Before the Internet, if people had questions about a casino or casino hotel, they might call up the facility, send away for brochures, or talk to friends, family, or colleagues in search of finding the information they wanted. Conversely, when casinos or casino hotels wanted to get the word out about their facility or about specials or promotions they were having, they had to rely on advertising, brochures, and word of mouth.
The Internet has changed the way most of us live our lives. When we need information, most of us today look it up on the Web. When we want to do research, we research on the Web. Information that might have taken days to locate can be found almost instantly with the click of a mouse.
The Internet has also changed the way companies throughout the world do business. Casinos and casino hotels are no exception. People looking to book hotel reservations or get information about a casino or casino hotel often now look to the Internet. As a result, most casinos and casino hotels now not only have a Web presence, they need it to compete and market their facilities effectively. Individuals responsible for handling the marketing of these sites are called Web Site Marketing Directors. Responsibilities of individuals in this position will vary depending on the specific casino and casino hotel as well as its size, structure, and popularity. As with traditional businesses, a Web site must market its presence. The Web Site Marketing Director is expected to develop the concepts and campaigns that determine how the site will be marketed and how people will be attracted. He or she is responsible for determining the most effective techniques and programs to market the site and its contents and then find ways to implement them.
As part of the job, the Web Site Marketing Director plans and coordinates the site’s marketing goals and objectives. How will people know the Web site is online? How will they know the Web address? How will they find it? Who is the site being marketed to? What will bring them there?
Web Site Marketing Directors may use traditional marketing techniques or may come up with new innovative methods and techniques to promote and market the casino or casino hotel Web site. For a very creative Web Site Marketing Director, the sky can be the limit on marketing activities. The Web Site Marketing Director is expected to find creative ways to get the Web address known so that when people think of the specific casino or casino hotel, they can easily find it on the Web. This might be done through promotions, advertising, or public relations. The Web Site Marketing Director must be sure that the company’s Web address, or URL, is added to all television commercials, print advertisements, brochures, billboards, stationery, products, and branded merchandise. This is important to get the casino’s or casino hotel’s name and Web address in the public eye as often as possible.
The casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Director will often use various forms of e-mail marketing and e-mail blasts to get people to visit the site. The person must additionally find ways to track visitors to the site so he or she knows what areas of the Web site people are visiting, how long they are staying, and what brought them there. The marketing director may work with the company’s public relations department to send out press releases or develop ways to attract media attention that will hopefully help garner the attention of the general public. Once again, the more places the public sees the Web address, the more likely they are to remember it and visit it to see what’s happening on the site. In some cases, the marketing director may decide it is advantageous to advertise his or her company’s Web site on other Web sites. This is often done with banner ads, which are advertisements where an person on the Web just clicks on the banner and is taken to the site of the advertiser. The individual, may, for example, advertise the casino or casino hotel on a local newspaper’s Web site or on a travel Web site.
The Web Site Marketing Director is expected to perform research in order to obtain information about visitors to the site. He or she may do this by preparing questionnaires or surveys placed strategically on the site. In order to entice people to answer questionnaires as well as to attract new visitors to the site, the marketing director may offer gifts, discounts to shows, rooms, or restaurants in the facility, or entry into sweepstakes.
The marketing director may work with either internal or external promotion companies developing these contests, sweepstakes, and other promotions that can be entered online. This gives people an extra incentive to go to the company’s Web site. The more people who visit the Web site, the more “hits” the site gets. This is important not only to increase traffic, but because many companies also charge other companies to put their online advertisements on their site. The Web Site Marketing Director may be expected to develop and execute an online customer acquisition plan. This may be accomplished in a number of ways ranging from simply asking people to join online to working with the player development department to come up with special Web site promotions for individuals with casino loyalty cards.
Many casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors also find that sweepstakes are an excellent way to build mailing lists. When people enter sweepstakes they generally are asked to provide their name, address, phone number, age, and e-mail address. In many cases, with the enticement of possibly winning a prize, people are also often enticed to give additional information, such as what type of casino games they enjoy, how much they usually spend on a gambling visit, what comps they prefer, and other demographics data. This information is useful to the marketing director for a variety of reasons. It can help target what potential casino guests want. It can also help build information for e-mail lists, which in turn can be used to inform people about site changes, hotel rates, tournaments, new casino games, large winners, news, promotions, etc.
Casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors who come up with innovative and creative ideas often get the attention of the media who are composing articles or television or radio pieces. If the marketing director is lucky, these media pieces can generate literally hundreds of thousands of Web site hits. These hits then may turn into hotel and casino guests who have the potential of bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Depending on the size and structure of the specific casino or casino hotel, the Web Site Marketing Director may be responsible to the company’s general marketing director or vice president of marketing, or may handle all the responsibilities of the companies traditional and online marketing.
In some cases, the casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Director is responsible for handling the marketing activities of all of the Web sites a casino corporation may own in its brand. Other responsibilities of the casino or the casino hotel Web Site Marketing Director include:
Earnings of casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors can range from approximately USD 35,000 to USD 73,000, or even more, annually. A number of factors affect earnings, including the size, popularity, and prestige of the specific casino or casino hotel as well as the experience and responsibilities of the individual. Casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors who are responsible for more than one site will generally earn more than their counterparts who handle the marketing activities of only one site.
Employment prospects are fair for casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors. As mentioned earlier, almost every casino and casino hotel employs Web sites, meaning that most require people to handle their marketing activities. It should be noted that in some situations, the duties of the Web Site Marketing Director may be outsourced. Jobs for casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors may be located throughout the country in areas hosting casinos. These include among others Las Vegas, Reno, Laughlin, Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City, Biloxi, New Orleans, Detroit, and Black Hawk. Individuals working for large gaming corporations may be required to work in the corporate office. Some employers may allow the Web Site Marketing Directors to telecommute.
Advancement prospects for casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors are fair. Individuals may climb the career ladder in a number of ways. Some may find similar jobs with larger or more prestigious casinos or casino hotels. Other individuals may become the marketing directors for the entire casino or casino hotel company, or even the vice president of marketing. Others gain advancement by finding similar jobs in other industries.
Casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors generally are required to hold at minimum a four-year college degree. Good choices for majors include marketing, public relations, advertising, journalism, liberal arts, English, communications, or business. Classes, seminars, and workshops in marketing, promotion, Web marketing, casino marketing, publicity, and public relations will be helpful in honing skills and making important contacts.
Experience requirements for casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors vary depending on the specific position. Generally, larger, more prestigious casino and casino hotels will require their Web Site Marketing Directors to have more experience than smaller casinos and casino hotels. Casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors need to have the same skills as traditional marketing directors coupled with an understanding of Web marketing. Individuals should be creative, innovative, ambitious, articulate, and highly motivated. Excellent written and verbal communications skills are essential. A knowledge of publicity, promotion, public relations, advertising, and market research techniques are necessary. The ability to multitask, handling many details at one time without getting flustered and stressed, is needed. An understanding of the casino, gaming, and hospitality industries is helpful.
Casino and casino hotel Web Site Marketing Directors may belong to a number of trade associations including the Web Marketing Association (WMA), the American Marketing Association (AMA), the Marketing Research Association (MRA), and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). These organization provide professional support to members and often offer networking opportunities.
1. Jobs are often advertised in the classified section of newspapers in areas hosting casinos. Look under headings such as “Marketing,” “Marketing Director,” “Marketing Manager,” “Web Site Marketing,” “Web Site Marketing Director,” “Casinos,” or “Casino Web Site Marketing Director.”
2. Jobs may also be located online. Start off by checking out some of the more popular career sites such as Monster.com and Hotjobs.com as well as career sites specific to the casino and hospitality industries.
3. Don’t forget to check out casino and casino hotel Web sites. Many post their openings.
4. Search firms, head hunters, and recruiters specific to the casino, gaming, and hospitality industries might also have job openings.
5. Look for seminars, workshops, and courses in marketing, promotion, public relations, publicity, Web marketing, and the gaming industry. These are good opportunities to help you hone skills as well as to make valuable contacts.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Teddy Manions at 02082010
1. The Casino Credit Clerk works in the casinos credit office
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