The best time to build a strong B2B brand was five years ago – the next best time is today

In this guest column, Valentina Bagniya reflects on her five years as CMO of Softswiss and how B2B marketing in iGaming has changed in that time.

Five years ago, I stepped into the world of iGaming as the CMO of Softswiss. Looking back, it’s hard to think of a more transformative period for our industry. The past half-decade has reshaped not only how we do business, but how we think about brand, marketing, and growth itself.

When I joined Softswiss, iGaming was still seen as a fast-growing but somewhat niche segment of entertainment. Then came the pandemic, and with it, an extraordinary global shift in digital behaviour. Online entertainment surged, and iGaming was suddenly front and centre. What followed was an industry-wide domino effect, and a wave of new operators entering the space, regulators racing to keep up, and the market maturing at record speed.

This evolution forced everyone to rethink their approach. In the B2C space, marketing moved from pure acquisition to long-term brand building. Customer experience, trust, and emotional connection became strategic priorities. Naturally, that shift echoed into the B2B side.

Today, B2B marketing in iGaming looks very different from what it did five years ago. It’s more sophisticated, more data-driven, and more brand-led than ever. The days when a great product alone could carry you are long gone. Now, brand equity, positioning, and trust are what truly differentiate a company. Marketing isn’t a support function anymore – it’s a strategic growth driver. And the CMO’s role has evolved along with it, sitting right at the intersection of commercial strategy, product innovation, and business development.

Softswiss operates across multiple markets, and that diversity constantly reminds us that one-size-fits-all marketing doesn’t exist anymore. Our brand promise – reliable technology, transparency, tailored service, and shared ambitions – stays consistent worldwide. But we also have to localise that brand promise to the different markets we work within.

Before entering any new market, we invest deeply in research, understanding not just the competitive landscape and technological readiness, but also cultural nuances, consumer behaviour and gaming trends among local audiences. These insights allow us to localise where it matters – from product interfaces and customer support to messaging tone and channel mix, without compromising our global identity.

Valentina Bagniya is celebrating five years at softswiss

In the end, success across borders comes down to balance: staying globally consistent while being locally relevant. That’s how you build real trust – and in B2B, trust is everything.

With such a broad portfolio, one of our key strategic challenges is brand architecture, how to create clarity and connection across multiple products.

At Softswiss, we’ve taken a Branded House approach: one strong master brand supporting a family of products — the Softswiss Game Aggregator, Casino Platform, Sportsbook and more. This unified structure allows every product to draw on the trust and equity of the main brand, while maintaining flexibility to tailor its positioning to specific audiences.

This isn’t just about logos or naming conventions. It’s about coherence, efficiency, and growth. A strong, unified brand system shortens the path to market credibility, streamlines communication and ensures every new launch contributes to one compelling global story.

Of course, even the best strategy means little if it never leaves the PowerPoint deck. That’s why, at Softswiss, we treat strategy as a living process, not an annual exercise.

We define clear ‘must-win battles’, set measurable goals, and break those down into quarterly and monthly plans. Weekly check-ins with our marketing leadership team keep momentum on track and allow for quick adjustments when needed.

Most importantly, we foster a culture of shared ownership. Everyone on the team knows not just what we’re doing, but why. That alignment turns ambition into measurable impact.

And perhaps the most important reminder of all: the best time to start building a strong B2B brand was five years ago. The next best time is today.