The Story Behind the World-Famous Aviator

What you are about to read is an interview from a co-branded party hosted by PIN-UP Partners and SPRIBE that took place in Sao Paulo, during SiGMA Americas. While PIN-UP Partners may be a familiar brand to some of you, SPRIBE may not be. To put it simply: SPRIBE created the Aviator, which in term gave birth to a whole genre of Crash Games.

Interview with Gvantsa, Marketing Communication Manager

Aleksandr: So, here I am with Gvantsa, one of the marketing executives of Spribe. Now we will talk a little more about the product (Aviator), its history, and its future. So, Gvantsa, how did one of the most influential products, some would even say revolutionary, come to be?

Gvantsa: Thank you for having me, first of all. We are glad to be your partners. Shortly about Spribe and its products, we are celebrating our 5th year on the market. And Aviator was one of our first games, launched in 2018. And it just skyrocketed right away.

At the beginning, it was kind of funny to convince someone that this was really a game. So it took a bit of time and effort to show and prove that this game really worked. So, in order to make it work, we just created a new vertical for the casinos, which is called “crash games”. And now, you know, it’s really popular. If you search it on Google in Brazil, it ranks in the top-10.

Among the first companies to partner with us was a Georgian casino. This was the time when we discovered that Aviator was the game that brought new users to all the games — it served as an anchor. Then we went to an ICE conference without a booth or big stand — we were walking around with an iPad, showing the game and telling the others it was an amazing game: easy, simple for new generations and kind of addictive (as you might know).

What makes it different from other games is that the user has a sense of control, and there is no luck element involved — the users just adore it. They know that the only one who is in charge is the gamer himself. That’s the secret sauce of the game.

A: So, how long did it take to code, to build, to test the game?

G: Actually, it was a long process — approximately a year. Our developers were working on it, and there were some bugs at the beginning — you know how this goes. We wanted to create the best design: eye-catching enough but not too complicated.

A: Is it true that the team consisted of three people? Like three guys working on a game for a year.

G: Yeah

A: They did believe in the dream…

G: Believing in the dream is the main motivation for any successful company. Sharing the same vision and believing that it’s going to work is the key. So we followed it.

A: When was the moment when you felt like — jackpot!

G: After the first event…

A: …you went to an ICE, holding an iPad… 😂

G: …yeah, with an iPad we managed to get three new clients, it was hard though. But eventually it just took off. When you get the biggest clients, when you convince them, the others just follow naturally: “oh, wow, you’re with… them” — I am not sure, I may name the trailblazing companies.

Anyway, it just went naturally, and we were doing well with our PR campaign. The main idea was to educate our customers on what the crash game was, what it stood for, how easy it was to play.

For us, it really worked. As you know, there are a lot of competitors now., but we are in the prime — being the original game and the starting point.

A: How do you feel about having so many competitors-copycats? Basically, you invented a genre and vertical, and then there are hundreds of products right now. And some of the clones are really big.

G: We’re proud about it. If you have competitors or followers, it means you are very successful. That’s how it is, there are tons of games, which look alike to our own game and use the same mechanics. Yet, we feel proud, because we have invented something new, and they all want to belong to Aviator. They all want to have something similar. Besides just success, you feel kind of powerful.

At the end of the day, everybody just wants to play Aviator.

A: So, you’ve had this game for quite a while now…

G: …yeah, four years…

A: …what’s next for Aviator now? Any upgrades, modifications, perhaps Aviator 2?

G: There won’t be any Aviator 2, but some surprises are coming. It’s gonna have some additions to make it more engaging for the gamers — but I’m gonna keep it a secret. We are going to have a big launch for it — just wait a bit.

A: Is it correct to assume that Spribe has new upcoming games, new upcoming products for us: players, casinos, affiliates — everyone on the market, right?

G: We have a new game launching, pretty soon. It’s named Balloons, which works on the same mechanics, but it’s a single player. Our developers work on slot games, and we’re improving our poker — that’s pretty much of it. But we will think about something new for our partners and operators, sure.

