Development

The Benefits and Challenges of Master Planning

Posted on October 16, 2005

Most casino owners, whether they are tribal entities, public corporations or individuals, have a vision for what they want their casinos to be. Transforming that vision into bricks and mortar requires a master plan. The benefits of master planning are obvious but the challenges and obstacles in the planning process are numerous and often difficult to overcome. This article explores those challenges and offers suggestions on overcoming them.

The master planning process is complex. It relies on a keen understanding of trends in the marketplace, the changing needs of consumers, actions taken by competitors, a certain tolerance for risk, access to capital markets as well as a healthy dose of gut instinct and intuition. When done right, a sound master development plan will allow the tribe’s gaming enterprise to grow and flourish, providing jobs to the community and a steady stream of revenue to meet the needs of the tribal government.

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Be The Best Locals Casino You Can Be

Posted on September 16, 2005

As casino markets mature, there is a propensity among gaming operators and, in particular, Indian tribes, to diversify their businesses away from simple casinos. For some, the logical next step in the development process is to build full scale resorts, complete with golf courses, spas, elegant hotel rooms, ultra lounges and other amenities that appeal to new and different
customer segments. The basic assumption is that the local gaming markets are reasonably served and, in order for revenue to grow, a tribe must bring in new, different and far wealthier tourist segments.

The fundamental problem is that resort hotels are expensive to build and difficult to operate. They require a highly trained staff and an experienced sales team. A resort hotel stands a better chance of being successful if it is located within a resort community but that often means they must compete with branded hotel chains with international reservation centers. In addition, a resort hotel may alienate the very customers that made the casino successful as it often holds little appeal to local gamers.

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First, Get the Product Right

Posted on June 4, 2004

Marketing is a process. Marketing begins with “product marketing” – a process of conceptualizing, aligning, and delivering products that meet or exceed consumer needs, wants, and expectations at a price that creates a value. If there is unutilized capacity, then it is filled via “demand marketing” programs- a constant stream of motivators that are packaged and delivered to motivate first time visits among the uninitiated or additional repeat visits among experienced, existing players. Demand marketing is comprised of cash mailers, promotions, two for one meal coupons and other offers that attempt to increase traffic into a casino during midweek and daytime periods.

Casino marketers are often forced to turn to demand marketing prematurely when the package of gaming and entertainment amenities is insufficient to stimulate consumers to visit the property. In other words, the sum total of products that the casino has to offer is not, in and of themselves, sufficient to attract people. Before a casino turns to demand marketing, it must first make sure that its products are aligned with the market. It must first make sure that the products are right.

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Marketing’s Role In the Design of the New Casino

Posted on January 16, 2004

Recent advances in game technology, improved access to capital markets and the continued growing popularity of Indian gaming is creating a climate that is stimulating an unprecedented expansion of Indian casinos. In the next few years, many tribes will expand their facilities or build new casinos to better serve their guests and to provide essential services for tribal members.

Opening a new property or introducing a greatly expanded facility puts tremendous strain on the property’s leadership and often thrusts managers in unique roles that differ dramatically from the day to day operations of the gaming enterprise. While architects, contractors and consultants manage the construction process, property managers are often enlisted to help with developing the new property while continuing to manage their own departments. The slot director and table games director play an integral role in designing the new casino floor as does the food and beverage director in designing the kitchen, dining room and menus. More often than not though, marketing is not invited to participate in the initial planning of the new property.

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Vegas is Not the Competition

Posted on July 17, 2003

A critical factor in determining the success of a casino operation is to correctly define the competition. By properly delineating one’s competition, a casino can design a facility that best meets the needs of its market, optimize the allocation of precious capital, forestall attempts by competitors to gain an advantage and more prudently spend marketing dollars. One of the single biggest mistakes an Indian casino can do is define Las Vegas as one of its competitors.

Casinos that make the assumption that Las Vegas is part of their competitive mix do so on the flawed hypothesis that, because some of their customers periodically visit Las Vegas, the casino can divert one or two of those visits to their property. While at first blush this reasoning appears sound, a closer examination of customer behavior reveals that this logic is flawed. These casino operators simply do not understand the basic reasons gamblers choose periodically vacation in Las Vegas and the reasons visit Indian casinos with such great frequency.

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The Casino Marketing Plan: Objectives, Strategies and Action Plans

Posted on May 16, 2002

Last month this column focused on the first part of the casino marketing plan: conducting a thorough situation analysis in order to understand current and anticipated market conditions, the competition and the customer. Having performed this analysis, a casino marketing team can now focus on the development of realistic goals and objectives, a strategy that will achieve them and the specific action plans that become the marketing department’s “to do” list.

Too often the marketing team loses sight of the property’s mission. Operating a tribal gaming enterprise is more than about making money. It is about improving the quality of life for tribal members, providing security for future generations, offering employees opportunities for growth, and being a responsible member of the community. The marketing mission statement flows from the tribal mission but is also based on current market conditions. Once the team has prepared its situation analysis it is ready to develop the marketing mission d1at will guide the department’s efforts through the next year.

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