Latin America
Zendesk’s 2020 Messaging Report reveals focus on mobile and LatAm growth
The international CRM giant Zendesk released its Annual State of Messaging Report 2020 last month providing key data and insights on the most important conversational business and messaging trends ahead. The coming months will see core expansion in the global messaging landscape with strong advances ahead for the industry in mobile, integrated resorts and Latin American expansion, as messaging finally moves beyond boundaries according to Zendesk’s VP of Conversational Business, Warren Levitan.
In 2019, the number of messages exchanged between businesses and customers on Zendesk’s Sunshine Conversations platform increased 500%, and if the data revealed in the company’s third annual State of Messaging report is anything to go by, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the year ahead. “2020 will be the year of connecting conversations in the enterprise,” explained Warren Levitan. “We are seeing businesses embrace messaging as a shared platform for customer engagement, allowing them to truly unify sales, marketing and service interactions for the first time. This is a massive step toward putting customers at the centre of our businesses.”
Zendesk’s 2020 report combines interviews with more than two dozen customer experience product, sales, and marketing leaders from companies such as Google, Twitter, Hootsuite, Birchbox, and more, providing a measured analysis on the future of messaging across online, mobile and social platforms. Featuring expert commentary and in-depth analysis alongside original Zendesk research and third-party data, the report provides key insights into how messaging is changing the face of business with some notable parallels with the gaming industry in the coming decade.
As the international gaming industry continues to expand into emerging markets such as Brazil and Argentina, one significant area of focus within the report is that the LatAm region is leading the way. “Latin America – where WhatsApp is queen – is embracing conversational business faster than other regions, with Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa following closely,” states Levitan. “In many developing countries, messaging has leapfrogged web, email, and mobile apps to become the digital commerce channel.”
The companies dominating the messaging landscape and the vast differences between countries and continents when it comes to who is winning the messaging race is just one aspect of the research. 2020 will also see evolving and emerging conversational business trends such as AI, machine learning and in-chat payments unlocking huge opportunities for online brands across all sectors. Facebook has revealed that 150m people on Instagram have a conversation with a business every month and so for gaming brands the focus on in-chat payments is essential going forward.
“In-chat payments may be the key to unlocking conversational commerce at scale in the west,” Levitan added. “Apple Business Chat has Apple Pay built in and Facebook has several projects in the works with WhatsApp Pay, Facebook Pay and, most controversially, Libra — its planned cryptocurrency. Kakao, Line, and Telegram also boast their own crypto coins in various stages of development. Buying stuff is a crucial part of the conversational customer journey and it’s about to get a whole lot easier.”
Over the past decade, messaging has fundamentally changed the way people interact with friends, family, colleagues, and companies. According to Business Insider, messaging apps have surpassed social media in global monthly active users. Since 2018, nearly every major messaging channel, including WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Google’s RCS, and Apple’s iMessage, has extended beyond the consumer to businesses. At the same time, businesses of all sizes in every industry have embedded modern messaging experiences into their own apps and websites.
Speaking as part of Zendesk’s 2020 report, Rob Lawson, Global Partnerships, Google, explained: “We’ll start to see the pendulum swing from customer care being the primary driver for business messages towards marketing, lead generation and sales. To date we’ve seen businesses primarily motivated by reducing call centre costs and frustrations for existing customers. In 2020 we’ll see increasing activity from brands deploying conversational techniques to engage new customers and drive incremental business value.”
Bringing the report’s focus back to gaming and integrated resorts, recent data from global research and advisory firm Gartner predicts that by 2022, 70% of all customer interactions will involve emerging tools like chatbots, machine learning, and mobile messaging, up from 15% in 2018. The impact of this for the land-based sector will be keenly felt as Zendesk’s report highlights how live chat remains an effective channel for real-time conversations and a growing number of hotels, resorts and other customer-centric brands are creating bespoke messaging experiences within their mobile apps and websites.
Warren Levitan, VP Conversational Business, Zendesk, added: “Intent and sentiment engines will be connected to every messaging channel, with businesses intelligently routing each message to the right system and person or bot. Once messaging penetrates the business, we will see that it knows no boundaries.“
To read Zendesk’s full interactive State of Messaging 2020 report, visit: zendesk.com/message/state-of-messaging-2020/
Award-winning TaDa has strengthened its presence across Latin American and African iGaming markets through its latest partnership with the VeliGames aggregation platform by VeliTech.
The collaboration will see TaDa’s extensive portfolio, alongside its award-winning gamification ecosystem, integrated into the VeliGames platform, giving regulated operators across Latin America and Africa seamless access to the provider’s content.
