As the casino marketer's job changes by the minute, and new technologies and trends come to market, staying on top can be a challenge. With rising competition, a growing social media presence, and now mobile, on-the-mark marketing is as important as ever. This track utilizes top marketing gurus to share with attendees their proven techniques, tips and advice. From reassessing your own or your client's marketing plan to employing the best customer service and looking at new media opportunities, this track is all about bringing misaligned marketing efforts back to the bull's-eye—and the needs of today's player. The Casino Marketing track will align marketers in all media with the trends of both today and tomorrow.
Block Schedule (.pdf)
Block Schedule (.docx)
DAY 1 - Tuesday, May 17
Creating an Effective Casino Marketing Plan
10:30 a.m. - noon
To get where you want to go, you need a well-designed map. And your marketing plan should be that map to success. In this session, attendees will learn about the essential steps required to create an effective and actionable casino marketing plan. The session will address the importance of research and data analysis, external market factors and competitive reviews. The session will also focus on SWOT analysis, how to determine a market position, the development of a brand, messaging and more.
Moderator: Jack Breslin, Senior Vice President, Wright Casino Marketing
Panelists: Rick Harshman, Vice President, Wright Casino Marketing
Rahul Nawab, Co-Founder, IQR Consulting
Planning and Buying Media for Your Casino
1 - 2:30 p.m.
Are you reaching the right players? Are you annoying the players you do reach? Are you advertising to the right demographic audience? Are you spending too much, or too little? Even with the emergence of new media, TV, radio, outdoor and print are still important channels for casinos. But have you evaluated your media plan lately? This session will focus on planning and buying in today's complex media landscape—and how to use your data to maximize the value of every dollar you spend.
Presenter: Ryan Meister, Vice President, Wright Casino Marketing
New Media Matters
3 - 3:50 p.m.
Casino Enterprise Management hosts weekly live Internet talk radio shows with this title. Join the show's host Sarah Klaphake Cords and some popular guests to discuss why new media matters. We'll cover, at a higher level, aspects of new media marketing that will be discussed in detail throughout the week.
Moderator: Sarah Klaphake Cords, New Media Editor, Casino Enterprise Management
Panelists: Chris Martin, Vice President, MOSAK Advertising Advertising and Insights
Nikolai Balba, CTO, Libra OnDemand
Social Media 2011
4 - 5:30 p.m.
All of the theoretical talk about social media is great, but how can your property really use Facebook and Twitter to your advantage? Leave this session with new, actual skills that will help your property. Lessons will include how to put an application on your Facebook fan page tab, how to use hashtags on Twitter and more.
Presenter: Tony Caporicci, VP of Mobile Strategies, SkyWire Media Inc.
DAY 2 - Wednesday, May 18
Create Your Digital Roadmap in 90 Minutes
10:30 a.m. - noon
This interactive work session will walk you through creating or improving your digital marketing plan. Dennis Hardy and Keith Butler will work with attendees so that each one leaves the room with a high-level digital strategy that can be taken home to your advertising agency or marketing department and put into action. This session will pave the way for more specific discussions to follow throughout the week.
Presenter: Dennis Hardy, President/Partner, Evans Hardy + Young Inc.
Keith Butler, Vice President, Interactive Services, Evans Hardy + Young Inc.
Interfacing Mobile Barcode Technology
1 - 2:30 p.m.
One of the hottest technologies for mobile users today is the mobile barcode reader available on most smartphones. The abundance of mobile barcode readers opens new opportunities for casino marketing and interactive content makers. Manage QR Codes, 1-D barcodes, scan a barcode from a mobile device with one of these readers and the user receives content specific to the cause. Use the system to engage mobile users and acquire analytics on the use. This session describes how to create a mobile barcode, how to track it and how to provide rich content mobile users can interact with. Guests can check-in with a mobile barcode reader by scanning a barcode and post to Facebook to share their location. The system built by Tony Caporicci and Warwick Stone will also demonstrate how it is used at the Vegas and Tulsa Hard Rocks.
Presenters: Tony Caporicci, VP of Mobile Strategies, SkyWire Media Inc.
Warwick Stone, Theme Consultant to HRH and Memorabilia Curator, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
The Personal Touch: Efficient Customer Service and How to Achieve It
3 - 3:50 p.m.
Without question, strong customer service is the cornerstone of a successful gaming enterprise. But it takes a commitment and focus to really make it happen. In this session, you'll hear of practical, proven techniques to develop a consistent guest service program designed to create lifelong fans of your casino who, in turn, will bring even more players—and revenue—to you.
