FanDuel TV Commercials: History + TV Promo Code Bonus Offers

Promo Codes in TV Commercials

Before we dive into the history of the infamous 2015 TV Commercial blitz by FanDuel, let’s cover the promo codes and bonus offers seen on TV for both FanDuel Daily Fantasy & FanDuel Sportsbook.

How the FanDuel and DraftKings 2015 TV Campaign Failed to Produce the Anticipated Results

In 2015, the televised sports audience was greeted with a marketing bonanza. A pair of start-up daily fantasy sports competitors went toe-to-toe on the tube. FanDuel and DraftKings launched a TV advertising campaign, spending more money than each totaled in revenues from the previous year. Here’s how the TV boom of 2015 proved to be counter-productive to what both FanDuel and DraftKings had hoped.

2015 FanDuel TV Commercials

Some of the Latest FanDuel TV Commercials

Promoting the Promotions

During the first wave of enthusiasm over daily fantasy sports, the two primary competitors went head-to-head on in the proverbial ring of advertising. There was a period where you couldn’t watch a sports-related broadcast on a major sports network without seeing multiple commercials from either FanDuel or DraftKings.

The rationale was that more exposure meant more players, which under most business models would equal an increase in profits. It also provided a mechanism for both DFS sites to advertise special promo codes. These codes were a systematic way to help FanDuel and DraftKings track user tendencies. But did it prove to be smart business sense?

The Financial Figures

FanDuel spent nearly $20 million more in a 2015 advertising blitz than their reported revenues from the previous year. Not to be outdone, DraftKings laid out an estimated $100 million over their 2014 revenue report.

That’s a healthy amount of cash no matter how many years of business success you have behind you. Don’t forget, that in 2015 both FanDuel and DraftKings were still considered fledglings in the start-up business world.

Another ironic aspect of this massive television blitz was the amount of money they spent collectively. Both companies ranked very highly in the TV spending category. In fact, they both ranked in the top of all TV advertising budgets. Some new DFS users were wondering where all this money came from.

The public wasn’t blind to the fact that there were legal issues surfacing and questionable business practices being litigated in courtrooms. The bottom line ended up being both DraftKings and FanDuel spent millions of dollars on televising their image.

In reality, it helped to further damage a questionable image. A lot of this had to do with bad timing. Many of the court cases in various states surfaced during this period.

The whole idea of daily fantasy sports being attached to gambling further fueled the confusion. In hindsight, both FanDuel and DraftKings may both learn from what amounted to an overly eager urge to splatter their business image to a televised audience.

The Match Game

What happened to both FanDuel and DraftKings was that legal issues clouded much of their wave of popularity. Viewers were constantly reminded of any negative sentiments they had towards the whole DFS industry every time they witnessed another commercial.

While it was a fairly well-grounded idea in business terms, it simply backfired. Add to that problem was the idea that outside affiliate relationships were being harvested by both companies. This turned out to create internal competition between DraftKings and FanDuel themselves with those they were offering partnership type relations.

This is still an aspect of commercial advertising today. For instance, a new DFS player can match the best commercially advertised offer by visiting any number of affiliate websites and using an embedded promo code.

Our current promotional bonuses of $500 worth of free bets on the FanDuel sportsbook and a $5 free game equal anything currently being advertised.

The commercial marketing strategies of both FanDuel and DraftKings have changed over the last three years. Their original media blitz didn’t work out quite as they had expected. Much of the reasoning behind that was due to some unforeseen negative publicity.

However, there’s a new wave of publicity that both may find useful. There is some strong indication that as the sports betting industry pushes across the country, anyone involved in the industry would do well to promote their brand.

Both FanDuel and DraftKings are integral parts of sports betting as new states (Pennsylvania, New York, California) join those who have already legalized betting. With past experience as a guide, look for a more subdued, but still systematic approach to TV advertising by both FanDuel and DraftKings.