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Archive 2000 *
Archive 2002 *
Archive 2003/4
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Dec. 23, 2001: |
| My
best tip of the year. Have a delightful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
It's supposed to be that way. Don't fight it. Let it happen. Amen. |
Dec. 12,
2001: |
| Did
you see the headline on Carol Hymowitz's column in the Wall Street Journal
on Sept. 18, just a week after terrorists pulled off their mass murders of
Sept. 11? "In a crisis, leaders put people first, but also get back to business."
I liked it so much I wrote my entire IGWB column on the theme. |
Dec. 1,
2001: |
| How
many times have I written and spoken the following? "The headline is the
single most important element of an ad." Going back to 1985, maybe several
hundred times. It's the best piece of advice I've ever given--and the most
ignored. So let me approach it a bit differently. "Unless your headline contains
a benefit or a promise, it's worthless."
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Nov. 22, 2001: |
|
In my second book, "Secrets of Casino Marketing," I stress the importance
of promise, clarity and brevity in driving casino traffic. The Las Vegas
Golden Nugget's three-word ad is a perfect example. The ad read, "Single
Deck Blackjack." But it wasn't the shortest ad on record. If you've forgotten
the all-time champ, check page 133 and 134. |
Nov. 12,
2001: |
|
If there is one tip I always give to promotion directors, it's this: make
your promotions bold, but simple enough for everyone to understand. If you
can't sum up your promotion in 10 or 15 words, it's too complex. If prospects
have to spend time trying to figure out what you're talking about, they give
up. Here's the way I summed up one floor promotion. "Play slots, get drawing
tickets, win cash 25 times a day." Just 11 words. |
Nov. 1,
2001: |
|
You've probably sunk a ton of dough into your new Year's Eve invitations
and they're ready to go unto the mail. So slip this in your file for 2002.
In October of next year, test your new Year's Eve list with a short letter.
You could bring in more than 25 percent of your VIPs this way, saving you
a bundle on production and printing.
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October 23, 2001: |
|
Why do some casino marketers deliberately make their direct mail hard to
read and understand? I have no idea. But I still get letters with paragraphs
eight and nine lines long. When a paragraph runs more than four or five lines
long the mind automatically thinks, "Uh, Oh! To hard to read." Why handicap
your mail? Keep paragraphs short. Your letters read faster and comprehension
improves. |
October 12, 2001: |
|
Too often, marketers get desperate during a downturn and mail every house
list they can get their hands on. Too bad. It runs up the production and
mailing costs without delivering a corresponding increase in response. Better
to temporarily cut off the customers who haven't responded to your last five
or six offers and concentrate on new and improved offers to the
faithful. |
October 1, 2001: |
|
I write my casino marketing column for IGWB Magazine two months ahead, so
my reaction to the murders of Sept. 11 won't appear until November. In the
column, I talk about crisis marketing, and steps to take to regain business
following a disaster. One of my points is, stay positive. If you complain
that casino play and occupancy has fallen so sharply that your store may
not recover for years, it's self-defeating. The newspaper guys love a story
like that. Bad news always hits the front page. But it depresses the local
market because it contributes to uncertainty. Say something positive. There
are plenty of upbeat stories in the casino business. Find them. Tell
them.
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September 21, 2001: |
|
A good customer sends a letter chewing you out. Cause for alarm? Nope, just
the opposite. Complaints are magnificent opportunities to cement the
relationship. If a customer thinks you actually investigated his beef, he's
thrilled. So if you follow up and assure him it won't happen again, you not
only turn him around--you might have him for life. |
September 10, 2001: |
|
The most effective sales letters all have one thing in common.The writers
write "talking," not "writing." Think about it. When you talk to someone
you use contractions; you end sentences with prepositions; you speak in
incomplete sentences. And that's the best way to speak to customers and
prospects. |
September 1, 2001: |
|
Be careful if you're mailing a sweepstakes promotion into Texas. The Texas
Sweepstakes Act, signed into law on June 17, goes into effect on Nov. 1.
Andrew Lustigman (The Lustigman Firm, New York), analyzing the law for DM
News, writes, "Compliance seems nearly impossible...any marketer mailing
into Texas must review the law carefully."
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August 22, 2001: |
|
Too bad about the name "teaser" for those messages on the outer envelopes
of direct mail offers. Too many casinos take it literally, and throw in a
joke or a meaningless line. That's a sin. The teaser should get your envelope
opened, which means it should relay a benefit or a promise--something that
hits the reader's self-interest. Never just toss it away. |
August 10, 2001: |
|
What do you tell your customers and prospects in the first paragraph of your
direct mail offers? Do you waltz around making pedestrian claims or do you
come to point fast? Do you take five or six lines to say it, or just a couple?
