Mobile Marketing For Casinos

THE DIGITAL MARKETING COMPANY
WHITE PAPER | APRIL 2008
How The Casino

Next Door Is
Getting Ready To
Kick Your A**
Why it’s Time to Get Real about
Mobile in Casino Marketing
Co-Authored by mobileStorm Inc. and Pollux & Castor

Published by
mobileStorm Inc.
6565 Sunset Blvd. Ste 200
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Telephone (323) 785-6333
Facsimile (323) 957-0308
Copyright © 2009
No part of the contents of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means without the written permission of the mobileStorm Inc.
mobileStorm is a registered trademark of mobileStorm Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
www.mobilestorm.com
How The Casino Next Door Is Getting Ready To Kick Your A**:
Why It’s Time to Get Real About Mobile in Casino Marketing
Copyright © 2009 mobileStorm Inc. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................... Page 1
Why Mobile?
Reasons to choose mobile ...................................................................... Page 3
So What?
A look at benchmark casinos ................................................................... Page 4
The Race to Be the Best at SMS: Mobile Marketing Gets Real

Programs in place in casinos today ........................................................... Page 5
About mobileStorm SMS

What you need to know about mobileStorm SMS ........................................ Page 6
Introduction
You probably heard the news. It wasn’t so long ago that the Las Vegas Sun published a report on the
state of the tourism business in Nevada. With budget cuts running rampant, the State has cut most of its
advertising loose, releasing DRGM as its agency of record and cutting TV campaigns in favor of digital
alternatives.[1] The Nevada Tourism Board’s recommendation for casinos and resorts was direct: “Do more
with less.” In other words, “You’re on your own.” We didn’t really need to hear that, but at least some good
suggestions were also included, such as the use of mobile marketing.
Here are the sobering facts about the state of gaming today:
Nevada Gaming
• Fitch Ratings, the international credit ratings agency, reports that Control Board
revenue from commercial casinos declined 2.5 percent in 2008, reports profit for
without recovery expected until 2010.[2]
Nevada casinos
• “Gaming spend-per-visit has been affected more than visitation fell 69% for the
levels,” the Fitch report says.[3] fiscal year ending
June 2008.
• MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment laid off 3,000
employees in 2008.
• The Mississippi Gaming Commission says Gulf Coast gaming revenues were down by over
$400 million between 2007 and 2008.[4]
• Atlantic City casinos generated $4.55 billion in revenue, down some 7.6 percent from 2007 and 2006.[5]
Revenues are down by billions of dollars. Profits are off by 60 percent to 70 percent, and there are even
losses at properties that have generated cash for years.
1 Why It’s Time to Get Real about Mobile in Casino Marketing
Casinos and the gaming industry were getting hit hard even before someone declared the current recession a
fact–and the blows may have just begun. Casino marketers have always worked hard to make sure every
aspect of their marketing plans earned a high return on investment (ROI). Now, static models that have been
perfected over the years are threatened.
One of the answers to this problem may lie in new ways to acquire customers and develop the customer base
more efficiently. There are some casinos that have had the foresight—and perhaps the luck—to see a
downturn coming. They have already learned to accelerate their use of digital marketing, including SMS/text
campaigns, which are particularly easy to deploy. These forward thinkers include the MGM Grand, Mandalay
Bay, Luxor, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Barona Valley Ranch, and Palms Casino Resort.
“It’s not that people aren’t coming; it’s that they are not playing as much,” says Jack Breslin, senior vice
president of marketing for GA Wright Casino Marketing. “Casinos are keeping a close eye on ROI, and as such
they are focusing on direct marketing programs because (they are) measurable. They are really scrutinizing
their programs closely and offering things like deals on food and special packages to keep people coming in to
play in the casino, especially the top players who drive most of their revenue.”[6]
The reason they have emphasized digital messaging is simple: a high rate of return and affordability.
For gaming operators, the objectives are clear: Entice new visitors, drive repeat patronage from local clientele,
and maximize spending on the property. As the Las Vegas Review-Journal says: “Text sells.”[7]
When a marketer sends SMS messages to consumers who have initialized the relationship with the brand by
subscribing to receive its texts, they get results. Did you know:
• 95 percent of text messages are read within the first 15 minutes.

