When the SPY service is empty: analytics of gambling creatives in Gabon

Despite having explored numerous unpopular GEOs, an SPY service as empty as with Gabon has not been encountered before. This can be explained by the country's poverty and a population of less than 3 million people. However, there is a target audience in this GEO, as well as offers. This GEO is excellent for training to run ad campaigns and serves as a diversification opportunity for those who have already mastered running campaigns in other African countries.

 

The only decent creative in Gabon

In this case, decent means localized. At least. From the first frame, it’s clear that this one is news based:

 

 

The voice-over narrates how people, after seeing an ad on Facebook and playing the app, earned a ton of money. The video was clearly made by a non-professional designer; the movement of the host's lips and the text don’t align at all. Immediately after, there is a demonstration of an expensive car:

 

 

Next, the gameplay with a big win:

 

 

The mechanics here, of course, include misleading. There won't be such a slot in the product, but at least it roughly resembles real games. And the currency in the balance field is local, which is a plus for this GEO. After tapping the cash-out button, a push notification arrives:

 

 

The push itself is terrible. There can’t be bank logos in SMS notifications. Moreover, the notification with iOS design comes to an Android smartphone. Although in such a GEO, details may not matter since there is no competition. The main thing is to write the country name correctly, use the French language, and the local currency – Central African CFA franc. After tapping the push, a banking template opens:

 

 

At the end, the joy of the main character, brief bonus conditions, the country flag, a call to download the app on the Play Market, and the offer's logo. The call to download the app is also reiterated by the voice-over.

 

 

The screen is decent, it just lacks more detailed bonus conditions. 

Overall, I've seen worse videos even in Tier-1/2. There are things to criticize, but for Gabon, the creative isn’t bad.

 

Universal creatives

There is a format of gambling creatives that is often used for the iOS audience. In these, there is often no connection to GEO, neither language, nor currency, nor the flag of the country, or even the brand logo. I found quite a few creatives of this kind for Gabon. Let's take a look at one of them. Here is what the first frame looks like:

 

 

It's an unclear game. I haven't seen such in a casino, but the bet in the creative is placed on simple attention-holding: brightness, dynamics, huge numbers, and lots of coins. The slot stops and simply explodes with a win:

 

 

A couple of rounds of such victories:

 

 

And after the third time, a big win pops up:

 

 

Not very clear of what was won a 50 billion of. Even if we assume it's XAF, at the current rate, the amount is approximately equal to 85 million USD. Such amounts are extremely rarely won in slots; 0 plausibility. However, the approach is solely focused on grabbing attention. The larger the sum, the better. On the last frame, there is the offer's logo with the call to play now:

 

 

Similar creatives can be tested in inexpensive GEOs where there is little high-quality traffic, and you need to go for volume, targeting everyone interested in gambling and winnings.

 

0 localization

Now let's look at a creative that was specifically targeted for Gabon but was originally made for another country — Côte d'Ivoire:

 

 

At the beginning of the creative, a guy spanks a girl: 

 

 

This insert is solely intended to grab the attention of the target audience — men. Practice shows that an adult approach in gambling yields terrible audience quality. But in such empty GEOs as Gabon, even this is acceptable. 

 

Next, there is a standard scratch-off game:

 

 

Firstly, scratch-off games themselves are a terrible mechanic. Mislead. Secondly, the flag and currency of Côte d'Ivoire. The only good thing is the background. Dollars in this case aren’t a mislead; these banknotes are an important trigger for a luxury lifestyle for Africans, as local currencies tend to devalue significantly. After tapping the cash-out button, a push notification pops up:

 

 

The push notification as a whole is not bad. The only issue is that both the push notification and the smartphone displayed are Apple. When the traffic is directed to Android, it's better to localize everything for that operating system. After tapping on the push notification, the banking screen opens:

 

 

On the last frame, there are bonus conditions and a call to action:

 

 

In the creative, there are quite a few mistakes. But the main one is the absence of even the most basic localization for the GEO.

 

Conclusion

Any decent creative will win the competition in Gabon. Yes, the audience here is small, and its quality is not the best either. But for some purposes, Gabon is a pretty cool GEO with cheap traffic and a super low minimum deposit.