Research has shown it's more effective to lead with the offer, and to hold
that first paragraph to one or two lines. |
August 1, 2001: |
|
What's the missing element in most casino floor promotions? It's fun, which
is hard to create and hard to sustain. But there's one inexhaustible source
of "fun" that's always at your disposal. It's your customers. Don't just
hold a drawing and hand over a cash prize. Figure out a way to involve the
customers. Hint: I devote an upcoming column in IGWB to the subject.
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July 26, 2001: |
|
When a salesman ends his in-person pitch he always asks for the order. It's
the same in direct mail--or should be. Too many casino letters end with
non-motivating lines such as, "Have a nice day." Instead, the last paragraph
should tell the prospect exactly what you want him to do (as an example,
"Dial the 800 number now and accept my offer"). |
July 19, 2001: |
|
What makes a good direct mail offer even better? It's when you emphasize
how few qualify for it. When you bring exclusivity into play, the prospect
realizes he's giving up something of value if he doesn't accept. In my letters
directed at high end players I often tell the prospects that I'll hold the
offer open for three weeks. After that, I add, I'll have to release it to
another customer. |
July 12, 2001: |
|
In advertising surveys, direct headlines outpull indirect headlines 4-1.
Why? Because direct headlines include a benefit or a promise; indirect headlines
hide the offer and depend on cleverness to attract readers. Here's an indirect
headline from the June 28, Wall Street Journal: "There's No Such Thing As
Unfair Competition." Here's a direct headline from the same edition: "Grey
Goose Rated No. 1 Tasting Vodka in the World." The "Unfair" headline attempted
to sell Compaq's new Pocket PC, but how would anyone in the market for such
a product know that from a quick glance--which is all that ad headlines get?
The Grey Goose headline is a clear promise to vodka drinkers. |
July 1, 2001: |
|
"Up the Loyalty Ladder" by Murray Raphel and Neil Raphel is a treasure chest
of common sense. Here's an excerpt that may give you a new insight into your
customers: "A recent survey of 'Things That People Worry About" broke down
as follows: Things that never happen, 40%; things that can't change, 30%;
needless worry about health, 12%; petty and miscellaneous worry, 10%; real
problems, 8%."
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June 21, 2001: |
|
Thank goodness "jump start" has quietly disappeared from the copywriting
vocabulary. Cute at first, it quickly turned into the worst kind of cliche.
Here are other words and phrases to strike from your copy: "Hopefully," the
prefix "ultra," "great," and the absurd claim of "nonstop fun." |
June 12, 2001: |
|
The failure to give yourself enough lead time is one of biggest mistakes
you can make in a casino promotion. For some reason, floor promotions usually
degenerate into last-minute chaos; the ads miss the deadline; the signs are
still being screened; the truck with the brochures pulls in late; the word
doesn’t reach the dealers, and the master of ceremonies fails to show.
My tactic is to set an artificial early deadline that delivers all the collateral
material two weeks before the start date. |
June 1, 2001: |
|
When the advertising copy is perfectly clear to you, be wary. You know the
offer backwards and forwards and you’re probably reading it in the privacy
of your office. Prospects rarely give their undivided attention to an ad.
And they’re bombarded from all sides with competing messages. Bottom
line: it’s a mistake to think the customer actually reads and understands
all your advertising.
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May 22, 2001: |
|
"The function of the envelope is similar to a storefront," writes Jeffrey
Dobkin in his book "Uncommon Marketing Techniques," Dobkin says, "The envelope
should excite reluctant potential customers enough to come inside. Tempt
them. Lure them. Tease them. In every way, the envelope is designed to make
the prospect open it. This is the only objective of the envelope." |
May 11, 2001: |
|
Murray and Neil Raphel, in their book "Up the Loyalty Ladder," define the
Japanese word "kaizen." It means "constant improvement." If you follow that
philosophy, say The Raphels, you’ll learn that customer service is NOT
as important as customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction means getting
the job right the first time. "Most US businesses spend five times as much
for a new customer as they do on the customer they already have," the Raphels
write. "Doesn’t make sense." |
May 1, 2001: |
|
Always put a deadline on your direct mail and e-mail offers. Even if the
target likes the offer, there's a natural inclination to put off a reply.
