1. Theme-Based Marketing: Bringing Venues to Life

Theme-based marketing, a hallmark of casino branding, involves crafting a unique identity by aligning ambiance, décor, and overall experience with a specific theme. The Venetian in Las Vegas exemplifies this strategy, where the romantic canals of Venice, Italy, come to life. Gondola rides and Venetian-inspired architecture provide an immersive and themed casino experience, creating a memorable atmosphere. Similarly, in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands takes theme-based marketing to new heights, seamlessly integrating modern luxury and opulence to offer visitors a cutting-edge, elegant, and culturally contextualized experience.

2. VIP Programs and Loyalty Rewards: Blending Exclusivity On-Site and Online

VIP programs are instrumental in catering to high-rollers and fostering customer loyalty, both within the walls of physical casinos and in the digital realm. In Macau, China, The Venetian Macao emphasizes high-stakes gaming and offers VIP programs with lavish rewards to enhance the gambling experience for VIPs and ensure repeat visits. The fusion of on-site and online rewards contributes to a seamless loyalty strategy, transcending the physical limitations of a casino.

Similarly, in the online gambling landscape of Malaysia, platforms prioritize VIP programs to cater to players. Many online casinos in Malaysia offer exclusive perks, personalized services, and enticing incentives like real money rewards to retain their most valuable patrons. Almost every online casino for real money in Malaysia extends bonuses and VIP programs that mirror the opulence and rewards found in their physical counterparts, creating a tailored and rewarding experience for players in the digital realm. This approach not only enhances player satisfaction but also ensures a strong and lasting connection between online casinos and their esteemed clientele.

3. Digital Marketing and Online Presence: Bridging the Physical and Virtual Divide

Recognizing the importance of online channels, casinos employ digital marketing strategies, utilizing social media, websites, and online advertisements to expand their reach beyond physical boundaries and to build brand loyalty among their customers. In countries like Singapore, where integrated resorts like Marina Bay Sands showcase robust online marketing, engaging websites, impactful social media campaigns, and targeted online advertisements connect with diverse global audiences. These efforts provide a seamless connection between the physical and virtual worlds.

In the flourishing online casino industry, particularly in the United Kingdom, online platforms leverage advanced digital marketing strategies to create engaging online environments. The dynamic approach involves interactive websites, compelling social media content, and precisely targeted online advertisements. This strategic use of digital marketing ensures a broad and global appeal for online casinos, highlighting their adaptability in reaching audiences across different regions.

4. Collaborations and Entertainment Events: An All-Encompassing Experience

Collaborations with luxury brands and hosting high-profile events enhance a casino’s exclusivity, attracting a discerning clientele both in-person and online. In Monaco, the Casino de Monte-Carlo frequently collaborates with high-end brands and hosts renowned events like the Monaco Grand Prix. These collaborations elevate the casino’s status and draw an elite audience seeking entertainment beyond traditional gaming, making the experience equally enticing for online patrons.

Similarly, in the realm of online gambling, platforms across the United States leverage collaborations with influencers to promote their exclusive offerings. Influencers bring a personalized touch to the online casino experience, showcasing the platform’s unique features, bonuses, and gaming options. By aligning with influential figures, online casinos enhance their visibility and appeal, attracting a diverse audience interested in personalized and curated gaming experiences.

5. Community Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Global Impact

Beyond gaming tables, community engagement and corporate social responsibility play a vital role in a casino’s marketing strategy, fostering positive relationships on-site and online. Casinos like Crown Melbourne in Australia actively engage with local communities through sponsorships and charitable initiatives. By contributing to social causes and promoting responsible gambling, these casinos build trust and credibility among patrons while making a positive impact on the community, transcending the physical and virtual realms.

6. Strategic Partnerships and Affiliations: Online and Offline Synergies

The pursuit of strategic partnerships and affiliations is a growing trend, creating synergies between on-site and online realms. Atlantic City casinos form alliances with sports teams, exemplified by the Atlantic City Blackjacks. This enhances the casino’s visibility and creates synergies between the worlds of sports and entertainment, attracting a diverse range of patrons both physically and virtually.

Conclusion: A Seamless Fusion of Realms

In the dynamic landscape of casino marketing, the fusion of on-site and online brilliance has become a testament to the industry’s adaptability and resilience. Theme-based immersion, VIP programs, digital prowess, collaborations, community engagement, and strategic partnerships contribute collectively to the success and differentiation of casinos worldwide. As the industry continues to evolve, these strategies showcase the ability of casinos to capture the hearts and minds of diverse audiences, seamlessly navigating the blend of physical and virtual realms.

