As one of the masterminds behind Quick Custom Intelligence, Andrew Cardno relishes educating gaming operators about new ways of viewing, and using, analytics. But with his resume, one could understand if he chose another field.
The recipient of two Smithsonian Laureates that recognize creative thinkers, innovators and professional catalysts in the arts, humanities, science, technology and public service, Cardno has granted more than 80 patent applications and is the author of more than 100 industry and academic articles. He’s published four books: The Math that Gaming Made; The Math that Gaming Made, Again: Proven Methods for Seeing Into Your Data; Where is the Money?; and The Super Powered Marketer.
Cardno also has done work in telecommunications, network optimization and bioinformatics with companies ranging from the Mayo Clinic to Wal-Mart. The better question, he suggests, is “why not gaming”?
“Gaming,” Cardno says, “is a wonderful industry for an analytics person.”
As co-founder and chief technology officer for QCI, Cardno oversees the San Diego-based company’s data-driven platform for Host, Slots, and Marketing that feature industry-specific templates and user-friendly tools.
He does that by looking at the gaming industry through a different prism. One of his observations is the fundamental laws of economics don’t work in gaming. That statement alone draws looks of disbelief from gaming executives, but dig a little deeper, Cardno says, and the truth of that assertion becomes self-evident.
“The laws of economics rely on this one really cool thing called price,” he explains. “If you say to any economist, imagine a world where there was no price on any good, what would happen to all the rules of economics?”
That idea is comparable to the blackjack tables at a casino where customers can wager amounts between $5 and $500.
“We’re literally playing the same game, in the same experience,” he says. “Now imagine being in a retail store and there’s no price on any of the goods, you just pay what you feel like. Or you go on a cruise ship, and you say, `I’ve decided to spend $10,000 on this cruise ship because I’ll feel better about it.’ This is not going to work!”
Thus, the need for tools that are expressly designed to measure the inherent wagering variables on a casino floor.
“The things that people need in this entertainment space are just so different,” Cardno argues. “It is not just the fundamental math; it is the way that it is expressed and used within the software.”
That element of price informs how QCI’s marketing platform works. Cardno says that the marketing departments for gaming operators tend to adopt fine-grained segmentation strategies that place customers in specific buckets and track how customers move between those buckets. Those strategies, however, often are not adaptable to changing conditions.
“They’ll have a team of developers just building the segmentation strategy,” he says. “And it’s too hard if you’re in any business and you’ve got a development team just to build your segmentation strategy.”
In contrast, the QCI marketing platform gives marketing teams the ability to take control of promotions and metrics that are valuable to their specific gaming operation.
“They can have flexibility, they can have reporting,” Cardno points out, “and the tool itself understands the marketing programs.”
What does that mean for marketing departments?
“This means that the business is empowered to make changes without getting a developer involved,” he says, “so now it’s the business decisions around the segmentation and strategy.”
Secondly, the QCI marketing platform enables automatic forecasting of the outcomes using its Pre/Post Forma mathematical models for marketing campaigns.
“QCI Marketing will tell you how much money you’ve got to make before you run it, every day while you’re running it, and when you’ve finished it,” Cardno explains. “And halfway through, if you see a segment is down, you can do remedial action immediately.”
QCI’s suite of products has proven popular with gaming operators. Over the last year, the company has added a “major resort” every two weeks and about 50 smaller sites each month, growing QCI by 400% in 2021.
The boost in business is a byproduct of QCI’s ability to quickly and accurately diagnose and solve problems for gaming operators.
“It’s the benefit of having done it before and understanding what (gaming operators) need,” Cardno says. “When we’re showing people things around it, people often say, you’re really focused on making us successful.
“This is not an academic discussion. These are tools that really work in the real world, and people see that. I guess that’s shown in our growth rate and our adoption rate.”
