No place on earth says “gambling” like Las Vegas, not Atlantic City. not Macau, not Monte Carlo, nor Singapore. If you want to lose your money, the place to go is Vegas. Next week, Glitter Gulch hosts Global Gaming Expo (G2E), which runs from Monday through Thursday with exhibits in the Central and North Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. In the conference center that straddles Desert Inn Road South of the large Central Hall, there will be four days of presentations and panels informing casino owners on everything from the newest legislation, especially for on-line gaming, to the latest technology to maximize a casino’s return.
In one track entitled “Social Media 101: The Basics For Gaming,” the description is as follows: “a year or two ago social media was seen an emerging trend—today it is a way of life. If you're not connecting to your customers through social media, you are missing a valuable, and cost-efficient, marketing opportunity. Many casinos understand they must venture out into the social media landscape, and at this session, attendees will learn how to implement social media to create a relationship-building opportunity for direct communication with your customers.” Trump Casinos is on Facebook with over 12,441 people who like them. So too does Golden Nugget Vegas Casino with 3,738 people who "like" it, but more importantly, 13,935 monthly active users who play the Golden Nugget Vegas Casino Facebook game, a simulation style game launched in August this year that will soon enable micro-transactions—the penny slot machines of social networking?
Another session, “Ask the Experts: Database Analytics Showdown” will explain how to mine the rich veins of information captured on casino guests. “Evolving database technologies continue to offer casino marketing executives new opportunities to capture a variety of information, including special interest coding, tiers of gaming value, demographic analysis and other powerful database components,” the track description says. “But, how can casino marketers sort through this data to capture the vital information they truly need? Is there a shortcut to making it all make sense? Is it possible to capture and understand a guest's experience beyond the gaming floor, and how can you utilize this wealth of information to make sensible and cost-efficient decisions? Find out the answers to all of these questions and more at this highly interactive session.”
And yet another track, “Mobile vs. Direct Marketing: Two of a Kind?” declares, “the mobile generation is here. The smart phone did in several years what it took the computer generation 10 years to accomplish. But what does this mean for the gaming industry? This session will examine how mobile marketing can augment traditional marketing activities or even replace existing processes to make them more cost-effective and efficient. Whether it is mobile couponing, event based promotions, loyalty clubs, the mobile concierge, direct marketing communication or customer satisfaction surveys—mobile marketing offers a wide variety of business sound, practical applications.” All of those coupon books you got when you checked in have now been automated with the information gleamed from the casino’s database analysis—if you’re a returning guest—to provide you with exactly the right temptation to get you to stay and play.
When I attended one of the last Comdex conferences held in Vegas, I remember entering a private event being held at a casino restaurant. A couple leaving the restaurant, obviously annoyed at being turned away, asked one another who the hell was Hewlett-Packard. Then as now casinos know high tech companies and use their information technology to further increase their odds over individual gamblers.
No comments:
Post a Comment