EY! 2012 inaugurated its series of conferences with a talk about marketing in slots

Full house, Mariano Molina Zavalía, Marketing Manager of Trilenium Casino and moderator of the talk, moderator, welcomed the public and proposed a series of subjects related to the evolution of slots and the new experiences related to the entertainment of players at the casinos.

“Marketing becomes more important for operators”, said Eduardo Aching, Konami VP of International Sales. Not only slots but also restaurants and shows.  All the casinos have the same equipment so they are not differentiating items for the operator any more. Marketing seeks to retain players and obtain new players, two important themes that the marketing director must have in mind”.

In this sense, he remarked that the management system is a key tool to know which is the player’s profile and to do marketing campaigns. The market trend of casinos is to invest in tools in this sense. Obtaining the information in real time to transform a bad experience in a positive experience, such as bringin incentives for players, for example.

Jaime Achire Soto, Aristocrat Product manager Marketing Latin America, adds that those type of information is also used for the design of machines and the development of games and cabinets. Richard Hellwig, Merkur Sales Director Latin America, also remarks that, previously, regulation did not allow obtaining information about customers, which opens many frontiers to think not only about winnings but also about offering a better customer experience.
Then, Robin Loyed, IGT USA, Director of Marketing for Operators, added: “Speaking not only as a supplier but also as a player, living in Las Vegas, the most competitive market in the world, I can tell you that the most successful are the ones that connect with their players, that are closer and closer to them, with the great marketing tools available today.”

When talking about market research, Hellwig said that the company not only performs focus groups but also is present in casinos to collect information on site. Besides, ACHING highlighted the marketing program as the key for the operator to know the players. “We base in two factors. We have the tester bank, which brings us a good feedback because it is about real players. However, the casino knows the most about the players, so another factor to consider are meetings with customers to understand the players behaviour. It is a joint work with operators.

Loyed affirmed: “IGT conducts market research worldwide. IGT develops games for all market segments region by region. There are many types of players. A good example is a casino in Las Vegas which invested a lot of money in a mystery progressive application. Many people went out of the casino unaware of the fact that they had won because the screen was very little so people did not see the message”.

Jaime Achire Soto pointed that operators know what type of things bring an added value to customers: location, illumination, etc, to be able to bring an adecquate equipment or some specific item in a specific region.  Hellwig added that the company is continuously obtaining information about their customers to improve the products, considering the advantage of its double condition as manufacturers and gaming operators, which currently manages around 300 casinos.

The next issue had to do with the technological evolution in the different Latin American markets:

Aching affirmed that the Latin American market is quite mature in countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Colombia. “Surely a simple and basic game is necessary for players that are not accustomed to technology. However we cannot forget that there are many new players that were born with video games and are currently in their twenties. We have to consider that new games seek for more interactive features. We must adapt to the different age groups. The key is that the marketing team verifies what type of products the casino needs. As manufacturers, we must bring diversity of games, but casinos have to be aware of their needs. The older people are, the least complicated games must be. The younger players are, the more interactive and complex games must be”.

Achire Soto highlights the importance of training for the operator and the player. Sometimes operators have many products to choose, so, in his view the manufacturer is the one that has to bring him all the information.

Hellwig sees in South America two important groups of players that he does not find in other regions. “Many couples or groups come here to spend time and have fun. Before going to the cinema or the restaurant, they go to the casino. This is a very different segment from the player that just wants to win and not to be bothered. People that visit the casino for a short time want funny games. That’s why we offer a range of games, may be high or low volatility, according to the player profile”. Loyed said that the adoption of new technologies is as strong and significant as in other parts of the world. There are lots of segments in between so you have to consider their needs.

Regarding the relationship between operators and manufacturers, Aching assures that manufacturers are willing to work together with operators. “There are new financial models: the world changes, not just in the gaming sector and we have to adapt to the market. We have to be aware about the habits inside the casino and bring incentives to the player”. Achire Soto agrees and remarks the issue of learning. “There are ways to work together, for example, provide the equipment for operators to have machines in test to learn how to play and be able to communicate it to the player. The time factor in the learning process of those players will mark the trend in the players preferences”.

Loyed said that IGT thinks about the relationship with the operators as a partnership. “There are many different ways in which we can work together. Testing those games on the floor is one way to do that. There are also other forms of entertainment our there (Movies, etc), so the gaming experience must be funny."

Finally Zavalia referred to the trends in slots in the next 5 years and the development of online gaming. Aching anticipated that most of the companies in G2E showcase the products that they will be releasing in the short and medium term. This year we haven’t seen so many different things compared to what we have today. Perhaps more elaborated games but nothing that will change the game scenario in 3 to 5 years”.

“With regard to online gaming, it is a fashionable topic.  Everyone want to have an online casino. I do not think it is a threaten to traditional casinos. It is a completely different business line. The online player also seeks a completely different experience to the land based casino. It is a new segment that attracts different type of players. It is a competence but not a threaten”.

Hellwig: “We have to listen more to the casino needs, ideas and wishes on how to improve business, offering different services so we can implement the machine properly. It is happening what interactive systems. We have to have always a communication channel opened to continue working together”. He does not consider online gaming as a direct threaten, either. “The traditional player wants to socialize, to play with friends. Online player does not want to do that, that’s why it is a different target market. As long as the casino experience is good, people will continue assisting to the casino”.

Loyed also considers online gaming as a great opportunity “to extend your brand into your customers’ minds and wallets. It’s what we’ve seen in Canada. Incomes are growing in traditional casinos and in online gaming too.” More excitement on the floor is what will improve in the next 5 years. The applications to help players have more fun, the total experience. It helps increase loyalty. It is important to have a strategy to increase player loyalty. A person on the audience asked a question about the location versus the cultural globalization at the moment of developing games.

Aching: “I think the most important factor is the math model of the game, which will define the player (the vision of winning or loss), no matter if he is located in Argentina or China. This is a global factor. The player stays in a machine because he identifies with it. The visual aspect is key for location: the design, the symbols have to do with culture”. It also happens with gender, adds LOYD. “We made the game Sex and the City for women and 50% of the players are men”, he concluded.