A: What are your plans for the LATAM market? After all, we’re in Brazil, attending SiGMA…

G: Hm, that’s actually a pretty good question — why marketing, why here? As everybody knows, Brazil, especially in LATAM, is one of the biggest markets. Even though we are a B2B company, we plan our marketing campaigns, especially for Aviator, to make it more popular among the end users. I know this is not something we should be doing. But because we value our partners, we want to increase the game’s popularity for them, to increase the brand awareness, to establish that premium brand image that we have in Europe, as well in Brazil.

A: I hope this helps the affiliates, who run the offers…

G: I think that will be one of the main aims — to increase traffic volume for them. There is interest for the game from the gamers, which makes the affiliates happy too, I guess.

After all, the more people want to play it — the greater demand, which is to be satisfied. I hope our efforts help the affiliates, don’t they?

A: I hope so. Thank you very much, Gvantsa. Hopefully, see you down the road.

G: Thank you as well, thank you for having me here, and good luck.

Interview with Vitalii, Head of Event Marketing

Aleksandr: So, here I am with Vitalii, Head of Event Marketing at Spribe. Hello, Vitalii, it’s a great pleasure to meet you here

Vitalii: Hello-hello, thanks for inviting

A: The party is rocking — it’s fire! Which is why we are here — it’s much quieter off the dance floor. Now tell me, what was the idea behind building a grand stand for one of the biggest Latin America conferences, focused on iGaming?

V: Well first of all, I’d highlight that this is the biggest event in Latin America (SiGMA Americas). This part of the world is selected because the market is huge, the Brazilian market is booming, and it’s very good that SiGMA managed to organize this event now. Regarding our strategy, as a game #1 in this country, we wanted to show our presence, highlight our achievements and our success — that’s why we went with a stand.

At the moment, we are developing our brand, making new visuals, changing its look. Now we have a brand-new plane, depicted on the stand. I hope it will become iconic soon, because it’s recognizable and beautiful. We just wanted to come and show ourselves, meet new people, and connect with them. Because when you meet people face-to-face, it’s a whole different level of communication, and we wanted to build the relationships with our partners in this part of the world.

A: How does this event, the whole event marketing campaign helps SPRIBE and Aviator to attract more players, more partners, basically everyone to make more money?

V: I think it helps in two ways. First of all, since our business model is B2B, it helps to connect with our partners, to show our brand, and to show how would we do it at the moment, and reconnect with them. Speaking about players, we’re talking on the channel, which is dedicated to affiliate marketing.

And guys, you’re the watchers, those who drive traffic to our game — the more traffic you drive, the better our game converts.

So we’d like to address this audience, our partners, and connect with them personally, as well as get closer to the affiliates, who help our brand to grow.

A: Throwing such a grand party in São Paulo, what was it like, what was achieved?

V: Basically, everything I’ve said so far — increasing the presence of our brand, showing how we care for the partners we work with, expressing our gratitude for the companies who help us to bring in new affiliates, and… exposing our soul.

Our company has a very special vibe, which is not easy to feel when you communicate with SPRIBE via emails. And having this amazing stand, photo zone, big plane, and huge party — it’s how we want to share our inner world with the people around us. How we want to share our vibe, how we want to spread our love to all who work with us.

A: Last, but not least, where and what to expect from you next?

V: Honestly, we are on world tour this year, so we have 10 shows around the globe. I just got back from Singapore two weeks ago, and now we’re in São Paulo. In three weeks we will go to Amsterdam, from which we’re off to Manila, the Philippines. In September, we are going to Barcelona. And, of course, the highlight among all the SiGMAs — Malta in November.

So, we will attend every iGaming show. If you want to come and say hi, know us better, connect with us — please, visit our stand, and we will have a good conversation with you.

A: Okay, thank you, Vitalii

V: Thank you very much for having me, guys.