Archive 2000 * Archive 2001 * Archive 2003/4

Five winning subject lines
Boosted e-mail response

     December 23, 2002:      You can't pick up a direct marketing publication or scan a DM newsletter without finding a lecture on creating successful e-mail campaigns. In a recent issue of Target Marketing & Inside Direct Mail, Steve Hardigree, CEO of Opt In Inc., Boca Raton, FL, gets right to the point. "The most important aspect of designing an opt-in e-mail is the subject line," says Hardigree. "An enticing subject line or one that includes a familiar source/topic has a better chance of being opened." He cites the following successful subject lines: 25% off (company name) spring collection; (company name) giving away Sony TV; 70 Percent off HP, Compaq, Sony + $20 Rebate; $50 Gift Certificate and 120 Free Minutes from AT&T; Up to 70% off (company name) Products.

Will rise of TV ad-zappers
Change casino ad spending?

     December 12, 2002:      Can we expect, one day soon, to see larger casinos shift some of their television spending into product-placement deals in movies and TV series? It's not only likely, it's a sure thing if a recent marketing survey by Forrester Research is correct. The survey, reported in the Wall Street Journal, measured marketers' fears of "ad-zapping" technology and personal video recorders. PVRs, says the Journal, are now in just 1.7 million homes, but Forrester predicts 30 million by 2007. Bottom line: some 76% of marketers surveyed said they would reduce TV ad outlays if Forrester's predictions come true, and increase spending on program sponsorship and product-placement. The old ways, they are a-changing.

Santa Claus to online gaming:
Have a few lumps of coal

     December 1, 2002:      It's not exactly a Merry Christmas for Internet gaming's estimated 1,800 offshore casinos, mainly in the Caribbean, and their mostly US players. The Wall Street Journal reported the following year-end misfortunes:PayPal, an eBay Inc. unit, suspended its gambling payment service that allowed gambling by credit card; Yahoo, Inc., stopped carrying ads for online casinos; Akamai Technologies, Inc., famous for high quality video and graphics, said it will no longer carry gambling ads on its content servers; CryptoLogic, Inc., a software supplier to online casinos, reported its net income from the third quarter had dropped 70%; Bear, Stearns & Co., cut its Internet casino growth projections in half for 2003; New York and New Jersey attorneys general report they have made "significant inroads"in curbing online gaming. The industry isn't going under but it feels the pressure.

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New book claims MIT students
Won millions from LV casinos

     November 21, 2002:      "Bringing Down the House," a new book by Ben Mezrich, claims a collection of whiz kids from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology beat Las Vegas casinos for millions in the 90s. Mezrich says it really happened; I say it's a crock. According to the author, a group of "brilliant math students" from MIT learned shuffle tracking, described as "A basic probability distribution exercise of the six-deck stack of 312 cards used at the casinos." Then they "took the technique to its highest level, working as teams to find the hottest tables." One student (Kevin) says he found pink champagne waiting in his suite at the Stardust, a tray of filet mignons in his room at the MGM Grand, and a pony keg of Sam Adams stashed in his bedroom at Caesars. Kevin estimates he won "about $1 million" in two years. Nice piece of fiction. Watch for the movie "based on a true story."

Lawsuit claims casinos obliged
To protect addicted gamblers

     November 12, 2002:      The casino business took another shot on Oct. 22, when the Wall Street Journal featured David N. Williams' lawsuit against Casino Aztar in Evansville, Indiana. Mr. Williams "burned through" his life savings while gambling on the riverboat, says the Journal. Williams claims Aztar had "a legal obligation to keep him from gambling." In these days of jackpot awards, a jury might buy that--even though no legal obligation exists. Casino Aztar, like most casinos, posts warnings about overspending and pushes a toll free number for counseling. After Williams had lost more than $170,000, they put his photo in a binder of banned patrons, says the Journal. Williams "slipped in" ten months later and lost even more. The suit is in federal court.