• There are virtually no delivery issues with SMS.
Those who think SMS is a new, unproven medium for their industry
should think again, and fast. Most of their major competitors are
already a step ahead. This is a channel that can communicate back to
someone immediately, wherever he or she is. Having someone’s cell
phone number is like having the person’s social security number—it’s
forever. An average of 33 percent of email addresses change on a
yearly basis, but because of number portability, one can go from
AT&T to Verizon and keep the same number–and most people do.
Check out what the Rio,

a Harrah’s Entertainment property,
is sending right now.
2 Why It’s Time to Get Real About Mobile in Casino Marketing
Why Mobile?
Three reasons why mobile works:
Effective Enticing Economical
While casino marketing executives may sugar-coat their purpose, the fact is that marketing is about control.
The reason why digital marketing channels are becoming so popular is because they offer the ability to
accurately “measure” the control sought. A marketer’s job is to predict human action and interaction, and now
that job has become less vague. New digital methods can clearly prove or disprove customer engagement. In
other words, marketers really have the ability to track campaigns and return on marketing spending with digital
promotions.
Let’s jump directly to immediate action. The reason for getting right to the
subject of results is due to the nature of text messaging, one of the most
astonishing marketing technologies ever in terms of initiating a direct action
from the message recipient. Why is a text message so effective? It gets to
the point and it directly reaches one’s audience.
Consider that nearly 100 percent of phones are now SMS enabled. Nearly
100 percent of the customers on a casino property have a cell phone
within reach right now. Cell phones are an extension of everyone, and a
text message is an unabated avenue to reach them.
People are choosing to communicate increasingly more via SMS, because its short format is convenient.
Meanwhile the most effective marketing messages are known to be those that require the least amount of
thought from the consumer.
To repeat:
• The most effective marketing–simple, direct, concise.

• Astonishing increase in the use of SMS messaging as the medium of choice by Americans.
So SMS just makes sense. However, achieving measureable, concrete ROI during the economic downturn is
also crucial for casino executives—and again, SMS is the perfect choice.
We can measure, for instance, that in the casino business, responses to SMS usage for guests who are
physically on properties throughout the United States are more than promising–with average redemption rates
of slightly more than 30 percent for targeted offers.
The immediacy of SMS technology is unprecedented in marketing and communication. Imagine that someone
sees “text the word DEAL to 38714” on a video screen or poster at a casino. The person takes out his or her
phone, and texts in to receive offers during his or her stay. The casino can then send more offers right away
and drive the consumer to everything from gaming to entertainment. No other communication channel has this
capability.
So What?
A marketing executive may look at the company’s last P&L statement and think, “We’re safe.” A company may still
have that marginal lead when it comes to proving the value of its marketing strategy. But how long can a brand pull
the business through a downturn? In an unpredictable economy, what’s becoming clearer to all
businesses—including casinos—is that nothing is for certain, even day-to-day.
Casino marketers know that right now is the best time to make money. For a low-risk, high-ROI promotion, SMS
messaging is the poster child.
Successful casinos are all about above-par marketing. Take a look at some benchmarks.
MGM Grand VP of Advertising Michael Perhaes says, “We are better able to serve
customers thanks to targeted messaging. We inform hotel guests only about amenities in
which they are interested, without bothering them with messages that were not relevant.”
The database value continues to grow. MGM Grand uses ongoing marketing programs to
keep these customers coming back, such as Mobile Concierge services and VIP
programs for nightclubs.[8]
New York New York Hotel & Casino now offers incentives on its website soliciting cell
numbers to receive promotional offers. It also has a mobile web site
(mobile.nynyhotelcasino.com). The company states, “Now you can use a mobile device to
access all of the information about dining, entertainment, gaming, accommodations, and
other guest services at New York New York Hotel & Casino anywhere, anytime. You can
also check hotel room rates, promotions, and make room reservations on the mobile
site.”[9]
Barona Valley Ranch has launched a pilot test of its innovative mobile marketing
campaign, which utilizes 2-D barcode text messages that can be scanned to provide
special offers and information to its players. Barona is testing the technology to gauge
delivery, as well as participants’ acceptance and response of 2-D barcode text
message-based offers. Players were selected for the test based on their top tier level
in Club Barona (Diamond Card holders) and through exclusive invitations from their
executive hosts. “As one of the first organizations in the country to utilize this technology,
our goal is to create a mobile marketing program that will provide convenient services to
our players with added benefits,” says Troy Simpson, Barona’s Senior Vice President of
Innovation.[10]
Harrahs Entertainment uses real time mobile marketing promotions: “Text the word RIO
to (short code posted throughout the property).” Customers receive up to a dozen text
messages throughout the average stay of four days, with special deals for food,
beverages, shows, etc. Mike Weaver, VP Marketing, says redemption rates are an average
of three coupons per visit. That’s a 25 percent redemption rate! [11]
Palms Casino Resort Director of Relationship Marketing Grant Jorgenson tells

