CASE HISTORY AND SAMPLE CLIPS
Using Celebrities to Promote a Poker Site
PokerStars wanted The Bohle Company to drive more traffic to the company’s online site, increasing the number of players entering the company’s tournaments.
Strategies:
• Position PokerStars.com as the best site for consumers to improve their poker playing skills
o Emphasize the fact that the two most recent winners of the World Series of Poker honed their skills at Pokerstars.com
o Make sure spokespersons mention the special features of the site, designed to help players improve game play and strategy, and the responsiveness and knowledge base of PokerStars’ support staff
• Encourage a wider range of media to learn to play, and follow the adventures of the big winners
• Look into making a PokerStars tournament part of a major TV series or movie
Activities:
• Pitch PokerStars regulars, champions and contract players participating in the major offline tournaments
• Get hometown newspapers to follow local players who make the final table at major tournaments
• Stage several Media 101 events where reporters could learn to play and meet top U.S. players
Results
• Within months, The Bohle Company began generating major features in national print publications including the New York Times and USA Today and, though the Associated Press, newspapers all over the country
• Our Media 101 event in New York was attended by 75 consumer reporters, many of whom then did stories
• We have become a major source of information on all things poker
