In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Stephanie Tower, Rhetroactive CEO Steve Trowbridge explains the importance of creating compelling stories when it comes to branding.
Casino operators give much importance to the gaming aspect of their respective integrated resorts. After all, the majority of their revenues come from the VIP and mass gaming segments, while only a fraction of revenue comes from the non-gaming segment.
However, Rhetroactive CEO Steve Trowbridge reminded operators that the non-gaming segment of integrated resorts is as essential as the gaming arm of their brick-and-mortar facilities. He considered the non-gaming segment the “heart and soul” of integrated resorts where experience and memories are built.
“It is important to keep that in mind when you’re developing a resort that it can’t just be a faceless glass building. It has to have a heart and a soul, because that’s what people grab on to,” Trowbridge told CalvinAyre.com. “You look at the master of this, Steve Wynn. Every major resort in that era from the Las Vegas Strip, whether it is Mirage or Bellagio, had Wynn’s touch on it. He said, ‘How can I do something a little bit crazier or little bit more ‘plussed’ that brings people and gets them excited coming here?’”
A resort’s non-gaming aspects can also be used to promote the operator’s brand, according to Trowbridge. A brand should be built on the idea that the facility is just more than just gaming operations.
Trowbridge advised operators to create engaging touchpoints that make guests happy and make them want to return. To capture the right audience, operators need to tailor the experiences to the customer they wanted to see.
“Casinos typically have the same kind of games. They’re all beautiful, they have great amenities, and good restaurants. But why am I coming there? It has to be around what is it mean to go there. What are the attractions? What’s the entertainment? What are the dining experiences? The brand has to be built out of the idea that it’s more than just the gaming operations,” Trowbridge said. “When people stay longer, they play more and they spend more money in all of these other things we’ve put in the property. That’s what builds your brand. It is bringing all those things in.”
