Hello again. Yes, it’s that time of year again. The snow is starting to melt (in some places!) And that means it’s San Diego and IGA time Book a meeting here! again. Time to get out your notepads and make your new tech wish lists! As we begin the year, I've been thinking a lot about branding and shifting your mindset away from "classic" branding towards something a bit different, a bit more strategic. Interested? Scroll to read the first part of my throught process...
When was the last time you experienced an epiphany? What was it in relation to, when was it, and how did it change you? Was it good and helpful, or was it bad and hurtful? In this series, I’m hoping to share some information, some reasoning, and some examples that elicit a positive epiphany for you. An epiphany related to how you think about your casino’s brand advertising.
The dictionary defines “epiphany” as “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.” I remember the last time I was struck out of the blue with a realization about something, and that realization changed everything about how I thought about that thing. It was last summer, and I was reading a book about Sam Bankman-Fried called “Number Go Up”, and right in the middle of a chapter about NFT’s (crypto/digital art), I realized that crypto is a con. And yes, it’s also a technology, and it does in fact ALSO have some use cases where actual value can be found. But those things are secondary. Mostly, it’s a clever way to steal money. You put your money into the system, and you hope the number goes up. The results aren’t tied to something (like buying stock in Coca-Cola or Apple - companies that MAKE and SELL products for a PROFIT); it’s just a bet. A gamble on a magical coin made out of nothing. Sometimes the number goes up, sometimes it doesn’t.
I thought I understood what Bitcoin was...but I didn’t. Until I read that book. My misunderstanding of crypto - which led me to that epiphany - came in 2 parts. First, I thought crypto was more simple than it actually is (it’s not just digital dollar bills), and second, the system that organizes and regulates it is not complicated and easily understood. Neither of which is true.
This misunderstanding is similar to how most casino operators think about brand advertising. Most seem to think it’s like a sign you hang in your shop window. “Fresh Donuts Made Daily! $1 each.” And then a photo or art showing a big, yummy donut. That’s a sign. Not brand advertising. And yet, drive up and down the freeway in a market with a bunch of casinos, and what do you see on the billboards? Slot machines, people seeming being electrocuted, and big headlines that all say the same thing: “Slots of Fun!” Or “Play Like a Winner!” And then a casino logo. That, I will argue, is the same as a sign in the window.
So, what’s the difference?
My answer: Tune in for the next installment of this series, where I explain and give examples of the first of 5 key concepts for creating brand advertising that actually does what you want it to do - to make people like you. That’s a hint, there. Brand advertising is about making people like you. Not telling them that you have slot machines. They already know that. That’s simple and obvious information. Good brand advertising is about being likable. Not about information.
And if that seems contrary and challenges your assumptions about how you’ve been thinking about it...then maybe we have an opportunity for a casino brand advertising epiphany?
