With third-party cookies on their way out and user-level tracking becoming less reliable by the month, iGaming marketers are being forced to rethink how they build performance. 

The shift has exposed deep cracks in traditional acquisition strategies. Attribution models are fading. CACs are climbing. And data-driven targeting no longer works the way it used to. As a result, one trend is taking center stage: performance works better when awareness comes first.

Across the iGaming industry, growth teams are rediscovering that PR, media buying, and brand-building aren’t vanity plays. They’re clean, compliant, and increasingly essential levers that drive real conversion – especially when user-level data is off the table.

At RockApp, we’ve seen this shift play out across multiple markets and verticals.

Performance Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum

The traditional approach to iGaming performance marketing is ruthlessly optimized: creatives A/B tested down to pixel placement, traffic sources ranked by ROI, and every conversion event tracked. But in today’s data-fragmented ecosystem, even the best-optimized campaign can stall if users don’t recognize or trust the brand behind the offer.

That’s where earned media – and strategic media buying – start pulling their weight in new ways.

According to Think with Google, users exposed to both brand-building ads and performance campaigns are 2x more likely to convert than those who see only one or the other. In our experience, the effect is even more pronounced in privacy-restricted environments, where brand trust becomes a conversion lever, not just a UX concern.

The Awareness-Conversion Loop

In multiple campaigns RockApp has supported for iGaming brands entering new markets, we’ve observed a consistent pattern: strategic media exposure – whether through earned coverage, sponsored content, or thought leadership – primes audiences and lifts downstream performance.

To validate this trend, we recently conducted an internal study comparing two iGaming operators – Brand A and Brand B – both entering the same market with near-identical user flows: similar registration forms, interface logic, site structure, and acquisition funnels.

Brand A had active media presence in the region: ongoing PR coverage in vertical media, sports sponsorship deals with local clubs, and participation in relevant offline events. Brand B, although an established name in other regions, had no media activity or brand presence in the local market at the time of launch.

The performance delta was striking.

• Brand A achieved a registration-to-deposit (reg2dep) conversion rate of 48%
• Brand B reached just 26% – almost half

The only significant difference: Brand A was visible, trusted, and familiar to the audience – Brand B wasn’t.

“We consistently see that performance campaigns supported by active PR in the target region outperform standalone campaigns by at least 30%,” says Khanikian Dmitriy, CMO at RockApp. “This becomes especially evident in mid-funnel metrics like reg2dep, where user hesitation can make or break profitability. When users recognize the brand – because they’ve seen it in the media or associated with local sports – they convert faster and with more confidence.”

Sports sponsorships in particular proved to be a powerful lever. By aligning with culturally relevant teams and events, Brand A tapped into existing emotional loyalty, which translated into commercial action. These touchpoints created a steady flow of earned impressions that enhanced performance media, rather than competing with it.

Additionally, PR-led visibility drove a measurable increase in organic traffic. Branded search queries and direct visits rose during campaign peaks, indicating that users were not only clicking on paid ads – but also actively seeking out the brand. This broadens top-of-funnel reach and reduces dependency on high-cost user acquisition channels.

The takeaway: media exposure isn’t just about awareness – it’s an input into conversion.

From Vanity to Utility: Rethinking Media Buys in a Cookieless World

A common misconception is that media buying is just about impressions. In truth, when layered with performance goals, it becomes a strategic asset, especially in a world where deterministic tracking is fading.

Smart buys in content networks, programmatic placements in relevant environments, and even native sponsorships act as pre-conversion touchpoints. They reach users early, before they enter the performance funnel, and shape perception at moments attribution platforms can’t see.

A 2023 study by Pathmatics showed that iGaming brands investing consistently in upper-funnel media saw a 1.5x higher ROAS on performance campaigns compared to those that didn’t.

In a privacy-first market, the logic is simple: you may not be able to track every step, but you can influence every outcome.

What This Means for iGaming Marketers

As user-level tracking degrades and campaign measurement becomes less reliable, growth teams need to think beyond the click. PR and media exposure are no longer peripheral – they’re central to performance strategy.

At RockApp, we’ve adjusted our UA approach to integrate upstream planning with media and PR teams. The results: lower CAC, higher retention, and more resilient campaign performance across regulated and privacy-conscious markets.

So what can iGaming marketers do right now?

• Map your funnel touchpoints beyond attribution. Awareness matters even when you can’t track it.
• Align media buying and PR efforts with performance goals – not after the fact, but during planning.
• Invest in brand signals like sports sponsorships, thought leadership, and earned media. They work when pixels can’t.

In a privacy-first world, performance doesn’t start with a click – it starts with trust.

And trust is built upstream.