Ever since several non-neophytes have asked what a contract bridge is, I’ve realized that there might be a need for alternative avenues for advertising bridge.

Are we advertising the game to the right people?

Here’s a look at what advertising is doing right now (and how we could do things differently).

The Problem with Bridge Advertising is This

Most of the bridge-related ads to be seen are posted on websites that are already meant for and frequented by bridge players.

Everything from bridge software to bridge books are included in things that will be advertised to people who already know and play bridge.

Sure, that’s necessary: It’s how we get other bridge players to check out new developments.

But what about everyone else?

We’re stuck in what I call an advertising loop, where bridge ads get seen by bridge players. The game is very seldom advertised to people who might have been interested if they had seen the same ads targeted at them!

What We Can Do

Bridge, doping and world sports were all mentioned in mainstream news over the past year. So far, it’s been one of the best forms of advertising the game could have had – and many people who had never heard about bridge before decided to Google it, check it out and play it from there.

All this took was a few headlines targeted at non-players.

Imagine what ads in the right places can do.

It’s important to keep advertising bridge stuff to bridge players, but it certainly won’t kill bridge to branch out beyond this in terms of advertising.

Just a few possible avenues for bridge advertising that might be like hitting oil can include:

• Poker Sites
  We know that poker players love cards, and online poker players will take to an online bridge game like a fish to water. So, where are the ads for it? Many poker players are still in the dark about concepts like contract bridge and we could do with reeling in a few poker players.
  
  
• Casino Sites
  Reputable, registered casino sites are legion. Again, we have a crowd of people who likely love to play games online, love games with stakes and love card games along with it. Bridge could be advertising here, but isn’t.

• Trading Card Games
  Trading card players take to a bridge game easily, and even easier if you explain that bridge is much like the trading card variety of what you can do with a regular card deck – including tricks, trumps and scoring. Advertise here and I’m sure we can hook a few enthusiasts here too.

• Board Game Sites
  We already have a comfortable cross-over between people who play bridge and people who love board games. There are thousands of board game websites, some that let you play and others that act as retailers, forums, social networks for board gamers and encyclopedias. Let’s utilize all of them.
  
  
• E-Sports Networks
  We’ve got a friend in e-sports – and if we aren’t embracing it, we’re losing out. If bridge won’t see recognition as a mainstream sport as soon as we hope, it might be more viable to start pushing the merits of bridge as a viewable, playable, streamable and bettable e-sport instead.
  
  
• Social Networks
  Most things – even things that you wouldn’t buy in a million years – are advertised to you on social media at some point through related or targeted ads, and it’s a multi-million (if not billion) dollar industry. Let’s target some ads towards users of social networks and see how many players are willing to click through. It might be more than we thought.