The post 6 Marketing Strategies Used By Casinos To Stand Out appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

If you’re not familiar, Punchh’s Restaurant Marketing Cloud is the first platform that “bridges the gap” between restaurants and customers, “empowering restaurants to shape personalized offers that attract and engage more meaningfully with loyal customers.”

We’re told that Punchh’s clients include more than 85 prominent restaurant chains such as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, El Pollo Loco, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Pieology, Quiznos, and Smashburger.

“Consumers expect rich, digital experiences when they engage with the brands they love, and that includes being able to pay with their iPhone,” said Shyam Rao, CEO of Punchh. “By offering Apple Pay with Punchh-powered restaurant loyalty programs, we are not just facilitating a faster, easier and more secure method of payment to the industry, but enabling restaurants to tailor their experience in a way that drives increased visits and sales. It’s an industry game changer.”

To learn more about Punchh, click here.

The post Apple Pay Comes to Leading Restaurant Loyalty Program appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

While loyalty program professionals at leading brands struggle with diminishing member engagement with their loyalty programs, CodeBroker — a developer of mobile marketing solutions — has just announced the “CodeBroker Mobile Loyalty Experience Engine.”

We’re told that this is the first loyalty marketing solution that gives marketers an omnichannel approach to mobile loyalty program member acquisition and engagement.

“Market trends clearly show that loyalty program participation is decreasing, so we developed this solution to help loyalty marketers address the challenges of both loyalty program member acquisition and engagement,” said CodeBroker CEO Dan Slavin. “Consumers have their own preferred mobile communications channel, whether that’s via text, Facebook, mobile wallet, email, or a mobile app. So we developed a complementary solution that marketers can plug into existing loyalty platforms to give consumers on-demand access to their loyalty card, rewards, and points via their favorite mobile channel.”

The CodeBroker Mobile Loyalty Experience Engine addresses many of the consumer complaints regarding loyalty programs that were discovered in the CodeBroker 2017 Shopper Loyalty research. Although consumers prefer to access programs via smartphones, there are a range of different communications channels that mobile provides — and consumer preference is across the board, which is why loyalty marketers need an omnichannel mobile approach to both acquisition and engagement.

More information about the program is available here.

The post CodeBroker Touts New Mobile Loyalty Experience Engine appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post from Howard Schneider, Senior Loyalty Consultant, Kobie Marketing

As 2017 begins, the majority of marketers plan to devote more of their budget to driving customer loyalty. This makes sense – as the retail space grows more competitive and price comparisons ever more available, marketers are hoping that brand loyalty will keep current shoppers from jumping ship.

But implementing a good loyalty program takes time and effort, and the wrong strategies can be more of a drain on resources than a boost to customer relationships. How can you design a program that benefits you and your customers?

As market leaders look for differentiated and creative ways to engage their customers and earn their loyalty, here are a few tips to guide the best loyalty program practices:

• Differentiate by being true to your brand
  First, understand that no two loyalty programs should look alike, although the truth is that many marketers start their program design by matching their competition. Your strategy should play to the strengths of your brand, informed by the reasons customers shop with you in the first place.

Are you a luxury brand known for personalized service? Then your rewards need to go beyond delivering dollars off rewards. That’s why you’ll see a brand like Neiman Marcus offering wardrobe consultations. Are you a lifestyle brand for savvy young professionals? As a fashion brand, you might offer a sweepstakes that gives members an opportunity to be a part of a photo shoot or meet top designers.

Your loyalty program should support what your brand is already bringing to the table. There are dozens of retail programs offering rewards of $5 off, $10 off or more – simply match that structure and you’ve just invited your customers to compare rewards like they compare prices. You may need the dollar off reward for table stakes, but you need to go beyond that to make loyal customers feel appreciated and create emotional loyalty.

• Solve problems for your customers
  Solving frequent problems goes hand in hand with differentiating your brand, because the first brand to do it in their industry owns the innovation. Think of how the popularity of Starbucks Rewards burgeoned once the mobile app combined paying for your beverage and earning stars into one quick and easy scan – no one remembers that there was a program prior to the mobile app version of Starbucks Rewards.

Similarly, the Hilton Honors app’s virtual key functionality enables members to skip the lobby and go straight to their rooms. This can save a member as much as 30 minutes at a busy airport hotel after all the 5:00 p.m. flights land and the lines at the desk become reminiscent of the lines for the most popular ride at a theme park. Such features solve problems and provide the brand with a way to show they care about how their members experience their brand.

• Reward customers for helping you out
  Loyalty is a two-way street and today’s customers recognize that there is an economic value in posting images of themselves using, eating or wearing your products. You should consider rewarding customers for activities that have a proven hard value to you, beyond their direct purchases.

