Julia Carcamo

A must-read for any casino marketer, Reel Marketing forces the reader to stop and think about the why or purpose of the company’s existence and use information gleaned to build a solid brand. The easy to understand Jules Rules will change your view of marketing and prepare you to build an identity that will resonate with team members, guests, and stakeholders, and produce real ROI.

It’s hurricane season for us along the Gulf Coast, and with that comes a steady stream of news stories that feature a well-meaning government official or correspondent telling us to have an emergency plan in place and up-to-date. When it comes to hurricanes, we usually have a window of time to prepare, but when a crisis hits a brand there is seldom any time for preparations.

Whether large or small, all businesses need great marketing, but when you pay for it, you want to make sure you’re getting the best work possible to help you reach your goals. So, what does it take to get great advertising that works? The formula is simple; you need clear direction from the client and great creative from the agency.

Pick up the nearest marketing conference program and you’re bound to see a session on social media. While most of these sessions seem to agree digital marketing is a universal need, the jury is still out on how best to accomplish this task and how to be truly effective at it, specifically as it relates to social media.

Among the many things business leaders need to do, perhaps the biggest piece of the puzzle could be developing a marketing team that will continue to be engaged and productive. There is absolutely no question that as leaders we want to hire the best team possible, and it’s not always a matter of offering the best salary. There are many things that go into developing a great marketing team.

Most data sources estimate the U.S. Hispanic population at about 59 million. At this number, everyone can agree the purchasing power of the segment is not something to ignore. Hispanics in the United States represent about $1.5 trillion in annual purchasing power. This is a segment integral to the success of many consumer brands and a valuable one to win, making up a quarter of the population in the top 15 U.S. markets. And yet, in the New Orleans area, this market is even more important.

Long gone are the days when commanding the “Four Ps” of marketing” (product, promotion, place and price) guaranteed success. Today, it is the consumer who is in command. As marketers, our job continues to be listening to the consumer; and that consumer is speaking to us through a variety of channels, demanding more and more from us as table stakes.

Marketing is firmly in an era of transformation and, as marketers, we must be ready to lead the transformation for our companies.

Never before has there been so much marketing media yet so few people wanting to hear the messages. Under such circumstances, now is probably a good time to rethink our media efforts. Adopting the paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) strategy for modern marketing media makes sense for the gaming industry.

Being on the vendor side of the equation is a tough gig, and getting customers to find you is a little like finding a needle in a haystack; only you’re the needle hoping a casino desires to look for and find you. And, unfortunately, it appears that the haystack gets bigger by the day, if not the hour or minute.

For years the gaming industry was on the cutting edge of loyalty programs, database management and the collection of information. Yet for as forward-thinking as we were (and still are) in these areas, we made some fact-based assumptions that we unfortunately held on to for far too long. Casinos marketers have been slower than their Baby Boomer clientele to embrace digital platforms.

From changing the headliner out letter by letter to new smart media across all customer touchpoints, signage is at a tipping point, going from informational to a tool that can help your operations across multiple disciplines.

We often sign on (and fire) agencies because of a level of satisfaction with creative, but there is often more to a successful relationship. In my latest column, we talk about managing your agency relationship for long-term success.

As marketers, we are always looking to “fill the funnel” with new customers. This isn’t another article telling you that your slots won’t attract Millennials so you better think of some other way to get them. This isn’t about inbound marketing or sales pipelines. This is about nurturing the relationships we have right now, both those that are already strong and those that are barely breathing.

We’ve seen underdogs in many industries. Some have held on profitably in the number two spot, but some have risen to the top. The recent setbacks in the economy have left many casino operators in the position to compete as underdogs.

Legal issues are intruding into more and more aspects of everyday marketing. Therefore, it’s important that you know the basics and that you partner with a legal professional specializing in intellectual property to help guide your way as you navigate some tricky areas that can become more a matter of interpretation than black and white rules.

The data you hold about your customers can help enhance your media buys.

The questions you need to ask before you decide to embark on a rebranding project.

How to build your casino brand using my 5 Pillars

Agencies often wish for their clients to bring them into the fold and share everything. They want to be partners in success. They want to play a significant role in the growth of the companies they support.

As the client, I often wonder why an agency doesn’t “get it.” Why do I have to be looking at round after round of creative to get to where I need to be? Why aren’t they reading my mind after all this time?

I usually write something from my point of view that I hope will help agencies vying for casino business. Today, I want to address my comments to clients hoping to get good work out of their agencies.

High-end customers are the most important focus of casino marketers. True or False?

It's easy to think that given all the romantic images we see in movies and television. Good casino marketers understand where their bread and butter come from. Great casino marketers know how to divide up the business into manageable segments that help the business grow.

If you're thinking of working with one of the many regional casino operators, get to know the customers who are actually on the floor on a random Tuesday afternoon, because they contribute a large portion of the revenue regional casinos generate. Forget that 30-something with the perfect girlfriend drinking premium vodka betting on eight the hard way. He'll gladly make a contribution to tonight's revenue, but we're not building our business around him.

Sounds funny, but it's true the casino industry has developed shortcuts they often use in any discussion. If you want to understand your client, you need to have a grasp of these terms.