Being reactive with political odds

With ministers resigning, by-elections taking place, leadership coups and votes of no confidence, this year has already been a turbulent one along the corridors of power in Westminster.

It’s been tough going for Rishi Sunak’s beleaguered Conservative Party. Since becoming Prime Minister, Sunak’s party has faced eight by-elections in Tory held seats, losing seven and retaining only one.

Kier Starmer’s Labour haven’t been immune in by-elections either, losing the Rochdale seat to George Galloway’s Workers Party, showing how volatile politics has been in the last year.

MP resignations and by-elections being called create an immediate need for odds on their likely successors, and these odds play an important role in informing media and the public about potential successors and their chances of being voted in.

These moments tend to blow up and blow over quickly, so being reactive and quickly supplying journalists with the latest odds is often crucial to securing coverage.

Political betting is an important part of many of our clients’ business, and we’ve secured them significant coverage this year by being ready to react to political announcements.

Ahead of the Rochdale by-election we secured major coverage for William Hill, with mentions and backlinks in national titles such as the Financial Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Spectator.

Donald Trump beginning his hush money trial provided another good opportunity to react as his odds drifted for the US Presidency, and we secured coverage in the Mirror, US Mirror and MSN for Star Sports.

Making connections, utilising our contact books

The Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections were seen as a good barometer of current feeling towards the Conservatives, with Sunak’s party having held the seats since 2010 and 2005 respectively.

Reuters reached out tto us for comment, and we quickly supplied the latest odds as well as quotes and comments, ensuring we secured high-level coverage for William Hill in an article that was syndicated by Reuters to international media. The importance of a contact book is key!

Targeting live feeds

Political betting markets can be formed quickly after even a simple statement, so it’s worthwhile following political news feeds and watching PMQs and for any statements that could provide an interesting PR angle.

For big ongoing stories as well as more day-to-day events big publications often run live feeds and these provide good opportunities for targeting journalists with odds updates.

When speculation emerged that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, was planning to cut National Insurance and Income Tax on 6th March, we were quick to target live feeds, securing valuable national coverage in titles such as the Mirror during the Budget announcement.

Political blogging

To extend our political offering to William Hill in this busy election year, we’ve published numerous blogs on William Hill’s news site, with a focus around upcoming elections.

These have proved particularly popular, with our blog on the latest London Mayoral Election odds getting around 2,500 clicks in April alone, while in February our Rochdale by-election blog achieved nearly 4,500 clicks.

These blogs, if regularly updated offer a consistent way of directing traffic to williamhill.com and help to show how our clients have their finger on the pulse on owned channels, too.