Popular titles, including Fortune Garuda 500, Fortune Gems 500 and Fortune Gems 2, will be available to VeliGames partners across both regions.
The VeliGames aggregation platform by VeliTech delivers powerful infrastructure for iGaming operators in emerging markets. Through a single API, operators can access more than 35,000 casino games alongside wallet integration, player management, reporting and engagement tools. The platform is designed especially to support operators to navigate complex emerging markets.
Ray Lee, Director of Business Development at TaDa Gaming, said: “Working with VeliGames is another milestone in our strategies for pan African and Latin American growth. Their impressive technology supported by their expert customer service aligns with our brand values and we are looking forward to collaborating on some exciting new projects.”
Revaz Janelidze, Operations Lead at VeliGames, said: “Partnering with TaDa Gaming is another strong step in expanding the depth and diversity of VeliGames portfolio. Their engaging content makes them a valuable addition to our network, helping our operator partners deliver more relevant experiences to players worldwide. We’re excited to see what we can achieve together.”
The post TaDa Expands Across LatAm and Africa with VeliGames appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Zitro Digital, the online division of leading gaming supplier Zitro, has announced a new agreement with Betnacional, one of Brazil’s leading iGaming operators and part of Flutter Brazil ecosystem. The launch further strengthens the company’s presence in one of Latin America’s most important regulated markets, bringing its game library to an even broader audience of Brazilian players.
Betnacional customers can now enjoy Zitro Digital’s portfolio of slots and Video Bingo titles, combining proven performers inspired by the company’s successful land-based heritage with games developed exclusively for the online channel. Popular titles, including King Fu Frog, Legendary Sword, and Cash Totems, are now available on the platform.
Brazil holds a special place in Zitro’s story. With deep roots in the country, the company continues to strengthen its online presence as part of its growth strategy across Latin America. This latest launch reflects Zitro Digital’s commitment to one of the region’s most dynamic regulated iGaming markets.
Frederico Cunha, Head of Games at Flutter Brazil, said: “The growth of our content offering is driven by a carefully curated portfolio. With the addition of Zitro Digital, we are strengthening our presence in a strategic category while expanding the range of experiences available to our customers, with a continued focus on variety, quality, and relevance.”
Thiago Valadão, Commercial Director at Zitro Digital – Brazil, said: “We’re very pleased to add Betnacional to our growing network of operators as our portfolio continues to gain momentum across Latin America’s regulated markets. We’re delighted to see our fan-favorite series become part of its offering and appreciate the trust Betnacional’s team has placed in us.”
The post Zitro Digital Goes Live on Betnacional, Further Strengthening its Position in Brazil appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Kambi Group plc, the home of premium sports betting solutions, has agreed a multiyear partnership with RETABET Group, a leading sports betting operator with an established online and retail presence in the Spanish and Peruvian markets.
Under the terms of the partnership, RETABET will gain access to Kambi’s entire library of traded odds through a seamless single API integration into RETABET’s proprietary sportsbook platform. Founded in 2002, RETABET is a prominent international sports betting operator with an extensive online and retail presence throughout Spain, as well as a fast-growing omnichannel footprint in Peru.
Delivering actively managed and traded odds to a growing range of partners globally, Odds Feed+ is Kambi’s premium odds feed solution. Available in bespoke packages which can be adapted in real time to meet each partner’s strategic requirements, these odds are sharpened by the billions of bets and €17 billion global liquidity Kambi processes annually, unlocking unmatched precision and margin performance.
Furthermore, Kambi’s growing suite of AI-powered odds enhances pricing accuracy and trading quality, while low-latency delivery powered by official data sources ensures real-time odds and a smoother betting experience.
Werner Becher, Kambi Group CEO, said: “We are very pleased to agree this partnership with RETABET and welcome the opportunity to work closely with such an experienced and ambitious team. Our Odds Feed+ product gives operators the flexibility and choice they need to succeed in competitive marketplaces, and this partnership is another indicator of the trust leading operators are placing in Kambi’s ability to enhance margins and empower growth.”
Igor Extremo, COO at RETABET Group, said: “At RETABET we are always looking for ways to enhance our offering to our players across Spain and Peru. In partnering with Kambi for Odds Feed+ we are gaining access to high-quality pricing across a huge variety of sports, unlocking even greater depth and coverage for our customer base and leveraging Kambi’s proven expertise to enhance our platform.”
The post Kambi Group Signs Multi-year Partnership with RETABET Group appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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