For Raw RSS Feeds
This article was written by Clinton Ford Billups Jr., who has 40-years of experience as an entertainment agent, manager and producer. He serves as the live entertainment industry consultant for G2E.
>
Whether you’re booking headliners or lounge acts or selling lighting, tickets or other event production services, here are five sure bets to increase your odds for success when marketing to casinos!
Are you getting your share of today’s lucrative casino entertainment marketplace?
Whether you’re a rookie agent booking lounge acts, a seasoned tenper-center representing headliners or a sales rep for an audio/visual vendor, you already know casinos spend big bucks on live entertainment and event production. If you’ve been doing your job for more than a week or two, you also have learned that selling to casinos is not a sure bet!
Early in my professional career, I learned the four steps to successful selling: 1) Make calls; 2) Make good calls; 3) Make good calls on good prospects; and 4) Make good calls on good prospects with a GREAT attitude!
Over the years, I have also observed that successful agents and other marketers in the live entertainment industry possess three important attributes: 1) Effective selling skills; 2) GREAT attitude (did I mention that?); and 3) Thorough knowledge of their artists, clients and markets.
David Snowden (Triangle Talent) has been successful in the fair entertainment industry because he learned the fair industry inside and out. Likewise with Bill Minot (Paradise Artists) in concert touring, Arthur Shafman (Arthur Shafman International) in performing arts and Brian Knaff (Talent Buyers Network) in casinos.
So, if you want to want to be successful selling live entertainment or event production to casinos, here are five important things you need to know to increase your odds:
#1: Know the marketplace.
How much do you actually know about the casino marketplace? Here are some brief facts to get you started:
Consumer spending in 2006 was $32.4 billion at commercial casinos, $25.1 billion at tribal casinos and $3.6 billion at racetrack casinos — an increase of almost 9% over 2005. Compare that to the North American concert industry, which generated just $3.6 billion in ticket sales in 2006, or the domestic film box office gross, which took in $9.5 billion that year. 56.2 million consumers (26% of the U. S. population, age 21 and older) made 371 million trips to casinos in 2006 — an average of 6.6 trips per visitor! Those visitors included 32% of U. S. males and 29% of females — a slight gender gap that is down more than 50% from 2004.
The average casino visitor in 2006 was 47 years old, more likely to be college educated with a white collar occupation and had an average household income of $58,079 — 16% higher than the average U. S. household.
Now, here’s the most important fact:More than half of these visitors (58%) saw a show, concert or other live entertainment option during their casino visit. That means more than four million weekly attendees at live casino entertainment events — compared to two million weekly attendees for the performing arts.
Over the past several years, budgets and buyers in clubs, fairs and performing arts markets have been shrinking. While annual concert ticket revenue increased 16% in 2006, skyrocketing ticket prices — up 8% in 2006 and more than double from ten years ago — fueled much of the gain.
Bottom line: Compared to clubs, concerts, fairs and performing arts, casinos are the largest and fastest growing revenue source for entertainment marketers.
#2: Know the casinos.
Today in the United States, there are approximately 460 commercial casinos, 370 tribal casinos, and 36 racetrack casinos — almost all of which spend money on live entertainment and event production. Similar to other market segments, there are casino trade associations. Just as the concert industry has CIC, fairs have IAFE and for performing arts there is APAP, the casino industry is represented by AGA — American Gaming Association (commercial casinos) and NIGA — National Indian Gaming Association (tribal casinos).
NIGA sponsors the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, which is held in the spring each year in a different city and attracts a few thousand attendees and 300+ vendors. The preeminent tradeshow and conference for the casino industry is G2E, the Global Gaming Expo, held annually in November in Las Vegas and organized by AGA and Reed Exhibitions. Attracting 28,000+ attendees in 2006, this global confab features 750 exhibitors, 300,000+ sq. ft. of exhibits and 100+ conference sessions.
A recent addition to G2E is the Entertainment & Event Production Pavilion with exhibits by casino talent buying services, concert promoters, entertainment agencies, touring attractions and event production vendors selling to casinos. This new pavilion, plus several entertainment-oriented conference sessions, attracted not only casino executives (including entertainment directors; lounge, nightclub and showroom managers; marketing and public relations directors; special event producers; and venue managers), but also a wide array of agents, managers, producers and professional talent buyers.