Wynn encounters rough going;
We're betting on him anyway

     November 1, 2002:      When Steve Wynn had to briefly delay his initial public offering for Wynn Resorts, Ltd., last month, the Wall Street Journal responded with a not-too-flattering article. But there were a couple of bright spots. A representative of Cantor Fitzgerald praised Wynn and Japanese financial partner Aruze Corp. when they announced they would "inject a total of $150 million of their own money" into the deal. Then it was revealed that Wynn's Le Reve casino would include Ferrari and Maserati dealerships on the property. That's the Steve Wynn I admire--always coming up with new marketing approaches. The Journal predicted tough going for Wynn, citing the "disappointing performance" of many of this year's IPOs. Well, maybe. But I'm betting on Wynn anyway.

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What's the next logical
step after E-mail?

     October 24, 2002:      A California company named Talkway Communications says it's videograms. Paul Barbagallo, associate editor of Target Marketing & Inside Direct Mail, says Talkway's software enables you to send video messages over E-mail and doesn't require special software for recipients to open and observe the videogram. When users record a message, says Barbagallo, it's streamed to Talkway's own content servers, speeding delivery. Processors with as little as 266MHz can be used, running virtually any Microsoft operating system. If it's as easy for recipients to open as Barbagallo says, look for casinos to get real interested. In the meantime, you can check out the details and the company at www.talkway.com.

Should casinos pay guests
if the service is bad?

     October 12, 2002:      Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., feels its Sheraton brand has an image problem. The solution? Here it is in one cogent Wall Street Journal headline: "Sheraton Plans to Pay Guests for Bad Service." The Journal reports that Sheraton continues to be known in north America for "Lousy customer service and shabby digs." So now, the newspaper says, a missing bath mat or a cockroach in the closet could be worth a free night. What a concept! If we did that in the casino business the guests would own the resorts in about two seconds. I'm not cynical. I just know the amount of thievery that casinos face, and I can imagine what would happen if you invited people to scam you. Maybe it will work for Sheraton, but I doubt it. It's a dumb idea.

Here's a terrific new idea:
Advertise your competitors

     October 1, 2002:      Here's a magnificent idea for casinos, courtesy of Quiksilver. What, you never heard of Quiksilver? They make surfboards, snowboards, skateboards, all kinds of boards and clothing to match. Quiksilver keeps marketing to a minimum because they want to stay "cool." They even produce television spots featuring their competitors, but with no mention of Quiksilver. As a consequence, Fox Sports Network runs them free! I can see it now--beautiful casino commercials with the usual suspects (smiling chefs, spinning slot reels, gorgeous waitresses and dreamy lovers toasting each other with champagne). You show your closest competitor's sign, but you never mention your own casino. Then Fox runs it free. Your bottom line goes to hell because your customers switch to your competition. But boy, did you ever save money on advertising. And were you ever "cool."

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Record $5.4 million fine
A win for privacy racket

     September 23, 2002:      Paul Barbagallo, associate editor of Target Marketing magazine and Inside Direct Mail, reports that the FCC recently hit Fax.com with a $5.4 million fine "For spewing unwanted advertisements into millions of fax machines in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act." According to Barbagallo, the FCC says the move is the first ever against a so-called "fax broadcaster" rather than an individual or company advertising via fax. The fine is based on 489 separate violations at $11,000 each, says Barbagallo. My opinion: I don't like unsolicited faxes but the fine is excessive. Interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act this way will have a chilling effect on direct marketing in general, and that's not good for casinos. Little by little, we're losing our ability to prospect. Another win for the privacy racket.

Weird science solutions
to boost casino revenue

     September 12, 2002:      Weird Science, Part I: A California company wants to embed a chip in your car. You visit a drive-up fast food joint and sit there while scanners verify you have enough money in your account to cover the bill. Big deal. Why not take it to the next logical step and have the chip embedded in your arm? Then you can stroll up to a slot machine and just start playing. You got a big player who wants to do it? Comp chip embedment. Weird Science, Part II: The Bank of America is running Connie Chung promotional videos on its ATM machines. Furious customers are forced to use the ATM machines because the bank charges $1.50 to see a teller, according to the Wall Street Journal. "You can't turn it off," snapped one customer. "You can't walk away. You're trapped." Apparently the video ads contribute a nice chunk of cash to B of A. So what's wrong with casinos running commercials while patrons wait for a hand-pay? They can't walk away! They're trapped!

