casino advertising

Asian Casino Marketing is not as easy as it sounds.  In fact, it is a fairly complicated process and if not performed properly it can actually be perceived as offensive to the intended recipients. Steve Karoul explains some of the basic principles of Asian casino marketing. One form of casino marketing in Asia consists of Junkets and VIP Room operations while another form of Asian casino marketing is much more generic and more appropriate for casinos located around the world.

There is an old expression in Asia that when translated goes something like this, “Asia is not Asia”.  When you think about it you begin to better understand its subtle message; one size does not fit all and Asia is neither one country nor one culture.  Asia is a vast melting pot of numerous different countries, languages and cultures.  Some of them have marked differences based upon 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 in the same.  They are not.  Successful casino marketers around the world will need to understand this up front and then make every effort to research their target market segments before jumping into any new Asian marketing campaign.

Chinese is normally the largest Asian culture in the United States, Europe and elsewhere but this may vary when segmented by geographic locations as well as from city to city even with the same country.  In some instances, Vietnamese or another Asian culture may dominate on a local basis close to a particular casino.  Never-the-less, many uninformed casino marketing managers still insist upon copying and implementing marketing strategies specifically developed to target and to satisfy Chinese gamblers.  However, this approach may backfire on you and actually be offensive if your Asian players are not Chinese.  The cultural mix of Asian players residing near your casino may vary dramatically. Do your homework first to determine if you want to attract Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, Malaysian, Indonesian or other Asian players. […]