Harrah's Creates Customer Excitement
by James Careless
When it comes to attracting and keeping customers, Harrah's Entertainment does not rely on casinos disguised as theme parks. Instead, this veteran of the U.S. gambling trade uses a combination of great service, big prizes and customer appreciation programs to keep the highrollers coming back for more. Perhaps this explains why Harrah's, which was founded more than 60 years ago, now has 26 casinos operating in 17 U.S. cities nationwide. Besides the Harrah's name, they are also branded under the titles of "Rio", "Showboat" and "Harveys."
One key weapon in Harrah's promotional arsenal is business TV via satellite, using services and facilities provided by Convergent Media. It is not only Harrah's staff who are being linked together by satellite, however, but loyal customers as well. They are brought together on a regular basis as part of Harrah's Total Rewards program and offered the chance to win big cash prizes, really big prizes.
Take Harrah's recent "Game of Life" contest, which was broadcast live via satellite to 16 Harrah's locations on September 22, 2002. The grand prize winner was a 74 year-old Florida grandmother and Harrah's regular identified as "Peggy B." She won $1 million as she watched a simulcast from Las Vegas in Harrah's Atlantic City casino.
"I always believe that things happen in threes," Peggy B. was quoted as saying in a Harrah's news release. "Two weeks ago, I won 11,900 nickels on a slot machine here at Harrah's. Today, I won $5,000 in the drawing, and now I won $1 million!"
How Satellite Helps Harrah's Marketing Efforts
Despite the fact that Peggy B. walked away with $1 million, it is Harrah's Entertainment who was the big winner on September 22, 2002. Satellite-delivered contests such as the Game of Life are part of the company's sophisticated market research program. While making customers happy, such contests are central to Harrah's quest to keep its regulars happy and coming back for more.
Likewise, this all happens with one-to-one marketing. Drawing on a database describing the gaming habits of Harrah's top customers, Harrah's tailors offers for each player's individual habits and preferences. In doing so, the company builds strong personal relationships with its customers; relationships it strengthens through occasional cash giveaway contests.
It is not just a sense of goodwill that Harrah's fosters through Total Rewards, however, but also a sense of brand loyalty among its best customers. This includes encouraging them to play at the casino's locations throughout the United States, especially when they can win prizes live on national closed-circuit business TV. In addition, Harrah's also does local and regional linkups throughout the year.
This is precisely what happens whenever Harrah's does a Total Rewards grand prize draw. To make it happen, the company uses satellite links, satellite airtime and broadcast crews at each of the 16 remote casinos plus Harrah's Las Vegas flagship, from where the broadcast originates. Every location is equipped not only with monitors, but also TV lighting and manned video cameras. When it is time for the big draw, everyone in each location can see each other all at once, thanks to the banks of TV monitors set up at each site.
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