mobileStorm: “In today’s world, people are always on the go and text messaging has
enabled us to target our customers whenever and wherever they may be. It allows us to
reach out to them at any given moment. Our customers are notified when concert tickets
go on sale, when we have any special guests, and when we are offering deals for food
and beverages or hotel rooms. They also receive reminders a day before to pick up their
free gift for our many gift-day promotions. Text messaging has made it possible for us to
keep our customers in the now and interconnected with the Palms and all we have to
offer.”
Take inventory. Where is your property in the evolution of true one-to-one relationships with loyal
customers? If your players aren’t receiving valuable SMS text offers while on your property, they may be receiving
them from your competition—while on your property—and could at your rival’s buffet tonight. Who’s the shark and
who’s the guppy?
The Race to Be the Best at SMS: Mobile Marketing Gets Real
The race has begun in the gaming industry to implement text messaging that is compelling for casino clientele.
The technology is in place today to promote via SMS and make money. Don’t get left behind.
Strategies to capture cell phone numbers are being used in nearly every marketing opportunity: Texting to
short codes or vanity codes, capture at sign-up for the players club, online, text-to-win promotions, etc. It’s
only a matter of time until SMS messaging replaces traditional casino marketing tactics like direct mail, with its
quick and easy redemption profile. For both passers-by and loyal customers, this is a tool to reduce the cost
of reaching such guests. Reach them, and boost play rates and keep rooms and restaurants full.
Here are a few programs in place today:
Visitors to an on-property event or restaurant are text-messaged with offers to stay and play
more. Additional spontaneous cash prizes are built into promotions. Offers to “earn 100 more
points before midnight to be eligible for additional prizes” adds additional excitement.
Automatic message triggered when a jackpot gets over a certain amount, driving traffic into
the casino to try to win.
Cherry pies, sunglasses, hats, and T-shirts are given to loyal players weekly. Instead of
spending 42 cents to send a piece of mail, send out an SMS blast to these customers for half
the cost and an increased response rate.
Text message coupons or offers are redeemed by showing an onscreen coupon to the clerk,
who is able to enter the coupon directly into the POS system.
Players’ club members are targeted based on total play. As a customer nears the next
players’ club level, a message is sent telling them they only need, for example, 200 more
points to move to that level. This can happen as they are sitting and playing or anytime within
the player cultivation cycle.
A room block falls out. Room offers are sent immediately to fill the block.
A tournament needs 10 more players. A message goes out with a special incentive for the last
10 people to sign up.
A restaurant grand opening is weak. Text messages are sent to everyone within 10 miles of
the property inviting them to dine.
Full integration into the player tracking system prompting immediate “bounce back” offers,
“thank you” messaging, and more.
Billboards on main thoroughfares leading into casino locale tout Mobile VIP club [such as
“text PLAYER to 38714”]. Included are pertinent short code and keyword for passers-by to
text in to join the club for special offers and updates.
Non-players’ club members who are more than one hour away from the property are sent a
special weekend rate, good if they join the players’ club within the following seven days.
About mobileStorm SMS
How do you get into this business without a big investment? How can you tell what will work for you and what
kind of returns to expect?
You need an expert in marketing casino and gaming services via SMS/text. You need to learn about
mobileStorm.
As text messaging has grown into a mainstream communication tool for consumers, reaching them via SMS
marketing has become an increasingly important strategy for the casino industry. More targets are using SMS
every day—and a new generation of targets was raised on using SMS as a primary communication method.
Savvy marketers realize text messaging is not just critical to survive in the future; it’s a great way to promote