For example, an increasing number of brands reward shoppers with points for posting online reviews. This gives you valuable feedback about products and serves as word-of-mouth marketing. Additionally, members might earn points for referring a friend who makes a purchase. The trick is to identify the economic value of the activity and award the appropriate number of points for it.

• Integrate your mobile offerings
  Let’s face it: not many people will keep your brand’s reward card in their wallet or on a keychain anymore. For customers to adopt a loyalty program, they need an on-the-go experience that is streamlined and convenient. The mobile apps that gain popularity are those on which customers can quickly check and redeem rewards and even pay for their purchase using those rewards in variable amounts or for items in a regularly updated reward catalog.

Combining payment, rewards, offers and coupons in one convenient app supports a frictionless shopping experience. Brands like Target have been piloting mobile apps where customers can access information about their rewards, scan barcodes to check for deals, search store maps and even report transactions missing points by simply scanning their receipt. They can also tweak the appearance of the app based on their liking – a simple perk that personalizes the experience and creates an engagement opportunity.

Customer loyalty is more valuable than ever, and competitive brands are raising the standards for the rewards model. Shoppers expect more from their favorite brands, and they’ll move on quickly if they feel more appreciated with competitors. To gain a leg up in 2017, a strong loyalty program remains a necessity.

The post 3 Tips For Perfecting Your Brand’s Loyalty Program appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post from Phillip Adcock, the founder and Managing Director of shopper research agency Shopping Behaviour Xplained Ltd.

Technology has completely changed the way that customers behave. They are more demanding and expect more than ever before.

But how can you cater to this new group of consumers? And how can you keep up with your competitors? Let’s take a look at seven key tactics you can implement to adapt and thrive in this digital generation.

1) Your Customers Need to Be Able to Reach You Directly on Their Preferred Platform

Formerly, one of the best ways to make yourself open to customers was to provide a call centre. But times have changed; phone calls are increasingly seen as unnecessarily expensive and time-consuming. Being on hold will make customers frustrated and more likely to take their frustration out online.

While retaining a call centre or phone number (depending on the size of your business) makes you easily accessible to older customers, shopper research has shown that younger customers prefer to conduct their business — and their communications — online.

Emails and, more prominently, social media, are the best ways to reach your customers. Making yourself available and interacting with your customers online means customers have a friendlier, more informal relationship with you — and have more goodwill for any issues with their orders.

2) Take Note of the ‘New Normal’ and Make Sure You Meet Customer Expectations

The retail environment is a fast-moving, ever-evolving environment. Shopper behaviour analysis makes it clear that what was novel and surprising quickly becomes the new normal now. Buying online, introduced in 1994, is now so widespread that many stores now conduct their business exclusively online. Likewise, innovations such as free shipping or next-day delivery are becoming elements that consumers expect — and a lack of them could even be a dealbreaker. Shoppers expect quick, free shipping, mobile sites and the ability to interact with brands online.

3) Your Competitors are No Longer Just Nearby Stores. They are Also Online and Overseas

The international nature of the internet allows for consumers to reach a far wider range of retailers. With overseas importers able to ship products at incredibly low prices, it is worth considering whether you are losing custom to eBay or Amazon.

You are unlikely to be able to compete with overseas importers without making serious compromises. If you find yourself up against online retailers, think about your unique selling point. Are your products fairtrade? Do you offer unbeatable customer service? How is your returns policy? Do you have a physical store in which shoppers can browse? By providing a USP, you can ensure that shoppers will seek you out, instead of a faceless internet retailer.

4) Your Shoppers Aren’t Only Researching Online at Home. They’re Also Researching Online While Shopping in Your Store

Money is tight at the moment and shoppers are on the lookout for the best deal possible. This means that they will be comparing and contrasting prices constantly. They’ll even be researching on their mobile while shopping in-store.

Many stores combat this by providing a price-matching policy, attracting shoppers by selling products at prices they can find online. If you offer a price-match guarantee, make sure it is clearly visible to shoppers — and that you can cover the costs of price-matching.

The best way to distract shoppers from their phones are with bright, dynamic displays. These use items such as bright or moving lights or mirrors (as customers are easily distracted by their own reflection). Distracting shopper eyes from their phone screens is key to achieving sales.

5) You Can Win or Lose a Sale on the Strength of Your Mobile Site or App Usability

Mobile users will be making up more and more of your central purchaser group as time goes by. This means that a functional, mobile-optimized site and an attractive, accessible mobile app are a crucial part of your online presence. It may seem like unnecessary work, but it can be the difference between making and losing a sale with a new customer.

