We know where customers go to search for plane tickets (Expedia) and say, videos (Amazon) …

But where do casino players go to search for the best promotions and incentives in town?

Dear Raver,

I admit it, I’m not that tech-savvy, but I can tell you that I’m using my cell phone more and more and becoming better at “shopping” and searching on the internet. As most of you know, in my free time, when I’m not gambling, I’m golfing. And you betcha’, when I’m traveling, if I’m not familiar with the area or don’t have friends to refer me, I use some specific search engines to find the top golf courses in the region and get the best tee times and rates. And yes, even this 64-year old does most things on his mobile now.  Really, how many of us travel anywhere or buy anything without going to some type of specific search site? Wouldn’t you agree that you probably have one favorite search engine for each type of activity you do?

How about for gaming?

Here at Raving, when we come across tools that help casinos market their property and acquire new players, we like to pass it on. Earlier this year we met Brandon from Comp My Play . They’ve got a product that matches gamblers to casinos via a unique search engine – and it’s really designed for smartphone users. Brandon is an avid table games guy at heart and developed this with his partners because, as a player, he really saw the need from the customer standpoint as well as the benefit for casinos.

Here’s how it works …

From the player’s perspective:

• Comp My Play (click here for video) is a mobile friendly app that players can use to search for current offers and incentives within specific miles from their location or throughout the U.S.
• They can take advantage of any “deals” that a casino is sending out, and for concert tickets, discounted hotel rooms and other offers that are time-sensitive.
• The app enables users to keep track of specific events, such as tournaments, concerts, etc. on a customized calendar for that casino.
• Players customize their player profile to what type of gaming and entertainment they are specifically interested in, as well as to what tier level they play so that they get the type of offers/messages that are relevant to them.

Dennis’ take: So just say a business traveler is heading to Oklahoma or Washington State for a visit. They land and they have an evening to spend at their leisure – and they are avid players. They can open up the Comp My Play app and search for the most lucrative offers in the area. Pretty simple, right? Otherwise, they’d be searching the internet through non-specific search engines trying to find not only the location of the closest casinos, but they’d never get the specific offers this app affords them. Nicely enough, participating on Comp My Play’s search platform keeps your casino top of mind to your guest and new prospects.

From the casino marketer’s perspective:

1. First and foremost, this is an inexpensive tool to find new players that your other marketing and advertising messages may not even reach. (What if someone searches for “Casinos near Seattle, WA”) and your casino doesn’t come up or isn’t even in the first half of the page?)
2. Being able to reach a player when they are ready to gamble is huge (it’s that whole “relevancy” notion we’re always talking about). Not many programs have this access and opportunity.
3. It provides an added vehicle to communicate with your current players through text, push and in-app messaging that you may not have the current technology to do. Everyone’s talking about geofencing , but do you have the software to easily do this?
4. You can send out targeted messages (based on the user’s profile or based on their location). Just say you have rooms to fill or concert tickets going to waste. You can reach a targeted group of players with a very specific offer. Wouldn’t your host and PD department want this?
5. You can grow and append your current guest database. Let’s admit it. When folks sign up for our players club, we’re lucky if they even give us the correct email (or update it when it gets changed). And very seldom do we take the time to find out about their preferences (table game player, slot player) and the type of benefits they are most interested in, i.e. spa, hotel room, golf, dining, etc.

Dennis’ take: Our marketing world has been changing for some time. The new marketing mix consists of direct mail, email, social media and mobile marketing. Advertising has changed as well – billboards, TV, and radio are still used but casinos need to participate and make sure their product and brand are available in “Search Engine” listings.

There’s a lot of other cool stuff around this software that I didn’t mention, so follow up with the team at Comp My Play. It’s easy, it’s affordable, and it just might give you some tools that you didn’t have before.

Rick Smith, General Manager of Indigo Sky Casino & Hotel in Oklahoma had this to say about Comp My Play: “Indigo Sky Casino is pleased to partner with Comp My Play. This partnership brings an innovative mobile marketing platform to Indigo Sky and we are excited about the real-time offers, promos and notifications that allow us to reach our customers. This app brings us to another level, and will provide our guests the ability to stay connected at all times to what our casino, hotel, bingo and table games are doing.” 

If you have any questions about Raving Partner Comp My Play, don’t hesitate to give me a holler at 775-329-7864 or email me at[email protected]. You can email Brandon directly at. Make sure to visit their website and play the video.

Best Regards,

Dennis Conrad
President and Chief Strategist
Raving Consulting Company
[email protected]

PS – Meet Brandon and Dammon of Comp My Play at NIGA – they’ll be hanging out with us at Raving booth #929 as well as attending the 2016 Comedy Slam.

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