Setting a close-in deadline creates urgency, and the threatened loss of a
sure thing is more powerful than the expectation of gain.
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April 24, 2001: |
|
Mike Eide, the former president of slot manufacturer VLC, Inc., used a pretty
good tip in his back cover quote for my "Secrets of Casino Marketing." Said
Mike, "John's insight into the casino marketplace allows us to effectively
target our marketing dollars. He made it very simple. If we can't measure
it, we don't do it." I still live by that philosophy. |
April 12, 2001:
|
|
What, in our business, is always described as "fun" when it's really not.
Give yourself a gold star if you guessed the hoary old casino "Fun Book."
Most of them are dreary and cheap-looking. But in my book, "Secrets of Casino
Marketing," I tell you how to make them come alive. Hint: I headlined a match
play coupon "When the dealer smiles, check your wallet." |
April 1, 2001:
|
|
To add a little fun to the direct mail letters I write for casinos, I always
try to say something you'd never expect to hear from a General Manager. In
a recent letter in which the GM talked about a new restaurant, I had him
say, "The Italian Hoagies are bigger than Shaquille's feet." I never try
for a laugh, but I do try for a smile.
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March 22, 2001: |
| If
you're a casino advertising director and the entertainment VP says his show
is a flop because you didn't spend enough money to promote it, accept the
blame cheerfully. Wait for the superstar who always packs the house. When
he shows up run just one ad, then take credit for the sellouts. |
March 11, 2001:
|
|
Here's a tip from the late David Ogilvy: "I admit that research
is often misused by agencies and their clients. They have a way of using
it to prove they are right. They use research as a drunkard uses a lamp-post--not
for illumination, but for support." |
March 1, 2001:
|
|
Researcher Colin Whieldon compared comprehension scores when
body copy was set in a serif type face such as the one you're reading now,
and in a modern sans serif type face, Helvetica. Comprehension with the serif
face was 67%. With the sans serif Helvetica it dropped to 12%. If you set
your ads and letters in Helvetica or Geneva or any similar sans serif type,
you're not playing the odds.
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Feb. 21, 2001: |
| I
admire Jeffrey Dobkins, the author of "Uncommon Marketing Techniques," because
he's such a knowledgeable and prolific writer. But he's also the first guy
to develop a sensible definition of the word "marketing." Says Jeffrey,
"Marketing is selling to a defined audience. When you offer your products
to anyone, that's selling. When you place your customers in groups you can
define, separate them from everyone else in the world and target your sales
efforts specifically to them, that's marketing." |
Feb. 10, 2001:
|
|
When you're really rolling, even the wrong moves work. Success
appears to be endless, effortless. That's the time to plant your roots deeply.
Spend more on marketing, not less. Press your advantage. The bad times will
come; you can count on it. |
Feb. 1, 2001:
|
|
Demographics are helpful in prospecting for new business, but they lack one
important quality. Can you find $25 blackjack players and $1 slot players
by looking at their family incomes, their professions and their automobiles?
No, because demographics don't tell you if a prospect's brain has rotated
a quarter turn to the left, inspiring him to bet his money in your store
knowing the odds are always in your favor.
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Jan. 22, 2001: |
|
How many times have you glanced at an ad, liked the looks of it and okayed
it to run? Approving ads this way usually results in disaster. Why? Because
you've set aside the court of public opinion in favor of your own judgment.
What you like means nothing. The true measure of a "good" ad is its ability
to sell something. It's far better to test first on a small scale, let the
public give you the answer and then commit your budget. Guessing is obscenely
wasteful. |
Jan. 12, 2001:
|
|
Jeffrey Dobkin, the author of "Uncommon Marketing Techniques," tells of his
consulting experience with a real estate company whose sales were slipping.
When he asked the owner the objective of his 4-line listing ads, the man
replied, "To sell houses." Dobkin replied, "No one buys a house from a 4-line
listing. The objective is to generate a phone call." This simple fact had
eluded the owner for 50 years--just as it still eludes many casino
marketers. |
| Jan.
2, 2001: |
|
High tech experts advise e-mailers to keep their notes short and to the point.
Long messages, they claim, don't work. Marketing "experts" used to say the
same thing about direct mail--disdaining long letters. But long, benefit-filled
letters consistently outpulled short ones. So why won't long copy work on
e-mail? The answer is, it will--provided the message hits the prospect's
self interest. I subscribe to a dozen e-mail newsletters, some five to six
pages long, and I read every word. Why? It's in my self interest.
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