6) Shopping Needs to Be Quick, Easy and Not Occupy Much Thought

Something that is in short supply at the moment is time. It’s always been the case that there aren’t enough hours in the day, but with technology bridging home and work life, many shoppers are short on time — so short on time that they barely have time to think.

Taking a leaf out of Amazon’s book, you need to make shopping as easy and as thoughtless as possible. Amazon’s Dash buttons, initially considered a joke, allow shoppers to re-order products around their house at the push of a button. While Dash buttons may not work for every product, the overall concept does; make it as quick and as easy as possible to buy. Requiring pages of signup information puts customer off, as does a complicated checkout system. By offering checkout via sites such as PayPal, you can make it faster to buy — and harder to regret.

7) Consider the Future. Are Elements Such as Virtual Reality Right for Your Store?

Virtual reality is, at the moment, a marketing gimmick that has been both commended and mocked. With retailers such as IKEA releasing basic-level virtual reality environments, many stores are considering whether virtual reality is right for them. And while it is right for some scenarios — trying to fit furniture into an existing room, for example — it isn’t necessarily right for others. Customers will tend to experience only frustration; for example, if they ‘try on clothes’ in virtual reality, only to find that the sizing is different in real life. Unless you tailor clothes to fit your customer’s exact sizes, clothes in virtual reality are never going to quite match those in real life.

It is essential for retailers — whatever the product and whatever the customer base — to carry out shopper research to allow them to be in tune with technological developments and market evolutions. As well as allowing you to make innovative changes, gaining customers ahead of the trend, it also allows you to keep in touch with your customer base, ensuring they stick with you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phillip Adcock is the founder and Managing Director of shopper research agency Shopping Behavior Xplained Ltd — an organization using shopper research techniques to explain and predict customer behavior. SBXL operates in seventeen countries for hundreds of clients including Mars, Tesco and B&Q.

The post 7 Ways Technology Has Changed How Consumers Behave In-Store and Online appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Loyalty programs have become a routine part of consumers’ purchasing behavior and companies are becoming increasingly innovative in their strategies to ensure customers remain devoted to them. There is no definite answer to the question “how much more does it cost a business to gain a new customer rather than retain an existing one?” Some estimate the costs to be between 4 and 10 times more to acquire a new customer than preserve a current one, but in some industries, that figure can jump significantly higher. All we can say is that customer retention is hugely important and if not done correctly businesses will likely require a significant increase in their marketing budget.

Although the roots of loyalty programs can be traced back as far as the late 18th century, it was not until the early 1980s that we saw the inception of what we recognize today as a fully fledged loyalty program. That program was what we know today as the frequent-flyer scheme, which continues today with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and JetBlue TrueBlue considered the best current US carriers. Nowadays loyalty programs come in a range of guises and there are numerous ways customers can use their decision-making power to gain value in a range of industries.

Points

This is the most conventional loyalty program methodology. Recurrent customers strive toward a certain number of points which they redeem to receive some type of reward. The reward can vary from a discount to a unique customer experience.

Done right, these programs can look like the BitCasino VIP Club where clients play games like roulette, slots or blackjack regularly to edge closer and closer to qualifying for VIP prizes such as a Bose home entertainment system or an Apple Macbook Pro. Players also get access to a personal VIP Hostess who organizes custom-designed packages according to the customer’s preferences.

Done wrong, these schemes take the form of what customers have come to recognize as increasingly valueless coffee store cards. These used to be a fairly simple system of stamps on a card that resulted in a free coffee after a specified number of stamps had been collected. These days the big coffee houses use sophisticated cards that are a rich source of consumer data for the companies, yet the value they offer has significantly decreased from the old “buy 10 get 1 free” stamp system.

The points system can also be found in use at all major supermarkets and airlines, and the value they offer can be substantial. However, it is worth considering that customers will often now use a comparison site such as MySupermarket.com or WanderBat.com and could produce an act of disloyalty in order to see what deals are proposed in order to lure them back.

Join the VIP

This approach to customer loyalty invites customers to make a one-time or annual payment that entitles them to circumvent purchasing obstacles that non-members must negotiate. By distinguishing the issues that may cause customers to leave, businesses are able to develop a fee system that benefits both the customer and the company.

This system works best for businesses that prosper through frequent purchases and Amazon Prime represents a perfect case study in how this program operates. For $99 Amazon Prime members get free two-day shipping on millions of items as well as music, video and photo storage benefits. With Amazon Prime and any other paid-for system, customers are likely to analyze their shopping habits and projected expenditure and will need to find value in joining before committing to a payment for the program. These types of programs generally only make sense to customers that are already loyal to the business and are then able to pay the nominal fee to gain savings.

