BACKGROUND
From 2004 - 2006 a Native American casino and idyllic vacation resort situated on an Indian Reservation in southern New Mexico was facing severe difficulties. Surrounded by panoramic snowcapped mountain views, the resort featured an abundance of entertainment options - including a large casino for gambling, a spa, fine dining in six different restaurants as well as outdoor activities. Yet for the last few years the resort was unable to attract enough customers and the business was struggling to be profitable.
CHALLENGE
Creating and maintaining a constant, high rate of occupancy and increasing customer spending across all entertainment facilities, even though the resort was located in an extremely remote location with no local airport (nearest commercial one is 180 km away) and is nowhere near a population center. The previous approach was totally through ad hoc outbound methods such as billboards, TV ads, radio ads – there was no focused inbound strategy and
nothing was personalised to targeted prospects.
SOLUTION
The implementation of a multifaceted targeted strategy, harnessing XMPie’s advanced cross media capabilities working closely with the resort and ad agencies to ensure success. To begin with, purchase of a specialised database including prospects within a 400 mile radius and 6-8 hour drive time from the resort location. The data was mined and segmented carefully to ensure correct targeting not just to those interested in gambling but also to the rest of the family. A loyalty-club program enabled customer activities to be intelligently tracked to enable the build of a complete profile for every visitor. Each follow up offer and event promotion was appropriately attuned to the individual’s preferences.
Multiple business development initiatives optimised the success of these one-to-one cross-media campaigns, including working closely with an events booking company to ensure that special events booked by the resort would be popular with the target audience as identified by the new database. Events such as music shows, comedy shows, slot tournaments, Black Jack tournaments and cooking demonstrations by world famous chefs - of interest to the whole family and not just the main target gamer - were booked and promoted.
Multiple personalised marketing campaigns powered by XMPie cross media software were launched and directed at each family member, including monthly newsletters targeted with specific offers, room discounts, free gifts and entertainment options to attract each particular recipient and gain more detailed information for future campaigns. Personalised URLs ensured optimum efficiency and allowed recipients to respond at very little inconvenience to themselves.
Surveys were used extensively to assess customer feedback and amend marketing tactics as more critical information was gathered throughout the campaign cycle. Visitors were requested to provide feedback, their preferences, how they heard about the resort and their intent to return. Personalised surveys were also sent out via email along with further offers to encourage recipients to return to the resort.
RESULTS
In the first year hotel reservations went up from 33 percent to 76 percent, rising to 89 percent in the second year. The campaign is still going strong and helping to fuel profits from increases in the number of meals sold, concert tickets sold and Golf outings.
Print Volume: 300,000 pages per month for just this one casino with 90 -92 percent variable data
Emails: 35,000 - 50,000 per month
Web site visits and coupon redemptions: 8,000 -10,000 per month
Social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn activity: up to 4,200 hits per month