Casino TV for Sept. 11?
My opinion: stay off

     September 1, 2002:      Do you plan to run television commercials for your casino on Sept. 11? Tunku Varadarajan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, says Dell Computer was the first major advertiser to opt out of such a tactic. In late July, Dell announced it would pull its "Steven" ads from network TV news shows when that dreadful date comes around. Most TV advertising was suspended on Sept. 11 last year, and for the four days afterwards. But should it be again? Varadarajan says the ad industry and sponsors should rise to what he calls "the creative challenge" of the day and produce respectful ads for the occasion. Consumers would be appreciative of such ads, he says. Well, maybe. But tribute after tribute in ad form seems repetitious and bit phony to me. My opinion? Stay off TV on Sept. 11. It's just too emotional a date.

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Casinos: ready for new
Mexican privacy laws?

     August 23, 2002:      The privacy racket strikes again. If your casino is mailing into Mexico, prepare for problems. DM News reports that a "data protection bill" will be introduced to the Mexican Congress this fall. The proposed legislation is following a strict European philosophy that would "Kill the list business," says the Direct Marketing Association's Charles Prescott. Critics say it's typical legislation written by politicians and not by business people. Under the proposed law, individuals must give consent before a company could collect and store information on them; all companies in Mexico that maintain a database would be required to register it with the government, and disclosing database information could earn you five years in prison. Just what the Mexican economy needs.

Study confirms big gamers
Can afford it, and have fun

     August 12, 2002: The recent Harrah's study on the habits of gaming customers confirmed what I've always felt--that players who bet the heaviest not only can can afford it, but they have fun doing it. The study also showed they know something about handling money (57 percent have investments). They participate in their communities, too, and they come to casinos because they like the thrill of the chase. If you had asked me to put together a profile based on the thousands of high end players I've met in 42 years in the business, it would have come out much like the Harrah's study. And something else from personal experience--big player or small player, the vast majority know when to back off. I've met only a few over the years who got in too deep. Maybe I've led a sheltered life.

Colorado casinos are hot,
But drive is no picnic

     August 1, 2002: The same day the Dow Jones Industrials plunged 234.68 points to close at a dismal 7,784.58, the Colorado Division of Gaming announced its casinos had posted a record haul. In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, Colorado casinos made a record $707.8 million in adjusted gross proceeds. That was an 8.8 percent increase from the previous year. The state also announced that casinos paid a record $96.6 million in taxes on the proceeds. Okay, that's small compared to the major US gaming centers. But not bad when you consider where Colorado casinos are located. Black Hawk, home to the largest casinos, is deep in the Rockies. To reach it by car or bus you must navigate a two-lane highway that's icy in the winter and no picnic to drive in the summer. Parking is a problem, too. But still they come. Maybe, since Sept. 11, part of it is an urge to stay closer to home.

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Online advertisers love "image."
Let's hope casinos ignore it

     July 22, 2002: Let's hope casinos don't take the latest online advertising trend seriously. A headline on the lead story in iMarketing News is the tipoff. It reads, "Advertisers Back New Push for Brand Awareness." Of course companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Mars, Inc., and Kellog's back "branding." That's what they do; they're comfortable with it. But for most casinos, "branding" (aka "awareness" and "image") is a waste of money. It lets the ad agency's creatives run wild. They do commercials and print ads that "entertain" the viewers and readers. But do they actually sell anything? Nobody knows, because there's no way to track an "image" ad's effect on hard sales. Sure, "brand awareness" and "purchase intent" may go up, but two more phony categories have never existed. Touting "branding" in the iMarketing article, one expert says, "They're not asking for e-mail addresses or anything. They're using the Internet to make it kind of fun." David Ogilvy called "entertaining" ads a curse. So would any direct response guy. Give me accountable advertising; keep the "image" junk.

Do you still think sex sells?
New study says it's not true

     July 11, 2002: As long as I can remember, casinos have emphasized sex in all forms of advertising--from print ads and television to outdoor and collateral. When I directed the advertising at the old Del Webb's Sahara, I routinely hired the most beautiful models in Los Angeles to pose for our ads and collateral. Now comes word of a study appearing in the Journal of Applied Psychology that sex doesn't sell; in fact, it detracts from advertising messages. The Washington Post notes that "People watching shows packed with sexual innuendo, performers with revealing clothes or sexual scenes were much less likely to remember the ads both immediately after the show and a day later." The Post quotes an expert: "The simplest explanation is that people who watch a sexual program are thinking about sex, not ads." Aw, heck.

