Today's casino industry has often been referred to as a "copy cat" industry, where one great new idea gets copied by everyone else as rapidly as possible. Sometimes, this can be blamed on the competitive nature of the casino industry; other times, it is pure complacency. Why don't we see as many innovations in our industry as we do in others? One reason may be that the high costs of research and design and getting a new product approved in each gaming jurisdiction are restrictive (in terms of casino marketing ideas, not new gaming equipment). Whatever the cause, creative new casino marketing ideas seem to get scarcer and scarcer.
Nevertheless, there is one product on the market that was shown to a few select individuals at the International Casino Exposition (ICE) in London this past year. It is called the Digi Playcard and was developed by Allan Howard and his partner in China. They applied for patents in the United States, China and for a patent priority under the IPCT in 151 other countries around the world. Their patent application was finally published in both China and the United States in December 2006. Since then, Howard has considered various marketing options for his new product. Most significantly, because of its "game-play" features, it has great casino marketing potential.
The Digi Playcard looks like a credit card, only thicker. Upon closer examination, it is quite unique and appealing. It is fully electronic and, at first glance, reminds you of a tiny slot machine with its miniature LCD screen, Play and Hold buttons and vibrant graphics. It is often described as an electronic scratch card or instant ticket. It contains electronic components (i.e., a chip, EPROM, battery and LCD), and can accommodate a solar cell, sound chip or timer for different applications. Howard says: "Over the past 30 years, billions of scratch cards have been sold, but printing technology has reached its limits. The public's appetite for paper tickets has become jaded." It is for this reason the Digi Playcard was developed.
Even more fascinating about the Digi Playcard are its various options for developing casino marketing promotions that specifically target mass market customers who may have an interest in playing slot machines. The card is high quality, fun and enjoyable to play. It offers the same level of excitement as a real slot machine.
Most importantly for casino marketing executives, it contains two games—the Accumulator Game and the Bonus Game. This means that, for the first time, customers have two opportunities to respond to a promotion. For the Accumulator Game, you press the Play button to start the reels spinning. Then you press the Hold button to stop the reels and view the combination of symbols, which are similar to those on a slot machine. At the end of the last play, after all of the spins have been used, the LCD displays your points score, which you match to the reward levels posted on the front of the card or on its packaging. These levels correspond to whichever prizes the sponsoring casino (or racino) wants to offer.
In addition, the LCD will flash other messages that state "Claim Your Prize" or "Your Bonus Icons," where three new icon symbols flash on the screen. The icons represent the second game on the Digi Playcard. This is the Bonus Game, where customers receive a second chance to win a prize. The difference between the Accumulator Game and the Bonus Game is that, in the Accumulator Game, a customer can immediately tell which prize she has won, but in the Bonus Game, she must bring her card to the casino to find out which prize she has won. The host casino posts five symbols each day, and the patron only has to match three of them to win. This gives the patron a reason to return daily.
The real incentive to the casino is that winners must visit the property to claim either prize. The casino sets the odds in advance, which enables it to develop a promotion to fit any budget. It is a win-win promotion for everyone. In addition, it is also possible to develop local partners to co-participate in the promotion and offer additional prizes. The Digi Playcard is extremely flexible when it comes to promotions and can even be programmed to control payout odds.
Digi Playcards can also help personalize promotions through custom packaging for direct mail, including additional advertising or discounts and incentives. We all know that the first challenge in casino marketing is to get customers through the door; Digi Playcards definitely help do that. Once inside, most players will take a chance on a real slot machine, too. Therefore, Digi Playcards as a casino marketing promotion are extremely cost effective; the actual cost of the cards is less than $2.50 each. Many casinos still give away $10 or $20 in free play—plus food coupons—to entice patrons. Digi Playcards seem like a much better value in comparison.
The company lets casinos control every aspect of the promotion, from the graphics on the card to the prize-pool odds to the promotional budget and other marketing costs. Casinos even have the ability to control the timing and may offer double bonus points or other clever ideas to help drive business during off-peak hours or slow days. The best part of the promotion is that many customers keep bringing their Digi Playcards back to the casino to check the icon symbol monitors to see if they have won a prize.
Fortunately, casino marketing innovations are still alive and well, but sometimes they take awhile to surface. As a copy-cat industry, it won't be long before we start to see many different promotions utilizing this innovative marketing tool. The big question for many casino operators will be whether they want to be one of the first to offer something new and exciting or wait until their competitors do it first and become a copy cat. It's up to you to decide.
Steve Karoul is President and CEO of Euro-Asia Consulting. He can be reached at (860) 536-1828 or skaroul[at]comcast.net.
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