Personalization in Marketing: It’s the Difference Between Loyalty and Loss

This post highlights the shift from slow, siloed marketing to real-time, AI-driven personalization, now the cornerstone of player retention in iGaming. It offers a firsthand look for leading experts, Maria Grigorova, Head of CRM & Personalization at The Rank Group plc, and Matt Gilbery, Director of Personalization at Optimove, at how leading operators are using Positionless Marketing to empower marketers to launch and optimize campaigns instantly, turning personalization into a competitive advantage.

• Personalization is now a business imperative – iGaming operators who treat it as optional risk losing players who expect real-time, tailored experiences
• Positionless Marketing enables speed and ownership – breakthrough platforms like Optimove’ Positionless Marketing gives marketers the tools to independently launch data-driven, personalized campaigns in minutes rather than weeks.
• Retention drives growth – while acquisition remains important, the long-term value comes from keeping players engaged through relevant, timely, and personalized interactions.

Watch the full session here:

https://youtu.be/tBDx4tlkcYU

In iGaming marketing, and all marketing for that matter, personalization is not a luxury it’s the foundation of player (customer) retention. That’s the key takeaway from an insightful conversation between Maria Grigorova, Head of CRM & Personalization at The Rank Group plc, and Matt Gilbery, Director of Personalization at Optimove, in the latest episode of Next.io’s video series on the future of iGaming marketing recorded at Optimove Connect 2025, with host Ross Stafford, Head of Relationships at Next.io. 

As Maria puts it plainly: “It used to be that personalization was kind of a nice to have… That’s no longer the case. Now, it’s table stakes. It is expected by the customer.”

From “Nice to Have” to Business Imperative

The days of marketing based on instinct, slow processes, and generic messaging are over. Today’s players expect experiences tailored to their behavior, preferences, and timing and they expect it instantly.

As Matt explains, “In the past, it used to take seven different teams and six weeks to get one campaign out the door. Now, with the tools we have available, that same campaign can be launched by one marketer in a day.” 

This shift isn’t just about speed. It’s about precision. With real-time analytics and automation, marketers can anticipate what players want before they even ask and create campaigns that reflect those insights, instantly and independently.

Why Real-Time Personalization Matters

In iGaming, timing is everything, especially in sports betting. “If you’re a sportsbook operator, you’re not personalizing odds or recommendations tomorrow for the game that happened today. You are doing it in real time,” said Maria. That’s why traditional campaign assembly lines, reliant on multiple teams and delayed by long lead times, are being left behind. 

The leading marketing platforms like Optimove’s Positionless Marketing Platform eliminate these bottlenecks by giving marketers full ownership over the data, content, and execution of their campaigns. As Maria shared, her team can now launch campaigns in just five minutes fully personalized to match live trading conditions and player behaviors.

One Positionless Marketer. End-to-End Ownership

What’s emerging is a new kind of marketer, Positionless Marketers, who can execute any campaign task without waiting on analysts, engineers, or creatives. They have all the tools at their fingertips to execute campaigns…

• Data Power to gain immediate, actionable customer insights
• Creative Power to instantly generate channel-ready assets
• Optimization Power to run self-optimizing, multichannel campaigns

This approach not only accelerates execution but also fosters a culture of accountability. “It used to be shared responsibility, which really meant no responsibility,” said Matt. “Now it’s one marketer owning a campaign from end to end. They build it, they launch it, they learn from it.”

Retention Is the New Growth

Acquisition might get players in the door, but only personalization keeps them coming back. “Retention is where the growth comes from,” said Matt. “And the more personalized and relevant you are, the more likely that player is to stay with you.” 

Personalization isn’t about adding features. It’s about changing how marketers work. It’s about freeing them from silos and enabling them to respond to players in real time, not days or weeks later. And as the conversation between Maria and Matt makes clear, it is not just a technological shift, it is a cultural one.

In Summary: Don’t Give Players a Reason to Leave

The message is clear: if you treat personalization as optional, your players will opt out. The technology is here. The tools exist. Operators who adopt a Positionless approach to marketing can keep players (customers) for life.

Watch the full conversation between Maria Grigorova and Matt Gilbery on Next.io for an inside look at how leading iGaming operators transform personalization into a retention and long-term growth driver.

For more insights on the power of personalization, contact us to request a demo.