Presenter: Peter Getzler, Vice President, Wright Casino Marketing
Online Video Workshop
4 - 5:30 p.m.
Leave this session with a clear understanding of how online videos can make an impact with current and potential customers. Videos are an important part of trans-media storytelling, so get a jump start on your plans to use or improve your use of them. The panel of experts will work with attendees to come up with specific video plans for their property/company. Plans will be made for sample videos of professional and behind-the-scenes styles. Experts will also walk you through placing videos on YouTube and how to drive traffic to that content.
Moderator: Sarah Klaphake Cords, New Media Editor, Casino Enterprise Management
Panelists: John Eliason, Video Production Manager, Casino Enterprise Management
Dan Schrementi, Director of Gaming Marketing and New Media, Incredible Technologies
DAY 3 - Thursday, May 19
Revisiting the Operation of a Slot Tournament
10:30 a.m. - noon
This panel will revisit the operation of a slot tournament, both as a vending partner to casino operators and revenue stream innovators in their own right. The following construct changes will be discussed: 1) Transforming the slot tournament from a "freeloaders freeroll" to a revenue producing activity emulating the "buy-a-pay," 2) The usage of player tracking systems to form limited duration, ad hoc, randomly assigned communal teams to play towards a coin-in or other measure (e.g., aggregated communal theo) based goal for incremental re-investment, 3) Borrowing best practices of regional gaming properties with monochromatic redefinition of tournaments, 4) The use of downloadable systems to maximize slot floor resources, 5) The incorporation of mobile gaming devices to hold slot tournaments during shoulder times, 6) The reconsideration of prize structure from traditional rewards such as cash, free play or big-ticket items to experiential rewards.
Moderator: David Paster, Principal, Yarborough Planning, LLC
Panelists: John Carpenter, Senior Product Manager, Multimedia Games
James Starr, Senior Vice President of Sales, VGT
Steve Walther, Vice President of Marketing, Aruze Gaming
Andrew White, CEO, Strategy 9
Integrated Marketing: Communicating Here and Now
1 - 2:30 p.m.
With the explosion of new marketing channels—traditional direct mail, e-mail, online, social media and now mobile apps—your players are seeing thousands of messages a day, when they used to see hundreds. In order to ensure you get the attention of your players and prospects, you need to reach them in the right channel: How they want to be reached, when they want to be reached, and now with mobile, where they want to be reached. Learn about how to leverage the power of integrated marketing, across all available channels, including the latest metrics on technology and advertising adoption, both within and outside of the industry, the pros and cons of each marketing channel, crafting an integrated message and strategy, and channel acquisition.
Presenter: Nik Friedman TeBockhorst, Director of Integrated Marketing, Wright Casino Marketing
What Happened to the Written Word?
3 - 3:50 p.m.
Remember how casino marketers used to be sold on the written word to attract their rated players? You found persuasive copy filled with benefits and promises—some in the form of letters or personal notes? What happened to it? As a direct mail judge for the American Gaming Association's annual "Voice" awards, casino marketing legend John Romero has judged more than 400 submissions in the last three years. Not one of them used letters—and the small amount of copy he found inside each invitation seldom did more than announce the offer. Romero is determined to bring back the written word, and he'll show attendees how to do it in a way that's quick, cost effective and easy to learn. Virtually anyone can master the art of copy if they know the little secrets that make it sell, such as the opening, the closing and other ways that never fail to surprise and delight your customers.
Presenter: John Romero, Casino Marketing Guru and Wright Casino Marketing Associate
Lessons from Ed Fishman's Players Club, Larry Woolf's PlayLV/ SYS and the AmEx Centurion Card
4 - 5:30 p.m.
Just as the presentation of a AmEX Centurion Card will open the doors to exclusive private clubs and even road warrior airport lounges of which one is not a member, gaming pioneer Ed Fishman's "Players Club" and more recently Larry Woolf's "Play LV" provided a means for individuals to self select for recognition and reward in the gaming arena. The idea of an exclusive member being good enough for one club and thus an inherently valued member at another has been applied in city clubs and country clubs for years via the offering of members' access reciprocity. It may be time to pluck the best ideas of Fishman and Woolf, mix with lessons from premium customer clubs (Neiman Marcus) and cards (AmEX centurion), stir with elements of ClubCorp and see if these "best practices" can be leveraged in the gaming industry.
Presenter: David Paster, Principal, Yarborough Planning, LLC