal favourite, ‘cutting edge’. But when everyone is drawing their PR language from the same page of a thesaurus, those statements carry very little weight unless every interaction with the business reinforces them.

This is particularly relevant when discussing topics such as ESG, CSR and DEI. These initiatives can strengthen a brand when they’re genuinely embedded within an organisation’s culture and decision-making. And this means embodying these values because you genuinely believe in them, not just because you think a photo shoot of your team planting trees looks good on social media. 

Nowadays, customers are increasingly interested in authenticity rather than performance. They want to understand how your values influence your products, your people and your relationships. If sustainability is one of your priorities, demonstrate how it improves the solutions you provide. If integrity defines your culture, show how it shapes your partnerships. Values create commercial value when they reinforce the customer experience rather than distract from it.

Your team is your greatest asset

One of the biggest misunderstandings around branding often relates to your team, and how best to utilise them in communicating what you stand for.

Many organisations invest heavily in visual identity while overlooking the people who represent the business every day. Yet in a sector where products often appear remarkably similar, expertise has become one of the few genuinely sustainable differentiators.

Every conversation with a client, every conference presentation, every thought leadership article and every industry discussion contributes to the perception of a business. Collectively, those interactions shape reputation far more effectively than any advertising campaign ever could.

This is an area where SBC has truly shone. In the three years that I’ve worked at the company, I’ve had plenty of conversations with industry suppliers and operators who will often shout out individual team members that they’ve worked with. Those relationships have been fostered over years, and have been built on trust, collaboration and a commitment to go above and beyond to deliver the best experience possible. 

So, from an organisation perspective, your internal team can really help you stand out from others in the industry. You don’t necessarily need the biggest marketing budget – instead, tap into your team’s expertise to consistently educate the market, share meaningful expertise and demonstrate that you as a company fully understand the operational realities that your customers face. 

You will then become recognised not because you’re the loudest voice in the room, but because they’re the most credible.

Building something worth remembering

One of the greatest commercial advantages of a strong brand is that it creates value long before a contract is signed.

Businesses with clearly defined identities often experience shorter sales cycles because trust already exists. They become less sensitive to price because customers understand the value they’re buying rather than simply comparing feature lists. They attract stronger talent, retain customers for longer and build reputations that become increasingly difficult for competitors to replicate. None of that happens because of a logo.

It happens because the market develops confidence in what the organisation consistently represents.

As we’ve seen many times in the iGaming industry, visual identities evolve, websites will be redesigned, messaging will change – and so it should. All of this should, and must, adapt as the market evolves and customer expectations shift. 

What shouldn’t change quite so easily is the reason why your organisation exists and the values that underpin every decision it makes. 

Ultimately, the businesses that create lasting value aren’t those with the most recognisable logos or the largest exhibition stands. They’re the ones that establish a clear purpose, consistently deliver against it and communicate that purpose through every interaction they have with the market. Because while a logo might make your business recognisable, it’s your values that determine whether anyone would notice if you were no longer there.

To find out more, email [email protected] – you can find out more about how the industry views the trends and technologies shaping the B2B iGaming marketing landscape via the SBC Insights Media Marketing Buyers Survey.