Going bold on branding

As regional gambling revenue slumps, some companies are finding a new marketing strategy isn’t enough to draw the crowds and instead are trying for a complete rebrand.

“It is sometimes difficult and challenging to keep marketing the same old, same old over and over,” says Steve Karoul, president of Euro-Asia Consulting. “It gets boring, so rebranding helps to break the mold per se and offer something new and exciting in an attempt to either increase visitation from existing players or to attract new players.”

In an ever more competitive marketplace, a strong brand identity is ever more important. However, how to create that successful brand is another matter with as many failures as successes. Some experts say Macau itself is still struggling to create a brand identity and a lot more work needs to be done to transition from a VIP-dominated gaming model to a broad-based Las Vegas-style tourism destination.  

Michael Perhaes, vice president of marketing for Wind Creek Hospitality, said; “Image is everything.” He says branding is more than a new logo or slogan, it’s a promise made and kept to the target audience and Macau operators in particular have recognized the need to appeal to a broader, mass customer.

“The viability for brands to stand out and create differentiation is vital in a competitive marketplace where the product really doesn’t differ from place to place.”

Some recent rebranding exercises include Macau gaming promoter Tak Chun Group which, in October launched its new brand identity, stressing it is "trendy, honourable and yet international.”

“We have built a unique, customer-focused company and junket business model, and our business has grown significantly over the years,” said Levo Chan, Tak Chun Group’s CEO, in a statement.

The company added that, although the rebranding comes at a time when the VIP sector is suffering its biggest downturn in history amid a crackdown on corruption in Mainland China and a series of junket scandals, it “believes it is the right time to give a fresh new public image that serves as a positive energizer and creates a new perspective to the gaming industry.”

Similarly, Australia’s Echo Entertainment rebranded itself as The Star Entertainment Group in a bid to create a “single identity.” The name was chosen because of the awareness and recognition driven both domestically and internationally in recent times by the company’s Sydney property.

Ben Reichel, executive director of Donaco International, which operates casinos in Vietnam and Cambodia, said the main prompt for his company’s logo change was the expansion of the company following the acquisition of the Star Vegas Resort & Club in Cambodia, “which diversified our operations across two properties in two very different regions.”

“The response to the logo has been very positive, it's definitely a much more professional and higher quality look than our old logo,” he said in an email.

Karoul says because the casino and gaming industry sells intangible products, such as a service, dream and aspirations, it is important for visitors and players to know what the brand represents and how it will benefit them.  

“Rebranding may often enable a casino to reinvent itself in the eyes of their customers and other potential new customers and to give themselves a new marketing platform to help differentiate themselves from other casino competitors.”

 However, Karoul said that establishing a casino brand is not an easy process, with some ailing due to the confusing messages, or not being able to deliver on their promises.

 The huge costs associated with rebranding means it is a process that should be treated carefully, Karoul added, referring to a blunder by Coca Cola a couple of years ago in which they released a white can with polar bears, much to the confusion of their clients.

 “[N]obody understood what was inside, what it tasted like, what was the purpose of the new brand or what were the benefits.”

 “Many casinos are currently looking at Millennials as the next market of opportunity and consequently also looking at branding and rebranding issues. That scares me, especially if they are going to try to do it internally. Most casinos just do not have the level of expertise that is required when tampering with their brand.”

Glenn McCartney, an assistant professor of gaming and hospitality management at the University of Macau, has spoken of Macau’s failure to create a strong brand identity.

He said the government has adopted the slogan of calling Macau a “world-class city,” but has no clear definition as to what that means, with the government following one marketing message and the operators largely following their own individual agendas.

“You need to have clear distinctive branding. If you look at destinations that are successful, the branding they have is clear, distinctive, compelling and believable.”