Bottom line: Just as the leaders in the fair industry show up at IAFE, performing arts at APAP and amusement parks at IAAPA, you need to get to know the casinos and schmooze with them on their turf.
#3: Know why casinos buy.
Most presenters book an artist or attraction based on reviews, touring history, box office grosses, peer recommendations or the sincere assurances of an agent. That is not always the case with casinos. A Nashville agent told me about a country headliner who sold-out multiple shows at a casino, received several standing ovations and garnered rave reviews in the local press. But the casino didn’t want to rebook the artist — as in never! How could that be?
A patient entertainment director educated the agent: The artist’s fans didn’t spend money at the tables or the slots; they didn’t book casino hotel rooms; and they didn’t eat in the casino’s upscale restaurants. To add insult to injury, sales were also below normal in the casino’s gift shops. A great act, but not for that casino!
First and foremost, casinos are all about “The Drop,” a gaming term which describes the money that players drop into slot machines or dealers drop into cash boxes at table games — gross gaming revenue. In casino entertainment and special events, it’s not enough to sell-out the venue. What measures success is revenue — and increasingly not just gaming revenue.
In Las Vegas, more than 50% of casino revenue now comes not from gaming, but from lodging, food & beverage, and entertainment. In a recent survey, twice as many Americans (49%) said that the overall casino experience is more fun for them than the actual gambling (23%).
Bottom line: While casinos are willing to pay great prices for great artists with great shows, the gross revenue that an artist’s engagement generates for the casino is the measure of success. Thus, the casino entertainment director’s cardinal rule: Book for The Drop!
#4: Know how casinos buy.
Beyond the usual considerations of budget, capacity and production, casino entertainment buyers often use two important buying criteria:
Demographics — While the college educated, white collar 47-year old with annual household income of $58K, the casino you are pitching may have a very different demographic — and you must know what it is!
Share of individual visits to casinos by consumers varies significantly by region of the country (from 19% in the Northeast, 23% in the South, 25% in the Midwest and 33% in the West). Some casinos target destination leisure and convention visitors, while others target locals, bus tours or weekenders.
Branding — Casinos today are all about branding — creating a unique niche in the consumer’s mind. Casino’s view live entertainment and special events as an extension of their branding efforts. Whatever a casino’s demographics and branding strategy, you need to know this information in order to pitch entertainment that promotes the casino’s marketing objectives. You can get the 411 by studying a casino’s website and entertainment schedule, plus building relationships and gaining trust with casino buyers.
Bottom line: Casinos book talent and produce special events that target their demographic and extend their brand. Pitch appropriately and you’ll close the sale!
#5: Know who buys.
If you think casino entertainment directors are the sole booking decision-makers, you are so last century! Today’s casino entertainment director is the quarterback that implements a team strategy that has input from senior management, plus multiple departments (e.g. marketing, gaming, hotel operations, food & beverage, retail, etc.). While an entertainment director may implement a buying decision, the decision itself is made at the team level, often in the marketing department.
Casinos buy talent not only for clubs, lounges and showrooms, but also for player development events (e.g. slot club promotions, high-roller parties, etc.). Plus, casinos often book authors, speakers and sports celebrities for special promotional events.
Casinos with meeting and tradeshow space often assist their association and corporate clients in booking talent through the casino’s convention services department. Many casinos now subcontract the buying process to professional talent buyers (e.g. GayleForce, Signature, Talent Buyers Network, etc.) or work exclusively with promoters (e.g. AEG, HOB Concerts, Integrity Events, etc.). So, if you are just pitching the entertainment director, your marketing message is not getting through to all of the key decision-makers.
Bottom line: To do business with casinos, you need to reach multiple decision-makers. Deliver your marketing message via trade publications, email blasts, tradeshows and telephone follow-up to all casino entertainment decision-makers.
One last note: Don’t expect buyers to wander into your booth at tradeshows (as often happens at NACA, IAFE, etc.). Casino buyers are corporate executives who operate on schedules and appointments. Respect their industry, their objectives and their time and you will do business with casinos. You can bet on that!!!!!
Interested in getting your foot in the Casino market? G2E is currently accepting submissions. Check it out!
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}