Careful with that e-mail Blast:
Most still have dial-up modems

     July 1, 2002: Casinos heavy on e-marketing would do well to check out High Performance Direct, a quarterly publication by The Hacker Group (www.hackergroup.com). A recent article by Bob Hacker lists six ways to screw up an e-mail campaign, including the following: Some 86% of computer users still have dial-up modems at 56K or slower, according to Boomerang.com. Therefore, a blast with full orchestra and dancing headlines may tie up your prospect's system for hours, or crash it. Some of the older versions of AOL do not support HTML at all, and all your targets see is a mess on their screens. Audio may sound good to you, but it can be annoying depending on the kind of sound card and speakers your prospect uses. And finally, work hard on the subject line; the reader doesn't care about your e-mail until you tell them why they should.

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Spammers flood the Net with e-mail:
What's a poor casino to do?

     June 23, 2002: From the Wall Street Journal: A Stamford, Connecticut, e-mail marketing research firm named IMT Strategies says nearly 80% of computer users delete unsolicited e-mail (or "spam") the second they see it. On the other side of that fence, a Dallas company named Humitech International says it's sending 10 million e-mails to people who have asked to receive information on health products. The Federal Trade Commission recently reported that two thirds of all "unsubscribe" links in spam e-mail failed. What's a casino to do? For goodness sake, make sure your customers know it's from you by placing your casino name and part of the offer in the subject line, and the casino name in the "from" field. That way, at least, you have a chance. Oh, yeah. Make sure the "unsubscribe" link works.

Harrah's pushes responsible gaming:
"Lot of times you shouldn't gamble"

     June 11, 2002: Does a "responsible" casino beat the other kind? Harrah's Entertainment Chairman and Chief executive Phil Satre is betting it does. In a series of television spots which the company says will be rolled out in more than 20 markets, Satre says, "The truth is, there are a lot of times you shouldn't gamble." Even the agency that created the spots felt the campaign "wasn't necessarily in the CEO's own interest," according to the Wall Street Journal. Reason for the campaign? It's to prove Harrah's can be a trusted member of a community. The Journal quotes Satre: "We want to be treated like any other business." As far as your reporter is concerned it's already a success. The Journal gave the story a 3-column headline and 15 inches of copy and pix on May 23.

Say goodbye to filthy slot hands;
New device steers coins into a cup

     June 1, 2002: Robert Coulter, Opelika, Alabama, loved to play the slots but hated it when his hands got filthy from scraping coins out of the tray. Mr. Coulter, a part-time inventor, promptly solved the problem with a product he named EZPay1. Marketer-distributor Janco International Ltd. (www.buyezpay1.com) says he originally named his invention EZPay, but added the numeral "1" to differentiate it from IGT's slot ticket system. A wise move. The product is a 3 3/4 inch long plastic chute that snaps onto the edge of the coin tray on stand-up slot machines and steers the coins into a collection cup. Chalk up another powerful blow for cleanliness. Janco's John Kemp says one of the first buyers was Caesars Tahoe. P.S. Kemp has also developed a slot machine coin converter card (www.casinojudge.com). A quick glance tells you, for example, that a payoff of 1,250 nickels has netted you $62.50.

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Customer Relationship Management is more than high-priced software

      May 22, 2002: Customer Relationship Management, which is usually referred to as simply "CRM" because it has become a marketing buzzword, is used in some form by every casino extant. In fact, as I wrote in my IGWB column a couple of years ago, we invented it. When you're in a business that relies on beating your own customers, you sure as hell better be nice to them. But CRM can be immensely complicated. And now its value is in question. The Wall Street Journal says, "The real news about CRM is its decidedly mixed reputation in the tech world. Some studies show that half of all CRM projects never work out despite the hundreds of millions companies sometimes spend on them...having good relations with customers isn't just a matter of new software." The Journal cites a recent Harvard Business Review article titled "Avoid the Four perils of CRM" to back up its assertions.

