Asian Gaming

Private Label your own “Casino” Energy Drink???

Casino innovation is rare these days in the casino industry.  Unfortunately our industry has been labeled as a copy cat industry since we tend to copy more than we create.  There is nothing wrong with that as long as it is legal and everyone benefits.  However, there is still plenty of room for creativity and innovation in casinos.  This month’s kudos for casino innovation goes to Gianfranco Scordato, CEO of Gran Casino Costa Brava in Spain.  Gian and his team at Gran Casino Costa Brava are the first casino management team that I am aware of in Europe to make an innovative decision to private label an energy drink for their casino.

It is an intriguing concept which required further investigation because they focused on their Poker Players.  It is quite interesting when one considers that the beverage industry in the United States alone is now a U.S. $60 billion per year industry.  Energy drinks are the fastest growing segment of this market.  Ten years ago energy drink sales in the United States were only $12 million for the year.  Last year, energy drink sales topped $12.5 billion and are increasing rapidly.  That represents phenomenal growth for any industry and a good opportunity for casinos around the world.  According to the “Energy Drinks and Shots: Market Trends in the U.S.”, sales of energy drinks and shots will grow to a value of $21.5 billion by 2017.

So, why a private label an energy drink in a casino?  According to Gianfranco their casino currently gives away or sells a huge number of cans of energy drink every month to either customers playing Poker or playing on the casino floor as well as in their various restaurants or lounges. His investigation revealed that the energy drinks were being consumed by younger casino customers and also by their Asian casino customers.  Both of these market segments are very high on their list of priority markets in their strategic marketing plan.  They want to increase the percentage of younger players and have started to vary their entertainment as well in an effort to be more appealing to them.  Gianfranco also commented:

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By |January 7th, 2015|Asian Gaming, Asian Marketing, Casino Energy Drinks, Casino Marketing, Casino Profitability, Casino Promotions, Marketing, Miscellaneous|Comments Off on Private Label your own “Casino” Energy Drink???

Asian Casino Marketing: Lucrative but not Easy

Almost every casino around the world understands the value of Asian Casino Marketing but most do not understand what Asian Casino Marketing really is.  Therefore, many casinos seem to make the same fatal error and then wonder why their Asian casino marketing program failed.  One of my more popular articles was titled “I’m not Chinese, I’m Vietnamese”.  This article sums it up nicely because the first thing a casino needs to understand is that not all Asian market segments are the same or simply stated; one size does not fit all when it comes to Asian casino marketing.  It means the same thing when one considers that Asia is not Asia.  Asia consists of many different countries, many different cultures, many different languages, many different foods, customs, traditions, beliefs, holidays, etc.

I consulted for a very nice casino recently located in the United States and asked why they did not have any Asian casino marketing programs in place.  They told me that they had tried Asian marketing in the past and that they were unsuccessful so they abandoned their efforts.  Upon further investigation I learned that they had hired one Chinese speaking Casino Host and put that individual in charge of their entire Asian Casino Marketing efforts.  I also learned that they added a number of Chinese food items to their casino buffet because they did not have an Asian restaurant or an Asian Noodle Bar.  They also did not promote any Asian games on their casino floor such as Baccarat or Pai Gow.  I kept digging and finally learned that the majority of Asian players from the surrounding communities were all Vietnamese and not Chinese.  Their Asian Host was unable to communicate with these players in their own language.  The Chinese food items that they prepared were unappealing to Vietnamese players.  And they did not focus on any Vietnamese holidays or Vietnamese entertainment.  No wonder their “Asian casino marketing” efforts failed. […]

By |February 19th, 2014|Asian Casino Marketing, Asian Gaming, Asian Gaming Consulting, Asian Marketing, Casino Consulting|Comments Off on Asian Casino Marketing: Lucrative but not Easy