Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2012 40 T here’s an old saying in Asia that roughly translates to: “Asia is not Asia”. When you think about it you begin to better understand its subtle message; in Asia, one size does not fit all. Asia is a vast melting pot of numerous countries, languages and cultures. The differences are based on thousands of years of history and cultural evolution. Asians are extremely nationalistic and proud of their own cultures and customs. Therefore, it is extremely offensive to generalize all Asians as one and the same. They are not. Casino marketers around the world need to understand this and thoroughly research their target market segments before jumping into any new Asian marketing campaigns. Chinese normally constitute the largest Asian community in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, but this may vary from city to city as well as in specific areas or neighborhoods, with Vietnamese or another Asian community dominating close to a particular casino. Nevertheless, many uninformed casino marketing managers still insist on copying and implementing marketing strategies developed specifically to target and satisfy Chinese gamblers when trying to reach other Asian groups. This approach may backfire and actually be offensive if the bulk of their Asian players are not Chinese. The ethnic mix of Asian Understanding Asian Casino Marketing Casino consultant Steve Karoul offers some basic advice to Western casino marketers targeting Asian customers Many uninformed casino marketing managers still insist on copying and implementing marketing strategies developed specifically to target and satisfy Chinese gamblers when trying to reach other Asian groups.