We’re delighted to announce that Tomorrow has been named Winner of Best Use of Programmatic at this year’s Performance Marketing Awards, for our work with BetMGM, a campaign that introduced the brand to the UK and delivered tangible business impact from day one.
It’s a proud moment for us, not just because of the win, but because of the company we were in. This year’s shortlist was filled with exceptional work. From Wavemaker UK’s data-driven strategy to iProspect’s razor-sharp executions, the category set a high bar for creativity, craft and results. To be recognised in that context is a genuine honour.
A Bold Brief in a Brutal Market
In late 2023, BetMGM entered the UK iGaming space; arguably the most competitive landscape in digital entertainment. Our challenge was clear but complex: drive rapid brand awareness and deliver high-quality First Time Depositors across both sportsbook and casino, while competing with brands outspending us many times over.
The UK iGaming sector is noisy, saturated, and fiercely defended by established players. The top 10 brands invest more than £500 million in marketing annually. Entering that arena meant our media had to work smarter, not louder.
Why Programmatic Took Centre Stage
While our media mix included radio, OOH and other digital channels, programmatic played a central role in bridging awareness and acquisition, joining the dots between reach, attention and action. Crucially, we redefined what success looked like in the channel.
Instead of judging programmatic solely on last-click conversions, we worked with BetMGM to establish brand search uplift as the key KPI. It was a proxy not just for cut-through, but for intent – a clearer signal of a brand truly entering consideration.
We deployed a multi-layered programmatic strategy:
- YouTube for high-attention moments in premium football content, especially across CTV, where our core audience increasingly consumes sport
- High Impact Skins via GumGum to combine visual dominance with contextual relevance across curated publishers
- Programmatic Video and Display Banners to deliver scalable reach and re-engagement
Smarter Tools, Sharper Thinking
What elevated this campaign was our ability to track, learn, and optimise in real time. At the heart of that was our proprietary Media Impact Modelling tool, developed in-house to accurately measure brand search uplift across all channels. It allowed us to shift from reactive optimisation to predictive planning, allocating budget dynamically to the formats driving the greatest intent.
We also applied a dynamic CPA model based on expected customer lifetime value. Rather than treating all users equally, we understood that casino audiences, while more expensive to acquire, delivered greater long-term value. That nuance allowed us to scale efficiently without sacrificing quality.
Further, our cross-agency collaboration meant that insight flowed freely between our Activation, Accounts and Strategy teams. Optimisations were made with shared context, clear ownership, and aligned priorities, a crucial factor in a campaign of this complexity.
Results That Speak for Themselves
The performance was exceptional across the board:
- Blended CPAs beat targets by 41% (sportsbook) and 43% (casino)
- YouTube drove a 98% uplift in brand search for “mgm casino”
- High Impact Skins delivered attention times 750% above benchmark
- Brand search volume nearly doubled across the campaign duration
These aren’t just media metrics, they’re business outcomes. Each data point reflects the intent, curiosity, and ultimately, the conversion of a real customer discovering BetMGM for the first time.
What This Win Means
Winning at the PMAs is always special, but this year’s award feels particularly meaningful. It validates our belief that programmatic is more than a performance lever. When it’s executed with precision, insight and creativity, it becomes a powerful brand-building tool.
We’re proud to have partnered with a client as ambitious as BetMGM, and proud of the team at Tomorrow who made this campaign not just effective, but exceptional.
To the judges, our peers in the category, and everyone who made the PMAs a night to remember, thank you.
Read more about the awards and the nominees see https://performancemarketingawards.co.uk/categories/best-use-programmatic/
