Friday 7 September 2018

A study about some of the most successful casino promotions


The goal of any advertising campaign is to reach its target customer. The market has seen many cases when in spite of having a good product, the company failed to make any profit. The sole reason for this is the customers didn't know about the existence of such a product. It is quite evident for a business to make a profit the management needs to spend a big chunk of investment in the advertisement and promotions. 

In this article, we will be discussing the nitty-gritty of successful casino promotions. Successful casino promotions are a result of thoughtful planning, defined goals, and masterful execution. The purpose of a casino owner to carry out a promotion campaign is to increase gaming revenues and promote a strong image of his brand. 

There are a few steps that need to be followed before running the promotion campaign. The first step is to have a proper strategy. In this stage, we do a SWOT analysis. We study the scope of one owner's business and what his competitors are producing. After the strategy phase is complete, then comes the target audience. This is one of the most vital aspects of a successful promotion campaign. The advertising team may have wonderful creative casino promotion ideas, but it will fail to deliver its desired goal if it doesn't reach the target audience. In this phase, the business decides which type of customers they are targeting.

If they are planning on televised promotion and their target audiences are 9-5 workers, the campaign will fail to reach their eyes. Instead of televised promotion if they go for age-old hoarding advertisement along the highways that will reach a 9-5 worker's eye more easily. The following phase may sound a little weird, but in this phase, the owner needs to measure the success. In other words, how much revenue the business will make following this promotion campaign that will fulfil the criteria to consider the campaign to be a successful one. The advertising branch of a company needs to decide when to pull the plug; none of us loves tedious things. 

A constant merry-go-round of promotions loses its lust after some time. They need to be replaced with fresh ideas. In this phase, the advertising agency decides the lifespan of a particular promotion. In the following phase, the agency decides on the design of the advertising campaign. It should be colourful with the brand name in bold, quirky colours so that it attracts the attention of the viewer. If one promo looks and sounds similar to its competitor's promo name, the owner might have spent money to promote their competitor's business. We all love some mystery in life. 

If one advertisement informs everything in their campaign, there is nothing left to be known.

As a result, people start losing interest. An advertisement will be considered a success if it informs the viewers sufficiently as well keeping that surprise quotient intact which will pull a casino player towards that parlour. We all know casino involves a lot of risks, but if in the campaign the owner says that there will be some mystery prize for a particular game, the gamblers will start flocking to that parlour. The size of the advertisement can be considered as one of the most important determining factors while considering the success of the campaign.

If the advertisement is a televised one, how long is the advertisement? The consumers do not like a long and monotonous one. The advertisement should be short and strike a perfect chord with its target consumer. Since the advertisement can be considered as a type of communication between a producer and consumer; it should overcome the language barrier. The language should be free from ambiguous terms and easy to understand. If the casino is an international chain then for every region it should be available in local language.  

The execution of any promotion campaign should be flawless and without friction in any phase. Now, once a promotion campaign is started, the owner needs to have some provision to know the effectiveness of the promotion. There are several survey agencies and data analyst who are available to sort it out. They will make an annual report showing whether the revenue and brand value of a casino has improved or not. 

Now, we will take a brief look into few top casino promotions launched by leading casino owners:
  • Monday Millionaire Madness- Showboat Atlantic City: A million dollar prize money and interactive excitement for contestants made this one of the best promotion campaigns. On winter Monday evenings, ten contestants were selected to receive $500, and one of them was selected to go for Monday Millionaire Madness game where prize money million dollars. 
  • Slot Celebrations- Bronco Billy’s, Cripple Creek, CO: This casino made a celebrity out of the winner. They reward a winner with a Polaroid photo of themselves with their winnings in logo form. 
  • An employee of the Day- Win-River Casino, Redding, CA: This casino tried rewarding their employers who generated the highest revenue for the casino. This campaign motivated the workers to perform better in their daily work. The casino's goal was to find that person who not only generated good revenue but also went beyond their regular service for customer satisfaction. 

At the end of the day, everyone loves to get appreciated for their work. A player who enters a parlour hopes to walk out from the place winning some significant cash and promotions offers just that.