Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Slots for Tots’ slammed

Slots for Tots.

One would think that even the greenest marketing employee would see red flags with a casino promotion under that name.

But one Las Vegas casino didn't last year and the result was a prime spot in Dennis Conrad's Hall of Shame.

Conrad, president and chief strategist of Reno-based Raving Consulting Co., on Monday presented the best and worst casino marketing promotions of the last year at Casino Marketing 2004: The National Conference in Las Vegas. The three-day event concludes today.

Conrad, who has critiqued casino marketing promotions at similar conferences for seven years and now is regarded as the Mr. Blackwell of his field, spotlighted the good, the bad and the ugly in an hour-long presentation. He praised several of the best campaigns -- many of them staged by Las Vegas companies -- but didn't name the casinos that fielded the worst ones.

He used a word that normally isn't printed in a family newspaper to describe the worst casino marketing tactic he's seen this year, the Slots for Tots campaign.

While Conrad didn't discuss the property by name, the Salvation Army in Las Vegas teamed with the Las Vegas Hilton in a Slots for Tots tournament during the last holiday season.

Conrad said the basic idea for the campaign wasn't bad -- an effort to encourage casino patrons to donate toys for the Salvation Army holiday drive. But it was the execution that was horrific.

"People who brought a toy into the casino were invited to participate in a $15,000 slot tournament," Conrad said.

He said that while the offending casino had already crossed a line with the typical gaming regulator with a promotion that sounded as if it catered to children, the advertising campaign added insult to injury. The typography used in the ads spelled out "Slots for Tots" with the lettered wood blocks many youngsters play with.

A spokesman for the Las Vegas Hilton said today the promotion was organized by the previous owners of the property and current operators were unfamiliar with the details of it.

But a spokesman for the Salvation Army in Las Vegas defended the program, saying it was one of the best holiday tributes he had ever seen.

"About 400 to 450 kids from families that don't have a Christmas got presents because of that effort," said Charlie Desiderio, director of development and marketing for the local relief organization. "And these were among the finest quality of toys that I have ever seen. Not only was it wonderful for the kids, but it was wonderful recognition for the Las Vegas Hilton."

Asked if organizers would consider changing the name, Desiderio said he wouldn't have a problem with that.

"What's in a name? Ultimately, it was the event that was important and look what it accomplished," he said. "We're in a city where gaming is part of the structure of our city. The Salvation Army does not condone the drinking of alcohol, but I'm sure the Salvation Army in Milwaukee is helped by the breweries there."

About 100 people attending the presentation groaned through several more gaming marketing blunders.

Conrad said that in Australia several pop-up ads greeted Internet visitors to the Gamblers Anonymous Web site. The advertisers were online casinos.

Conrad said a casino, hoping to beef up post-Christmas traffic, encouraged players to "Get out of debt, play our slots."

He didn't name the casino, but it was widely reported earlier this year that the Isleta Casino Resort, a New Mexico tribal property, ran television ads suggesting that the casino could help with people's debt problems.

"So, the holidays have passed and those credit card bills just keep piling up and there seems to be no relief in sight," said the TV ad. "How will you pay those huge bills? Well, Isleta Casino Resort comes to your rescue."

The casino canceled the promotion after a public outcry.

"They actually positioned the casino as the financial rescuer from post-holiday debt," Conrad said.

Another promotion that galled Conrad arrived in his mailbox a few weeks before his birthday. The promotion, for loyal slot club members of the casino, offered a room and special treatment as a birthday celebration. But in small print, the mailer disclosed that "your complimentary room will be deducted from your account."

"So, you invited me to come, sent me a birthday card and then you tell me that I have to pay for it," Conrad said. "You've just lost my business."

Another bad gaming industry move that wasn't exactly a marketing blunder was pulled off by the operators of the Louisiana Lottery, Conrad said. A batch of scratch-off lottery tickets ready for distribution had a major flaw -- when the tickets were held up to the light, a player could see the numbers beneath the scratch-off coating.

But not every casino marketing program was a disaster. Conrad had favorable comments for several efforts, many of them visible in Las Vegas.

Conrad said the Imperial Palace's "Dealertainer" concept has been a huge success for the Strip property. The privately held casino, noted for its "Legends in Concert" celebrity impersonator shows, last year began hiring look-alikes to deal blackjack in a special pit area. The dealers take turns performing in between dealing cards.

"These were inexperienced dealers for the most part," Conrad said. "When they first got started, I played with (an impersonator of) Cher. I could tell she was a little experienced because she looked for the players' reaction to determine whether they had busted or not."

Other Las Vegas casino promotions that won praise from Conrad were the Stardust hotel-casino's campy use of cow art during a charity fund-raising event and an executive hand-off letter distributed when The Rio hotel-casino changed management.

The Stardust, which has a theater named for Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton, participated in the painting and decorating of cow art, creating a sunglassed cow character it called Wayne Moo-ton. The entertainer added to the casino's marketing mileage by posing with the art.

And, when Marilyn Winn, senior vice president of Harrah's Las Vegas Operations, succeeded the Rio's Tom Jenkin, he composed a letter to loyal customers telling them of the transition.

Conrad also applauded Harrah's Entertainment Inc. for its national campaigns, listing the Millionaire Maker slot tournament and the World Series of Poker as key ingredients in the company's success.

The marketing expert also credited a non-gaming company with a high profile in Las Vegas for one of its programs. To emphasize to employees the importance of the customer, Southwest Airlines has made room for three signatures on employee paychecks -- those of the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and a random customer.

"It takes a little time and effort to go through arranging that, but think of the impact that has on telling employees just how important the customer is," Conrad said.

Other casino promotions that were applauded:

archive