by Andrew Cardno
The tribal casino resort industry is undergoing a significant transformation as it embraces the integration of sports betting and online gaming. This evolution introduces new marketing challenges and opportunities, requiring tribal resorts to adopt strategies that engage customers across both onsite and online platforms. Applying data activation to maintain a consistent brand message, leverage data activation, and personalize marketing efforts, can effectively cater to diverse audiences and maximize engagement.
New Dimensions: Sports Betting and Online Gaming
As tribal resorts enter the online sports betting and online gaming space, properties must now market to customers who engage with services both onsite and online. A multi-product approach demands consistent branding across platforms and innovative strategies to engage customers regardless of where they interact with the property’s offerings.
Personalized Marketing Strategies
To address the varied demographics a casino resort property attracts, developing personalized marketing strategies is essential. For older patrons, emphasize the unique experiences and land-based resort offers, such as live entertainment, dining specials, and loyalty programs. Special events and promotions can encourage these guests to visit more frequently.
For younger audiences, highlight the convenience and excitement of the property’s digital offerings. Utilize social media, email campaigns, and mobile apps to promote sports betting events, online tournaments, and exclusive bonuses. Gamification elements, such as leaderboards and rewards, can also foster engagement and loyalty among younger players. Use the data gathered on online customers’ interests and preferences to integrate digital and brick-and-mortar offerings, enticing them to visit the physical resort.
Crafting Effective Marketing Offers
Creating compelling marketing offers in a diversified revenue environment requires a strategic approach. Here are key steps to consider:
Integrated Data Management: Ensure that customer data from both online and traditional casino resort activities is integrated to allow for timely and relevant marketing interventions.
Customized Offers: Tailor offers to different customer segments. For instance, offer a hotel room to a high-value online player or provide free play incentives to encourage cross-activity engagement.
Event-Centric Marketing: Major sporting events provide prime opportunities to attract both online sports bettors and traditional players – extending these invitations to guests of these customers can encourage attendance and provide additional revenue opportunities. Host viewing parties and offer exclusive promotions during these events.
Cross-Generational Marketing: Design campaigns that appeal to both older and younger patrons, such as family-friendly events or intergenerational tournaments. This creates an inclusive atmosphere and encourages multi-generational visits to the casino.
Developing Sports Betting Promotions: Engage sports bettors with promotions tailored to their interests. This might include bonuses for wagers on popular sporting events, special promotions for major sports leagues, or tournaments that leverage the excitement of live sports.
Timely Marketing Opportunities: Sports betting thrives on timely engagement, especially during major sporting events. Implement timely marketing strategies such as sending targeted notifications to capitalize on the excitement of live events with special promotions or incentives to place additional wagers.
Leveraging Digital Channels: Utilize digital platforms such as sports betting apps, online gaming apps, and integrated loyalty platforms to communicate directly with customers. Personalized offers, event updates, and exclusive promotions ensure a consistent and engaging customer experience across all channels.
Measuring Customer Frequency Across Platforms
Tracking customer interactions across multiple channels is crucial for understanding engagement levels and identifying growth opportunities. Implement unified tracking systems that capture data from all touchpoints of the tribal enterprise, including visits to the physical casino resort, online gaming sessions, sports betting activity, non-gaming spend, and loyalty program participation. Consolidating this data into a single system allows you to gain a comprehensive view of each customer’s engagement.
Analyzing Customer Journeys
Understanding the customer journey is essential for optimizing the customer experience. Analyze the paths customers take – from their initial visit or online registration to their most recent activity – and identify key touchpoints where engagement occurs. For example, if data shows that online sports bettors are more likely to visit the casino resort for major events, create targeted promotions that encourage this behavior. Mapping out a 360-degree customer journey helps enhance engagement and drive cross-platform interactions.
Encouraging Repeat Engagement
To maintain customer loyalty and maximize frequency, develop strategies that encourage repeat engagement. Personalized offers, exclusive promotions, and rewards for frequent participation are effective tools for keeping customers engaged, whether they interact with the physical resort or online platforms.
Incorporating gamification elements, such as challenges or competitions, can further incentivize repeat visits. Reward customers for participating in both online and offline activities. By making engagement fun and rewarding, you increase customer loyalty and interaction frequency.
Addressing Challenges and Opportunities
The integration of sports betting and diversified revenue streams presents numerous opportunities, but it comes with challenges that must be addressed.
Data Integration and Timely Analytics: Invest in technology that can aggregate and analyze data from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive view of customer behavior. Responsive analytics are particularly important for sports betting, allowing you to react quickly to betting trends and customer activity.
Maintaining Brand Consistency: Consistency across platforms and touchpoints is key to building trust and loyalty. Whether customers engage with the physical casino, online gaming site, or digital sports betting platform, they should experience a cohesive and familiar brand identity.
Personalized Customer Engagement: Use data-driven insights to create tailored marketing messages that resonate with individual customers. For example, send targeted promotions to customers who frequently bet on a particular sport and customers who bet on various sport teams based in a specific region.
Diversifying Marketing Channels: With the integration of sports betting and online gaming, diversify marketing channels to reach a broader audience. In addition to traditional marketing methods, leverage digital channels such as social media, email campaigns, and mobile apps, which are particularly effective for engaging younger, tech-savvy customers.
Seizing Opportunities and Thriving in a Diversified Marketplace
As tribal resorts continue to diversify offerings with sports betting and online gaming, cohesive and dynamic marketing strategies are critical. By leveraging technology, implementing unified tracking systems, maintaining brand consistency, and personalizing engagement across platforms, resorts can effectively bridge the gap between online and onsite experiences. Addressing challenges like data integration and encouraging repeat engagement will position the tribal casino resort for long-term success in this rapidly changing industry. In this evolving landscape, success lies in adaptability – leveraging data activation to evolve marketing strategies and meet customers’ ever-changing needs.
Andrew Cardno is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI). He can be reached by calling (858) 299-5715 or email [email protected].
