MRI Casino Marketing Blog
Marketing Results Wins WebAward Competition

Marketing Results, Inc. is proud to announce that our redesign of Odawa Casino Resorts’ website won a 2015 WebAward for Outstanding Website in the Web Marketing Association’s Leisure category.

The WebAwards are the longest running competition in the industry. Now in its 17th year, WMA sets the standard of excellence for website development in each of the 96 industries. We’ll spare you the specifics of their scoring rubric, but what’s important is that the industry average score was a 53 where Odawa Casino Resorts’ website scored a 63.5.

Amy Morais, Digital Creative Director at Marketing Results, says the strategy was to focus on the customer experience. “The marketing team at Odawa asked us to develop a site that would outshine their competition. We gave their website a visual and structural overhaul, refreshing the brand image and streamlining the navigation to ensure quick access to site content and revenue drivers such as online hotel reservations.” WMA judges took note of these details and cited Odawa’s new website as a “very user-centric design.”

The functionality of the Odawa website is one of the most technologically advanced in the casino industry. In keeping with the customer service focus noted above, the site is a responsive design, making it better suited to Odawa’s growing database of mobile users.

“We also added online account functionality to the site, giving players access to their point balance, current offers, promotional entries and annual win/loss statements,” Morais said. “Players can redeem their offers online or directly at the property via their mobile phones, including Passbook integration for iPhone^® users.”

The home page in particular has to present many features at once. Odawa’s direction was to create a design that conveyed excitement and energy all while staying in tune with their local market and not coming off as “Vegas flashy”. Striking the right balance of color, imagery and type, we presented the property as a genuine, friendly and exciting escape for area gamblers, making the casino’s features easy to find and use.

One judge’s feedback noted the following about the creative design, “Everything feels earthy and warm, with a nice light blue accent color that is repeated in the site interface as well as the photography. Overall, this is a really well done and easy to use site."

We’d like to thank Odawa Casino Resort in partnering with us to create this integral element of their company’s digital marketing effort. We wish them continued success.