In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Rebecca Liggero, Story-Lab President Jim Signorelli talks about branding and promotions and how it makes a difference in the gambling world, particularly the brick-and-mortar industry.
It’s a sea sameness.
That’s how branding expert Jim Signorelli described the current state of promotions and branding in a lot of casinos in the United States.
“It’s pretty much a sea of sameness. I mean, all the casinos are pretty much promoting the same thing. It’s jackpots and cars, that sort of thing,” Signorelli told CalvinAyre.com.
The Story-Lab president said the “traditional” promotions that casinos are doing right now are not helping them in terms of creating a brand identity.
“It’s how to use promotions to build a story about a brand and how to make sure that, in fact, those promotions consistently are supporting whatever [their] brand identity is,” he explained.
For example, there are two casinos. The first offers a giveaway for a truck, a trip to Branson and a Willie Nelson event, whereas the other promotes a Tesla giveaway, a Target shopping spree and a concert for Barry Manilow. Between these two, Signorelli said the first casino has more of a brand identity compared to the latter.
“[The first] supports a story that says something about what this brand is all about and who would, in fact, it caters to. [Brand B] it’s a little bit like… who are you?” Signorelli explained. “It’s just a matter of consistently making sure that every promotion feeds into every other promotion and says something about the casino over all.”
This strategy, according to Signorelli, is an effective tool for casinos, especially those who are looking to differentiate themselves from other brands.
“[The customers] don’t just come in for promotions. They come in for the vibe the casinos are creating, the identity they associate it with when they get there, so use promotions as a window into what the casinos are about.”
For casinos in the United States, Signorelli has this piece of advice: promote to build your brand.
“Remember that every promotion you have says something about your brand. It’s one thing to say, yes, every promotion adds to the brand or subtracts from the brand, but how do I do that? How do I identify what my brand is all about? The process that we use called archetypal analysis where we associate brands with different personality types because every brand is really like a person. What kind of person is this brand? And what type of personality can I associate with the given brand?” he said.
