MRI Casino Marketing Blog
Become a Familiar Voice to Your Players

As digital marketers, our singular focus is maximizing engagement with your players. That engagement, however, isn't just about the message itself but several other factors as well, including frequency, your brand, and the positive effect you have on your players’ lives.

While a factor like the ideal cadence, for instance – daily, weekly, three per week, or whatever frequency works best – is obviously important, a broader perspective is often beneficial to make sure you don’t lose sight of the forest through the marketing trees. Ultimately, your message is most impactful and engaging when you create value for your players, whatever that entails.

Leave Your Mark

If you're at all familiar with our blogs, you know that I often draw on my personal experiences to express my thoughts – everything Philadelphia, rock music, binge-worthy television, amongst others. So when Philly folk hero and rock DJ extraordinaire, Pierre Robert, was recently chosen for induction into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame, my thoughts naturally drifted to the bigger picture. For those of you outside of the listening audience, it’s pronounced Pierre Roh-bair.

Above: WMMR's Pierre Robert. Photo courtesy of Chorus Photography.

You see, Pierre is the type of personality they don’t make anymore, a Grateful Dead and Earth Day loving hippie whose charm has embedded ol’ Pierre into the Philly zeitgeist. For 38 years and counting, he’s been talking to the ‘Good Citizens’ of this proud city, myself included, mixing stories and music into an enlightening, entertaining concoction that’s become a part of the city’s culture. In fact, he’s been at it for so long, I pretty much just assume he’ll be on my radio forever, even though I know the only true permanent fixtures are taxes, Keith Richards, and my love of Springsteen’s music. Because some things never die.

Through his longevity, knowledge, personality, and long list of intangibles, Pierre has added value to the city of Philadelphia and its good citizens. He’s been there in good times and bad, whether it was Live Aid or – even though he’s admittedly a sports novice at best – celebrating with us when the Eagles win it all and commiserating with us when the Sixers stink up the joint.

Through it all, Pierre has been absolutely genuine, owning his personal faults and eccentricities while, just as importantly, remaining the FM Rock of Gibraltar for the city. His Workforce Blocks are an institution, a daily example of his dependability that’s served Philadelphia so well and for so long. I suppose that's the best way to express the value he's created for Philly – he's ingrained into the fabric of the city through his longevity and the sense of trust he’s developed with his audience, all through thick and thin. Pierre has left his mark, and Philadelphia is better because of it.

Lessons Learned

I realize I probably telegraphed this one, but the lessons learned are critical for every casino's marketing. Strive to be Pierre Robert to your players in some form. With every email you send, offer you extend, and event you hold, add value for your players and become an important part of their lives. Be iconic in your own unique way.

Granted, in the case of Mr. Robert, being on the air every weekday for nearly four decades has gone a long way in developing that shorthand and sense of trust with the audience. But, going back to my original thought, what’s important isn’t so much a narrow focus on something like the frequency of your message as it is the value you provide to your players.

Maybe sending out a daily email is the sweet spot, or perhaps a weekly message is that perfectly balanced consistency without becoming an annoyance. Whatever that ideal cadence is for you and your audience, the overarching goal is to develop trust from your players through your marketing efforts, to become that oasis that provides them excitement, fun, and even some needed escapism now and again.

Simply put, a dependable and consistent message that stays true to your brand, always provides value, and never lags on quality goes a long way in developing that critical trust and loyalty. Sure, value propositions are different for every casino operator, so creating value isn't always straightforward. Just customize your approach to your specific player segments and personas, remembering that one size rarely fits all. Stay true to that strategy, reliable for your own good citizens, and, like Pierre Robert, you’ll become an irreplaceable fixture in your players' lives.