Inside Asian Gaming

here are many examples where literal translations of concepts between cultures do not result in the expected outcome. Prime examples are the English signs all over China. And it works (or doesn’t work) both ways. Anyone spotted a beauty salon in Macau promoting its “Eyebrow Amputation”service at a special price? Things that the more feminine of us will endure for the sake of beauty. Talking about amputation, I believe the entertainment department folks down at Sands could perhaps do with a little amputation around the cranial region. Can anybody figure out their entertainment objective? I have seen solo singers performing to canned music. And what’s with the ballroom dancing? With all that money they are making, surely they can hire better and more interesting talent. Greek Mythology seems to do a much better job with theirs. Sure, the Mainland Chinese have a thing for ballroom dancing in the streets, but there’s a difference between a social past-time and a casino spectacle. What next? A cooking lesson on stage? Maybe a Sands version of iron chef? These are the things that the good people in most casino marketing/PR departments have to determine: 1. What their own individual preferences are versus that of the target crowd. 2. What’s popular and what appeals to the target group.For instance, should the background music be the top of the pops or that which will actually appeal to the target age group? 3. What will best stimulate the crowd to behave in the expected manner. It’s hard to do unless they are focused. I expected more of the Americans, given their reputation for turning Vegas into a major entertainment centre, with stories of pumping oxygen or fragrances through the air, mood music, colouring and other stimulants. Surely, given the salary packages they are splashing around,you’d think they would have done better in that department. In the meantime, the mob over at the Galaxy probably doesn’t even have a marketing department. Not unless you call those big neon signs front and back marketing. On the other hand, I will award a bouquet to the people at Greek Mythology. Every time I see a public bus drive past in Macau, I keep thinking it’s a GM bus. Any newcomer would think that GM is the biggest casino in the place. And the crowd milling about the statues and fountains out front day in,day out would appear to suggest they have done the best out of all the SJM franchises. One of the better examples of exposure marketing I have seen in the region for a while. That’s Entertainment? Casino marketing guru Novo Chang explains that when East meets West, you sometimes get in a muddle. 35