The post Loyalty Programs: Do They Work? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

This partnership provides Emarsys B2C Marketing Cloud e-commerce customers loyalty programs based on rewarding behaviors and engagement — another powerful step in customer retention and increasing customer lifetime value.

As most loyalty programs are transactional, using a spend-a-dollar, earn-a-point approach, Emarsys chose Antavo because the company instead rewards behaviors and engagements.  With e-commerce customers, this includes purchases, friend referrals, social sharing, content consumption, and contest entries, among other behaviors and engagements.

With this partnership, MMW is told, Emarsys clients in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Ireland can now take advantage of Antavo’s loyalty programs within their online stores, to increase repeat purchases and customer lifetime value.

“We are excited to welcome Antavo as our first customer loyalty partner. This is indicative of the commitment we have to customer retention,” said Adi Topaz, Business Unit Manager for Emarsys. “Antavo’s unique approach to customer loyalty has proven success, and we feel that they will make a significant difference to our e-commerce clients.”

The post Antavo, Emarsys Partner to Provide New E-commerce Loyalty Programs appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Now comes news that “improving the overall experience can be beneficial not just for customers, but for marketers as well.”

“More than eight in 10 business executives find that improving customer experiences is fundamental to future success, as well as improved brand reputation, according to January 2016 research,” reports eMarketer.

That data came from consulting company The Storytellers, which surveyed executives from companies in the top 500 of the Forbes Global 2000.

“When asked about the benefits of improving customer experience, 88 percent of executives said that it’s fundamental to future success,” according to eMarketer. “The same number also said that improving the customer experience improved brand reputation.”

Other rewards? Better returns, to be sure, and a whole lot of lovely loyalty.

“Meanwhile, a poor customer experience can affect future purchases for the worse,” explained eMarketer. “Separate data from Onestop found that nearly half of U.S. digital buyers said that it’s unlikely that they would make another purchase if they had a bad experience.”

The post The Reward for Marketers Who Offer Best Customer Experiences? Better Reputation and Loyalty, for Starters appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Dignan — who calls Starbucks “a digital innovation machine” — thinks enterprises everywhere need to take notice.

What’s Starbucks doing that’s so brilliant?

“The company’s Mobile Order and Pay rollout have juiced sales,” notes Dignan. “Its apps are driving sales velocity and technology partnerships are bolstering the vibe in Starbucks’ locations.”

The fiscal 2015 numbers are impressive, especially considering the state of the economy. America’s comparable stores were up 7 percent due to a 3 percent increase in traffic. China and Asia Pacific comp sales were up 9 percent. Revenue for the year surged 17 percent to $19.2 billion as $3.6 billion flowed to the bottom line.

CEO Howard Schultz said on Starbucks’ fourth quarter earnings conference call:

“By anticipating and beginning to invest many years ahead of the mobile technology curve, Starbucks today is defining customer-facing and apartment-facing mobile and retail experiences of the future,” said CEO Howard Schultz during the earnings call. “And the technology innovations we are introducing are further strengthening our brand, improving our efficiency and in-store execution, increasing our profitability, enabling us to further extend our lead over competitors, and, most importantly, enabling us to deliver an elevated Starbucks experience to our customers.”

Mobile and digital, it turns out, go great with coffee.

“Add it up and mobile payment now accounts for 21 percent of all transactions at Starbucks,” Dignan notes. “Starbucks’ loyalty program, My Starbucks Rewards, has more than 20 million members around the world.”

There’s more to glean from the whole article. It’s a good wake up call — kind of like that Starbucks coffee millions line up for every morning. To check it out, click here.

The post Starbucks’ Digital Dominance is Cup of Strong Info Every Business Should Study appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

A rep for the company tells MMW that they have just closed a new $12M investment round led by Causeway Media Partner and including participation from a number of other companies.

“The investment is the latest milestone for SessionM, having seen its revenue double every year for the past three years while booking eight consecutive quarters of double-digit sequential growth,” a provided statement reads.

The company says its latest funding will allow SessionM to roll out its new enterprise solutions faster and execute on a growing number of major multi-year deals.

“Our 1,500 app developer clients know that our platform keeps customers and keeps them engaged longer,” says SessionM CEO and co-founder Lars Albright in a news release. “Big brands now know that mobile is the central point for customer engagement and isn’t just about apps. With the SessionM mobile enterprise platform, they’re now able to act accordingly across the whole consumer experience to better engage, message and target their most valuable consumers. We do all this while integrating with existing solutions and in the process make the entire marketing stack more intelligent and effective.”

The post SessionM Bags New Bucks to Speed Up Push into Enterprise Marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.