Download 1 Marketing Styles By Dennis Conrad I have worked with lots of

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Marketing Styles
By Dennis Conrad
I have worked with lots of different casino marketing executives in my career. Heck, I have
been one of them myself. And one thing these folks will never be accused of is being
clones of each other. Talk about characters! I’ll bet if you looked into the right sides of their
brains, you’d see something from one of those kids’ kaleidoscopes.
Marketing is an interesting department in which to work. There are opportunities to be
creative and often the marketing budgets are more than ample (there is a point to be made
here, but I won’t go there). And marketing often is a lot of fun, where casino marketing
execs regularly get to party with casino customers (the security guy or HR gal can’t say
that). The marketing department is also one area where qualified women might (remember,
I said “might”) be able to break the organizational glass ceiling a little more easily.
On the downside, working in marketing can involve incredibly long and irregular hours.
There can be a lot of heat when business gets soft or a casino competitor down the street
starts “giving away the store.” Marketing tends to get all of the blame and little of the credit
for a casino’s success. And it is common knowledge that “Marketing” is the one area where
nearly every employee has an opinion – what ads the casino should be running, what
promotions will pack the joint, how to get players to come in on graveyard, etc.
Yes, marketing is not an easy gig and as I was pondering on the thousands of hard working
professionals who toil in this arena, it occurred to me that while they may be as unique as
snowflakes, different marketing executives can fairly be classified by their different styles.
Here are the various marketing styles that I believe are prevalent in the modern day casino:
The Bean Counter – this is a rare marketing style, even though every casino executive
believes marketing should drive revenue and be measurable. For whatever reason, left
brain accountants tend to not gravitate into marketing – more often Marketing will be given
an “analyst” to help them sort through the numbers. But occasionally a Bean Counter lands
in Marketing and this style is categorized by poring over reports, cranking out analysis and
generally trying to add science to the marketing function. The Bean Counter spends 70% of
her time at a computer terminal and the other 30% in meetings. Rarely will you see her on
the casino floor.
The Media Personality – this is the ex-TV news personality or radio DJ who jumped over
to gaming when the new casino hit town. The glitz and glamour of the casino lights
attracted him and he assumed it would be a great, fun job. He has numerous contacts in
the media and the community, so all casino events are “splashy” and high profile. He
doesn’t really understand the gaming business but figures the old casino veterans will
handle their end of the business while he handles his.
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The Trainee – this marketing style is fairly common at tribal casinos. It usually involves an
intelligent, motivated, but inexperienced tribal member who pursues (or sometimes is
thrown into) a senior marketing position. This is a true “trial by fire” experience for the
trainee, who may receive a little mentoring, but more than likely learns to sink or swim
(quickly) on their own. This style is characterized by stops and starts with new marketing
programs (depending on who is in the marketing exec’s ear – GM, tribal council, ad
agency, etc) and a tendency to get everything done at the last minute, with very little long
term planning or organization.
The Account Exec – as many casinos have popped up in cities that previously did not
have gaming, oftentimes the only nearby “marketing” resource has been the local ad
agency. In many cases, a casino’s Marketing Director may have previously been the
account exec for its ad agency. This person is usually organized, intelligent and productive
but tends to believe that Advertising = Marketing, so he usually has a huge, multi-faceted
advertising budget, often to the exclusion of direct mail or players club promotions.
The Front Liner – this is the casino employee who worked in other departments and then
somehow landed in Marketing, often through the Players Club or Host areas. She actually
understands the gaming business and the importance of connecting with employees and
customers, but unless she has a great mentor or some significant quality training, she will
have a hard time overcoming her roots to achieve her full Marketing growth potential.
The Fuzzy Faced College Kid – especially in some of the larger casino companies, this is
the young recruit with the advanced Marketing degree. He is extremely comfortable with
technology and is very well versed in the latest, high-powered marketing techniques. But he
tends to not understand the everyday gambler (he doesn’t gamble himself and thinks the
act of gambling is “stupid”) and has a hard time learning to interact with a casino’s lifeblood
– its frontline employees.
I’m sure there may be other “Marketing Styles” and many individuals may not cleanly fall
into any single category. But what’s it all mean?
Simply put, I think most marketing execs (or any gaming execs for that matter) come to the
party with significant “gaps in their game.” The issue is not how you got there, but how you
are going to leverage this tremendously important Marketing role and use it to add ultimate
value to the casino. And from my experience, that takes a customer focus, an
understanding of the complex, integrated nature of marketing, an analytical eye,
relationship building skills and a willingness to work your tail off around effective marketing
principles. If you can do all this, no matter what your Starting Style, you can achieve the
rarest Marketing Style of all – The Highly Effective Marketing Pro.
------------------------------------------------------------Dennis Conrad is the President and Chief Strategist of Raving Consulting Company, a full service
marketing company specializing in assisting gaming organizations. He can be reached at 775-3297864 or e-mail [email protected]. Visit Raving’s web site at www.ravingconsulting.com.
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