Casinos: Marketing to the Entire Family

Modern casinos are designed on a magnificent scale. One reason for the sprawl is that they are increasingly targeted at the family crowd as both entertainment center and destination.

For a long time, casinos got along famously featuring the very best club acts and mini-circuses. Marquee stars like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Jerry Lewis, Tom Jones, Andrea Bocelli and Dionne Warwick pulled in the crowds. Because casinos are nothing if not cash cows, they could offer lucrative contracts and sign the brightest stars for long runs that were the envy of Broadway.

As the market matured and competition heated up, the gaming establishments adapted with alacrity to a broader market with more catholic tastes. Featured acts expanded to include contemporary stars, impersonators, comedians and pop music headliners: ABBA, Village People, Motown Magic, and Jerry Seinfield, to name just three.

Off the beaten track, many casinos can afford only local talent and even then, only on some days of the week. These may be touted as up-and-coming acts or "preview" concerts. Typical of these are "Rogue Traders" in Melbourne, Gino Padilla and "Music N Magic" in Manila, Sisi in Macao and Jacques Higelin in Paris. If nothing else, they satisfy local audiences and even suggests a decisive push to attract adolescent and young adult members of the family.

Casting the net even wider and with an eye to reaping a PR windfall, the more imaginative gaming purveyors have sponsored multi-day music "festivals" dedicated to one genre or another. These have included jazz and even gospel.

Firework shows, competitions, complimentary drinks (with dinner) and cut-rate pricing on meals have all been deployed on the sidelines of such festivals not only to reward the inveterate gamer, obviously, but also to excite other family members.

For sheer variety, casino entertainment has now definitely matched those available in mall complexes. Right within the casino-hotel-destination, families can enjoy bowling, interactive electronic games, indoor carnivals, plush cinemas with dine-in service and even shoot-'em-up arenas.

Casinos have gone to great lengths to provide a more relaxed atmosphere. And they have democratized the amenities as well. Gone are the days when one needed evening dress just to have a cocktail or quick dinner in one of the highbrow restaurants around the casino-hotel. The most aggressive casinos now resemble shopping malls in putting up food courts, the ultimate in casual dining. Who would ever have thought star appeal and casino glitter could co-exist with McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, nachos, congee, and hot dogs?

Wanting to maintain a certain panache and corporate image does not stop gaming industry leaders from running with every tactic available to other retailer sectors. Casinos have implemented affiliate and promotional tie-up's such as "tip and win" raffle promotions keyed to World Cup fever or the NBA East-West game. On a more mundane level, lucky customers can win their very own slot machine via raffle.

Like most other destination-hotels catering to the harried business traveler and the carriage trade, casino-hotel complexes have built and promoted lavish spas. Featuring Roman bath or mystical East motifs, these spas leave no stone unturned to offer every facial and body treatment discerning customers could possible desire.

At the cost of constructing additional facilities or simply supplementing the promotional budget for tie-up's, the more farsighted casino complexes can now attract entire families and group business. This strategy obviously complements loyalty rewards programs by way of generating greater traffic or headcount.