Inaugural Casino Marketing Boot Camp A Success

The inaugural Casino Marketing Boot Camp, held March 10-12, 2019 in Winter Park, Colorado, was a success, and plans are already in the works to hold a second event in 2020.

“Our small group size allowed us to deliver one-on-one consultation-level attention to each participant,” said Julia Carcamo, president of New Orleans-based marketing agency J Carcamo & Associates, and co-founder of Boot Camp. “We were able to share casino industry knowledge as well as insights from leaders in the fields of strategic thinking, learning, and business management of seasonal business.”

Held over two days, participants participated in interactive sessions from dynamic speakers such as Len Hernstein, CEO of ManageCamp; Josh LeDuff, EMPATHIQ chief strategy officer; and Jeff Klem, co-founder of Adventures in Leading.

“I feel like I came into this training knowing nothing about Marketing and came out with just enough information to be ‘dangerous’,” said participant Martha George-Sachava, manager-in-training, Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort.

“We gathered a group of casino marketers from across the country and provided them with content relevant to their day-to-day business along with the opportunity to share their challenges and best practices,” said Nicole Barker, Boot Camp co-founder and loyalty program/database analytics marketing consultant with Relationship Marketing Solutions Inc. “They left ready to implement what they learned.”

Outside of the working sessions, participants and session leaders continued the discussion while exploring the local sights of their host community with a whiskey tasting and tour at Idlewild Distillery.

“I think this (conference) would be good for my managers up to the director-level,” said Jennifer Johnson, vice president – loyalty marketing, Foxwoods Casino.

Sarah Barten, chief communications manager, Grand Casino Mille Lacs furthered, “I valued making connections with this small intimate group. Our challenges are similar to the ones other casinos face. We were able to delve into our casino database and identify areas where our players are falling through the cracks. A big takeaway for me was the brand framework we built that will help us as we rebrand our casino.”

The 2020 Casino Marketing Boot Camp is scheduled for March 2020 in New Orleans, LA. More information is available at www.casinomarketingbootcamp.com