The second Women in Gaming Conference & Awards took place on 22 June at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel in London. Organizers Clever Duck Media feel strongly that recognizing the outstanding achievements of women in the gaming industry deserve its own special day, hence the creation of this annual event.
The idea of a “women in gaming” event polarizes people- some feel that an event for women actually widens the gap between the sexes while others love the concept and believe that events like this will encourage more talented women to join the gaming world.
All opinions aside, it was very obvious to everyone that the 2011 WIG Conference had grown a lot from the inaugural event in 2010. Last year’s focus was women speaking about being a woman in gaming and this year’s focus was women speaking about important gaming issues. This positive shift resulted in better panel sessions and sent a clear message to the audience that women in gaming know what they are talking about.
There were some interesting points made throughout the day, some made by men in gaming as well, all falling under topics which have been popular at conferences and events throughout 2011 thus far:
Social Media
*The value of the players coming through social media is lower than other channels, that perception is true. –Judith Lewis, Beyond
*It is very difficult to measure ROI for social media campaigns because we’re still in the infancy stage. Tracking has not been perfected and will improve over time. – Nicola Longmuir, BSKYB
*Be sure to have the necessary resources before beginning a social media campaign and know your target group! -Ellen Learmonth, Bet3000
*Make sure nothing it out of date- the consequences are worse than you would think. – Arusha Iqbal, easyodds,
*Over 40% of our candidates are coming through LinkedIN. HR can now reach out to much of the same pools as recruitment agencies, its much more about relationship building now when it comes to recruiting. –Amy Killeen, Bodog Europe
Live Dealer
*We have two studios, one with a Western focus which is more three dimensional, includes a pitboss and games such as black jack and another with an Asian focus which includes a real Chinese clock that appears on the wall to prove its real time and games such as Sic Bo. –Celia Ho, Limelight
Online Poker
*The growth of online poker is stabilizing in general, growing in Asia and declining in the US. In the past there was too much focus on winning players, resulting in less fun for the casual players. This is something that we need to reverse.
Areas for growth
*The value of Asian players is very high. Macau is 100% gambling, in Vegas there is a focus on entertainment. If a player has a lucky seat in Macau they will pee themselves before getting up to use the bathroom.
*The Asian market is definitely worthy of investment, same with Latin America. -Mark Blandford, Valhalla Investments
*Regarldless of what the reports say, 50% of the online gaming market is in Asia. The future is Asia for the Bodog Brand.
*What’s interesting is the shift in the dynamic world of gambling, now referred to as “gaming”- its much softer now. Virgin is a soft brand, mainstream, trustworthy, and there are a lot of expectations around the name. Virgin Gaming could be a success in the US when it opens up. – Tina Thakor-Rankin. Virgin Gaming
The one hundred WIG Conference attendees seemed pleased with the structure of the day and the conference room was filled from start to finish. The Awards Ceremony was also a positive experience for everyone, a celebration that was clearly put together with a lot of love and resulted in a lot of beautiful smiles.
