“Talk about realistic targets and how to achieve them” – Heiko Wulf
Heiko Wulf, CEO of German Poker Days, joins the latest series of affiliate interviews on Affiliate Grand Slam
Heiko Wulf, CEO of German Poker Days, speaks about their live poker events and their your weekly streams, their casino events, and about their poker community – follow his story below.
How did you first get into the poker affiliate space?
After building a live poker community some operators contacted us and our journey started.
From where did you start your affiliate business and how? How did you scale it up?
We built a poker community in Germany through live events and social media, we scale a lot with social ads.
What helps make your performance successful? What are the main challenges?
Facebook and Instagram work really well, we are also trying TikTok and SnapChat. The main challenge there are the ads restrictions and rules.
What sets you apart from other affiliates; what makes you unique?
We know a lot of our customers in person, from live poker tournaments, phone calls, or chats/commentaries. So we get a lot of feedback about special events we organise online.
Tell us a bit more about your business model, concept, and culture.
We bring players online and we promote and add poker trip packages. This is a big project for us since we are our own sponsor.
How do you decide which brands you want to advertise? Which are the factors?
We only work with brands that promote Poker, Casino, and Sports in one platform/brand.
How do you ensure that your players are given the best poker experience?
We organise coaching sessions by ourselves, we have private online poker tournaments, and we also see the players’ results on live poker events.
How important are the marketing techniques in your business?
Important, because as an affiliate you need a lot of skills and experience.
Tell us a bit more about your live poker events and about your weekly streams.
In normal times, we organise over 300 events per year in Germany and Austria. These are mostly for low budget players, with a buy-in of only 20-30€, with up to 1000 players. We are licensed for the German Poker Championship (Deutsche Poker Meisterschaft), so players not only win prizes, but also trophies and titles.
In our stream, we play events with guests out of the community and some stars in the poker business; a lot of entertainment, some raffles, bounty hunter prizes, etc.
You also organise mobile and virtual casino events. Can you tell us more about them?
Sure, that’s for the B2B market, the branding is “German Casino Events”. A lot of team-events, Christmas parties, fairs, etc. We are a full service event agency and act in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Corporates book the Casino program with roulette, black jack, poker, chuck-a-luck tables, slot machines, lights, and decoration. Our croupier team builds a 100% Casino atmosphere with an unforgettable entertaining night.
Which markets are you eyeing up as a priority and why? Do you see any potential in the emerging markets?
We are eyeing the markets of Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland because of our language skills. Content is the best if a native speaker writes it.
What is your approach in the initial stages of a new partnership?
We talk about realistic targets and how to achieve them. Some brands only need FTDs, other need big sharks, etc.
How can poker affiliates be more unique in their approach?
Thinking long-term within the community. Poker players stay at a poker site and generate rake if they feel good. So the best customers are hobby players who deposit monthly a small amount but play for years. They hold the platform active and they never withdraw money.
Have you ever been to SiGMA? SiGMA Europe, Asia, or Americas – which of these expo shows would you likely book on your diary for 2022?
Yes, SiGMA Europe will be fixed for the next years.
Tell us a bit about yourself – after all, business is done with people, not just companies! Your hobbies, favourite book, favourite quote, whether you are into Gaming yourself, etc.
I am very active in sports betting because of our activities in the Bundesliga in Germany. I watch a lot of soccer games live, connect there with partners, and invite friends and business contacts to our VIP boxes. When we are on our poker trips I love to play craps, an amazing game in Las Vegas, or at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov.
After the exciting set of conferences that was Malta Week 2021, the SiGMA Group plans to take the world by storm with the golden steeples of Kyiv and the snowy city of Toronto being hubs to draw the best and brightest of the iGaming world together. Our next expo takes us to cutting-edge metropoli of the United Arab Emirates for three days of networking, panel discussions and festivities. Stay up to date with the latest and greatest through SiGMA News.
