Inside Asian Gaming

February 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 39 Casino Marketing 5. Shifting Demographics: The casino industry has to work hard to woo the Millennials, particularly the Echo Boomers, in order to secure its future. This involves massive retargeting and a rethinking of promotions and even products. With opening up of the markets in Singapore and Macau, the ethnic composition of casino patrons at the global level has undergone a sea change. In this decade, we could expect Japanese and Indians to further alter the makeup of global casino clientele. Executives will need to be open minded and adaptable to cope with shifting customer demographics. Not every market will respond to the “build it and they will come” operating philosophy. Changing demographics will demand a constant and vigilant assessment of customer needs, desires, and aspirations. Casino marketers will have to stretch their powers of imagination and analysis to ensure that groups such as the Echo Boomers are provided with a compelling gaming experience so that they do not increasingly look online to satisfy their gaming desires. The casino marketers job will become more interesting and challenging given the need to be more mindful of ROI accountability, data explosion, new social media, fickle- minded players and a changing clientele. If all those elements are properly addressed, not only will the marketing function become increasingly valued within casinos, but will also make a greater contribution to the bottom line. Sudhir H. Kalé, Ph.D., is the Founder of GamePlan Consultants, a company that offers marketing- related consultancy and high-end training to the casino industry. He is also Professor of Marketing at Bond University. You can write to Sudhir at skale@ gameplanconsultants.com, or visit his website, www. gameplanconsultants.com.