A few months ago we started unpacking some of the casino marketing jargon that gets thrown around at any given property. In this edition of casino marketing lingo, we are taking a deeper dive into some of the department specific terms that can be heard back of house. We’ll be talking about different types of advertisements including banner and display ads, plus specific components of successful campaigns.
Lollipop Sign
We’ve already talked about wayfinders. Lollipop signs are something a little more portable (and with an adorable name). Lollipop signs are portable, smaller signs that are typically deployed at events or to signal specials at a food and beverage outlet.
These signs are designed to be at guests’ eye level and sit squarely on a pole with a weighted base. Like with nearly all things, the material can vary by property- with some opting to skip on quality and others investing in the long-term plan with more durable options that can withstand a tropical storm.
When I worked on property, I used to really dislike carrying these around because the ones we had were pretty unyielding and heavy. Our signs were pretty old, these more vintage lollipop signs were made of a very heavy metal instead of being hollow plastic. Our “designed to last” lollipops led to many bruises from whacking them into my shins when a guest would inevitably jump in our path while putting them out.
Proforma
Step one of planning a successful promotion or event is creating a “proforma.” A proforma is a fancy word, basically meaning proposal in this situation. The proforma should include every detail about a proposed activation including vital inclusions like budget and the overall purpose. This document should serve as the outline and guide for every step of the promotion/event from pre-planning to evaluation.
When this is turned in to be reviewed and hopefully approved, the proforma can be viewed by not only the property but the state’s oversight board depending on the property location.
Postforma
The last step of a successful activation is compiling a comprehensive postforma. The postforma follows the same format of the proforma but instead of education guesses and a detailed plan, this document will include actual data against the projections and timeline.
While the postforma should include all vital information, it is important to keep these succinct and to the point.
When it was time to evaluate my activations or promotions, I would take my proforma proposal and create a second version to start building my postforma around. I always found it very interesting to dive into the data behind any given activation.
Out of Home
Based on the name of this term alone, you can probably guess where this type of marketing takes places…. Out of home! Yup, you guessed it, this is the umbrella term that is given to every piece of marketing that reaches an individual outside of their home.
Out of home marketing can really look like a lot of things, including signs on buses a la Carrie Bradshaw or promotional swag at a sporting event. Perhaps the most well known example of this public type of advertising, and also the largest, is billboards.
Billboards are still utilized in marketing plans, however, they are typically reserved for the biggest and best of what a property has to offer. And of course, it’s worth mentioning that if you are on a major highway that is anywhere relatively near legal gaming, be prepared to see a million and one billboards. These billboards will probably tell you just how far away you are from the property and, if designed correctly, will give you a reason to visit.
Rack card
Although they are becoming more and more a thing of the past, there was a time when rack cards were always included in a marketing plan. Rack cards are a piece of printed collateral specifically sized to fit either on a desk or within a wall display- typically 9in(h)x4in(w).
As far as the content goes, because these are physical pieces of marketing material, the competition to get onto any permanent property-wide rack cards is high. The good news is, if there is a seasonal event or upcoming promotion like a high-stakes player tournament, that event will typically just go ahead and make their own. On that rack card, the organizer can include all pertinent information while also being sure to include any required legalese.
On a recent trip to Binion’s, a rack card all about their ghostly encounters caught my eye. I liked being able to easily pick up the info and save it for later. While I’ve been a little apprehensive to book the tour just yet, the rack card has made me more opt to eventually book. (Partially because Binion’s is so old school that I can’t easily find anything about these ghost tours to link.)
Direct Mail
Another piece of collateral that we’ve talked about is a “mailer.” As we know, a mailer is the term given to the promotional calendars and other marketing materials that are sent directly to your home. Direct mail is essentially another term for mailer but on a larger scale, as it’s the act of sending that piece of collateral.
When marketers are talking about the act of executing direct mail, that includes talking about the design of the mailer. Of course, once that piece of collateral is designed, you need to know where to send it. A direct mail campaign can be sent to active players (think of your monthly casino offers at your favorite spot to play), or designed to serve as more of an awareness campaign. Awareness campaigns can be sent to various ZIP codes or groups of potential players within a set of demographic information.
Display Ad
When you visit a website and see an ad either running along the top, bottom, or side of the page, that is a display ad. Display ads have become a mainstay in marketing thanks to nearly everyone’s dependence on the internet. These ads can be static, meaning they do not rotate through content, or dynamic. Dynamic ads rotate through different visual elements and have some sort of movement.
When display ads are clicked, the person on the other side of the screen will be redirected to a new webpage. When set up correctly, the display ad will have a unique tracking code that will tell the marketer how effective their ad was. The more clicks, the more traffic the ad produced.
Banner Ad
You know how all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares? Banner ads are a specific type of display ad, specifically they are the rectangle ad at the top or bottom of the screen. Banner ads are a horizontal orientation and will typically feature a “CTA” or call to action. Banner ads should also feature their own unique tracking code for evaluation purposes.
Geofencing
When it’s time to start serving advertisements, one of the most common methods is setting up a geofence. A geofence is basically a zone that is set up around the perimeter of a building or outside area.
While not visible to the naked eye, these invisible boundary lines are triggered when you cross over them with a mobile device. Any device that is connected to wifi, GPS, or cellular Internet will be logged and there is a chance an ad will be served to the devices if the owner meets the demographic information that has been set up by the advertiser.
As an operator, geofencing was one of my main tactics to attract new players and guests for dining outlets. When setting up a geofence, you are able to layer demographic information like age with a physical location. This makes it a great option for marketers looking to talk to specific people within a specific area.
Call to Action (CTA)
Now, about that “call to action.” Call to action, CTA for short, is the term given to the action marketers want the viewer to take. A call to action can be an invitation to book a room, redeem a promo code, or something similar. All effective ads include a CTA even if it is as simple as visiting a website as part of an awareness campaign. The specific CTA of a campaign will often be used as a metric of success (or failure) during the evaluation stage.
Fun fact: Most marketing professionals will strictly refer to call to action as CTA. It is the first acronym most of us learn either in school or as part of our first job.
Miss our last installment of casino jargon and want to learn more? Read the first batch of definitions here.