and earn right now.
mobileStorm SMS is a solution that allows clients to take advantage of text message marketing by:
• Generating relationships and leveraging this new way of communicating with guests
and targets, without having to pay a high monthly fee.
• Letting clients engage in a two-way interaction with subscribers, such as asking them
questions or prompting a call-to-action within the message.
mobileStorm can help you craft a pilot program that is uniquely tailored to your property’s needs and which
will allow you to test how SMS can give you the best results. With low start-up costs, short ramp-up times,
and no long-term commitments, we are here to set up benchmarks to measure your success.
For more information about mobileStorm SMS, or for a free demo, contact the mobileStorm sales team.
866-492-7886 or 323-785-6333
sales@mobilestorm.com
Schedule a demo:
https://www.mobilestorm.com/stun/corporate-client-demo/
Citations
1
Richard N. Velotta, “Budget cuts play havoc with Nevada’s efforts on tourism marketing
efforts,” Las Vegas Sun, February 6, 2009
2
U.S. Gaming Industry Recovery Unlikely Until 2010 (Fitch Ratings, December 16, 2008)
3
IBID
4
Howard Stutz, “Casino profits plunge,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 17, 2009
5
Lisa Plummer, Stephanie Corbin, Gary Tufel, and Michael Hart, “Casino Capitals:
Betting on a Future,” Tradeshow Week, February 9, 2009
6
Dianna Dilworth, “Casinos look for ROI in downturn,” DMNews, February 13, 2009
7
Arnold M. Knightly, “TEXT SELLS: Rio rolls out mobile marketing campaign,” Las Vegas
Review-Journal, February 14, 2009
8
MGM Grand Use Scenario (mobileStorm Inc., February 2008)
9
New York New York Hotel & Casino, “Wireless,”
http://www.nynyhotelcasino.com/hotel/hotel_wireless.aspx (accessed April 16, 2009)
10
“Barona testing mobile marketing campaign,” Casino Journal, January 27, 2009
11
Arnold M. Knightly, “TEXT SELLS: Rio rolls out mobile marketing campaign,” Las Vegas
Review-Journal, February 14, 2009
About mobileStorm Inc.
For nearly a decade, mobileStorm has pioneered the concept of digital marketing. Having
successfully delivered more than two billion messages on behalf of thousands of premier
customers such as MGM Grand, Palms Casino, American Idol, Qantas Airways, Carl’s Jr., Squaw
Valley Ski Resort, and Horoscope.com, mobileStorm is at the forefront of the digital marketing
revolution. The company provides a turnkey, hosted email and digital messaging platform backed
by world-class support and expert digital marketing services. mobileStorm has created the most
complete digital marketing solution available, enabling clients to reach customers via SMS
messaging, email marketing, voice messaging, RSS marketing, video broadcast, or fax broadcast
from a single provider.
mobileStorm is a do-it-yourself database messaging system that enables companies to fully

leverage their list of customers, prospects and partners by contacting them in the ways they wish
to be reached. With mobileStorm, companies can utilize their entire database regardless of
contact type—cell phone, email, telephone, fax or mailing address—through a single system,
whether sending a broadcast message to all subscribers or a highly targeted message to a select
few important contacts.

Mobile Marketing For Casinos

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mobile Marketing For Casinos

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE DIGITAL MARKETING COMPANY

WHITE PAPER | APRIL 2008

How The Casino

Co-Authored by mobileStorm Inc. and Pollux & Castor

Los Angeles, CA 90028

No part of the contents of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

mobileStorm is a registered trademark of mobileStorm Inc.

Introduction ................................................................................................... Page 1

The Race to Be the Best at SMS: Mobile Marketing Gets Real

About mobileStorm SMS

• 95 percent of text messages are read within the ﬁrst 15 minutes.

Check out what the Rio,

Effective Enticing Economical

• The most effective marketing–simple, direct, concise.

Palms Casino Resort Director of Relationship Marketing Grant Jorgenson tells

Here are a few programs in place today:

mobileStorm is a do-it-yourself database messaging system that enables companies to fully

You might also like