Hey Casinos! Check your Web sites;
The natives out there are restless

     May 11, 2002: You say you're basing more and more of your casino marketing on the Web? You say you're not only saving money but booking more and more business? Here's something to think about. Consumer WebWatch, a new nonprofit research group affiliated with Consumers Union, says the big majority of users don't trust the Web. "Only 29 percent of Internet users say they believe the information provided on Web sites that sell products or services," reports the Denver Post. WebWatch Director Beau Brendler is quoted as saying. "The numbers are alarmingly low." Brendler, says the Post, believes that the economic turndown has caused more online companies to blend advertising and editorial content, causing confusion. Good advice for casinos: check your site for incorrect or misleading information.

Metro Police to Laughlin, April 2, "We expect some confrontations"     

    May 1, 2002: Most casino PR people never interact with security. In big properties, they might not even know the names of all the officers who protect them. So maybe the killings of three bikers at Harrah's in Laughlin (in the early morning hours of April 27) were a wakeup call. Get to know these anonymous guys in uniform. When trouble comes they're your first line of defense. Security's ubiquitous surveillance cameras captured the entire shootout between the Hells Angels and the Mongols on the 27th, allowing the Las Vegas Metro Police to identify key suspects. Metro knew something might happen during the annual motorcycle gathering. On April 2, they briefed the Laughlin Tourism Committee, saying they "expected some confrontations." Sad for Harrah's, but probably a good thing it happened there, on the outskirts of the city. If the shooting had started in the center of town where the casinos are door-to-door and the street is thick with traffic, who knows what could have happened.

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E-mail marketing gets a bad rap; Spammers ruin it for everyone

      Apr. 22, 2002: Do casinos send too much e-mail? With the e-mail marketing "industry" expected to grow to nearly $5 billion by 2004, according to Forrester Research, casinos certainly are contributing their share. The problem,, says Target Marketing magazine Editor in Chief Alicia Orr, is that spammers are ruining it for the rest of it. Orr says she gets about 60 e-mails a day, of which a third are spam (she lists Viagra offers and live sex sites as the major offenders). Direct Marketing Association "guidelines" are a step in the right direction, she says, but they're ignored by the "bad seeds," many from outside the United States. Her advice (and I agree) is to play by the DMA rules and scrutinize your e-mails carefully. If they look like junk, fix them. E-mail marketing, she warns, is getting a bad name and could one day be "Right up there with telemarketing."

Mensas may be IQ champs, but they don't know what sells

      Apr. 11, 2002: Will casinos soon be hiring members of Mensa to give them marketing ideas? Absurd as it sounds, it's happening in the outside world. Winnebago, says the Wall Street Journal, hired 12 Mensa members to "brainstorm brand extensions." They included a teacher, a computer expert and a firemen. Their ideas? Winnebago port-a-potties, collapsible luggage, hiking shoes, roadmaps, baby strollers and cross country skis. A more prosaic list of extensions would be hard to imagine. Yet while the going rate for focus groups is $4,000 to $6,000 per session, companies using the "Mensa Process" pay from $50,000 to $100,000, says the Journal. I guess someone, somewhere, will buy anything at any price. Let me repeat: "Focus groups know what they like and know what they hate, but they don't know what sells." And that includes Mensas. Especially Mensas.

Outstanding LV marketer quits; He was the best in the business

      Apr. 1, 2002: One of the outstanding marketers in the history of Las Vegas has retired. His efforts brought nationwide publicity and countless millions in cash to the city. But he was never affiliated with a casino, was persecuted by his enemies and eventually forced out of Las Vegas. On the eve of his resignation one of his colleagues said, "I'm saddened to see him leave. Tark, I love you." By now you know I'm talking about Jerry Tarkanian, former UNLV basketball coach, who retired from his position as head coach at Fresno State in mid-March. Jerry made UNLV a fixture in the NCAA basketball championship, winning the national title in 1990 and appearing four times in the Final Four. He put UNLV on the map as a basketball power, and his teams drew packed houses everywhere they played. His troubles with the NCAA finally forced him out, but those of us who studied the case found the vast majority of his "offenses" to be trumped-up nonsense. His final college record was 778-202; in 31 seasons only once did his team fail to reach 20 victories. Goodbye, Jerry. You were the best. P.S. The "I love you" comment came from longtime rival coach Don Chaney of Temple at the end of Jerry's final game, March 14.