USING KIOSKS AS A MARKETING TOOL

Kiosks are a standard piece of equipment in any modern Australian club as a way of tapping into and rewarding regular members. As USA casinos continue to increase the numbers of players of all tiers coming through their doors, kiosks are moving towards saving higher tier players from lining up at rewards desks and checking their own loyalty balances and gifts. Larger numbers are making it difficult for the VIP hosts to keep up with all but the top tier VIP players and there is an acknowledgement that much of their income comes from the larger number mid-tier players and local retirees anyway.

The Australian club market is driven by mid-tier and local members as well, so should we reconsider the traditional US strategy for using kiosks to reward lower and medium tier members in our market?

US Casinos can reward bonuses, such as free play vouchers and cash prizes that we are unable to do. In Australia with different and much more restrictive regulations, the focus for kiosks is on using them strategically to:

• drive repeat visits.
• drive targeted promotions that favour higher tier players with extra tickets into draws to boost gaming revenue.
• add an opportunity for all members to have a win – even a small one.
• make entry into promotions simpler and more time efficient.

The advantage of kiosks is that they are always available for members even when staff are thin on the ground during not so busy periods. Promotions aren’t limited to certain hours because of staffing or budget concerns. When a player meets the criteria, they can participate.

The loyalty kiosk provides an assortment of opportunities to use alternative valuation factors to deliver a win or “wow” factor to high-frequency guests who may not win on the gaming floor.

Just like any club promotion there are lots of ways to engage the club members but making it different and interesting requires some out-of-the box thinking or you risk offering exactly the same promotion as your competitors.

Here are a few ideas that could be developed to make your kiosk rewards stand out:

• Expanding your kiosk option with a timed promotional offering during the slower periods to include free food that is still available later in the day (pizza slices, spring rolls, sandwiches) no matter what level of player they are. This is particularly important for the growing number of sports betters who often don’t qualify as top tier players.
• With kiosks you can have multiple promos running simultaneously. While some clubs shy away from operating dedicated promotions or weighted promotions that are specific to tier levels with appropriate prize pools, adjusting the timing of the offered promotions may target those higher tier players instead. Use your data to find out when the majority of those top tier players are in and run the kiosk promotion then.
• Incremental increases in gaming are delivered through increased visits as well as increased spend. The easiest of the two to improve is increased visits. Base some of your kiosk promos on the number of trips to your club each week/month with escalating prizes. This is a social gaming concept that players are becoming more and more used to. So, if you visit every day your prize value increases the more consecutive days you attend in a row. eg if you come in for the first 5 days of the month you get free coffee and cake on the 5th day, for the next five days a free snack or entrée rewarded on the 10th day, for the next 5 days a free meal is rewarded on the 15th consecutive visit…
• Include higher tier prizes that mid-lower tier players don’t normally qualify for as occasional kiosk rewards eg. 2 nights VIP parking, access to a special restaurant night such as a wine-tasting or chefs table meal.
• Sports pick’ems for example – where you can choose the Maroons or the Blues on the kiosk before the event to gain a voucher. If your team wins your voucher goes into the draw to win a jersey after the game.

Targeted promotions to a specific demographic group, or visit frequency, traditionally provide the greatest success in club marketing. As we become more sophisticated at designing traditional club promotions to target top tier gamers, perhaps it’s time to use the American kiosk service method to deal with the regular lower tier members. Using kiosks to tap into that large pool of loyal members who’s visit to the club regularly should be rewarded with experience-based, low cost but high-value (in their opinion, not yours) rewards.