Engaged Nation CEO Jerry Epstein said he’s “beyond excited” about the interactive digital engagement company’s continued growth, as it makes its presence felt at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention. They’ve established themselves as an important marketing component for the casino industry, providing a financial return for its casino clients and partners.
“We hear from our clients that one of our keys for success is being customer-centric,” Epstein said. “We listen to them, understand their challenges, develop programs that will meet their needs/goals, then generate more revenue for them. We’ve proven that our innovative approach generates measurable results and provides a competitive advantage.”
Engaged Nation transcends the traditional vendor-client relationship, said Amy Hunstock, director of marketing at Morongo Casino Resort Spa. “They’re an exceptional business partner. Their unwavering commitment to service excellence and perpetual drive for innovation are qualities we deeply admire and value. We’ve seamlessly integrated their gamified platform across various facets of our operations, including incorporation into our mobile application and an external portal tailored for our players. In an intensely competitive landscape, we recognize Engaged Nation as a pivotal competitive advantage.”
“Research shows that people spend more time online than we do sleeping and we get bombarded with more than 5,000 branding messages a day. We can remember only five or ten of them. Our interactive system breaks through and achieves tangible results,” Epstein said.
“Our gamified marketing solution ignites an emotional response, which Forbes states drives decision-making by 300% over standard messaging and a 40% increase in online to on-property conversion. This type of experiential digital marketing creates an emotional connection through memorable moments, just like when a player visits a property, online casino, or sportsbook. Our programs extend the fun live-casino experience at home or at work.
The foundation of emotional gamified marketing is laid by creating a perceived value that a player won or earned something special, Epstein said. It’s so much more effective than just being given an offer. “We’ve proven this with a 92% online-to-on-property conversion rate at Morongo Casino Resort from players participating in our online program. Combined with direct mail, social media, and other promotional elements, our system creates a complete omnichannel marketing approach.
“We’ve become an essential part of the marketing tool kit at so many properties and major companies,” Epstein said. “They tell us our program is a very effective advertising engagement extension with one key advantage. Our programs are quantifiably measured, both online and at the casino.”
“I was excited to try something, but was a little skeptical at first. I didn’t know if it would work for our players. I was elated when we received a 300% ROI,” said Wendi Long, director of marketing at Indigo Sky Casino & Resort.
“That’s where we excel, both within the casino industry and beyond, with such clients as Anheuser Bush and its extensive product portfolio,” Epstein said. “On average, we generate a 17-times return for each program we conduct. It’s a validation of our success to have our marketing clients directly correlate our program with a quantifiable result.”
Additionally, Engaged Nation’s type of player engagement has a monetary value – the earned media advertising equivalency – a common way agencies and events calculate overall customer exposure.
“We use a precise formula to calculate the value that was developed and used by CMOs, loyalty and experiential marketers, and major advertising, marketing, and public-relations firms. Over the past year, EN has generated more than $200 million in advertising equivalency for its clients,” Epstein said.
Engaged Nation takes a methodical approach to working with a property to understand its needs and goals. The process includes identifying the best integration with its technology stack and identifying gaps, synergies, and cost savings.
“A property came to us and said they desperately needed help on Sundays,” Epstein said. “We developed ‘Sunday Fun Days’ and it turned into their most profitable Sunday nights in history. That’s the kind of customer-centric strategic approach that allows us to configure a campaign that will be of greatest value for our clients.”
One of the most popular program configurations is the continuous-engagement “digital-nurturing” module. It’s a revenue-generating loyalty program that engages players with fun activities to earn virtual currency or drawing entries daily. They can get quizzed on what’s happening at the property and have a fun and rewarding time that drives incremental visits and revenue to the casino, Epstein said.
“Another new offering is an industry first — a fully packaged online-to-on-property insured promotion featuring six to eight weeks online with a final insured event at the property,” Epstein said. “In preliminary tests, this program created record GGR days for our clients. Based on those results, we know this program is a significant step up from typical insured events and is expected to be a favorite in the industry.”
Engaged Nation also has a multi-dimensional TEAM program that can focus on customer service, changes in policies and procedures, compliance and corporate culture, wellness and safety, and marketing initiatives.
“It helps engage team members in a greater way,” Epstein said. “Why is that so important? Based on research, there’s a disengagement epidemic going on across the country, especially with record-low unemployment numbers. So what happens if team members aren’t knowledgeable and engaged at the property? It’s verified that the impact of a single interaction between a team member and a customer can be costly, both from a brand reputational perspective and an operator’s bottom line. Our program is proven to help improve customer service.
“The results we’ve had with one property we’re working with in Colorado (Jacobs Entertainment) have been tremendous. We’ve helped drop turnover to 51% from 102%. The cost savings for recruiting and training are significant.”
“Team-member engagement is the secret sauce that fuels the engine of organizational success,” said JJ Garcia, vice president and general manager of Jacobs Entertainment. “Engaged Nation has the tools and the support to help drive our Team initiative forward with their interactive system and gamified mechanics. This program allows us to test the knowledge and retention of our messaging, promotional calendar, operational approach, and values. The success of this initiative is clear, as more than 90% of our team members are actively engaged.”
Epstein said one of the key measurement factors from the employee engagement campaign was that customer-satisfaction surveys showed increased satisfaction by 15%. “When you have better customer service, it should result in more satisfied players, more property visits, more revenue, and ultimately more profitability. Employees love it and are spending as much as 10 minutes for each online session.”
The company has a vast library of programs, from a one-touch event for new-customer acquisition to the more engaging, multi-touch, continuous engagement that drives player retention. “We’ve got some exciting new offerings and show specials at IGA,” Epstein said.
Engaged Nation is also announcing its gifting partner program, designed to create greater interest and demand that will drive an extra property trip. In addition, they’re showcasing their data-acquisition tablet program, designed to help acquire new players club members and gather the most up-to-date email information on existing players to increase the property’s ability to digitally nurture.
“As a company, we’re always pushing the envelope on the types of programs we offer a client and our REACH platform allows us to do so,” Epstein said. “Frank Oppenheim, the GM at Gold Country, said it better than we could: ‘The limits of their program were only dictated by the limits of our imagination.’”
