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Royal River Casino & Hotel is one of South Dakota’s first Native American Casinos and has historically enjoyed a majority of the region’s market share, as there were few casino competitors. 44i partnered with this 350-machine, twenty year old Native American casino who knew they could no longer simply ‘coast along’, or the changing market dynamics could deliver a hit that could be devastating.

The Challenge: 

A new multi-million dollar casino resort opened for business within 60 miles of Client A, and within 10 miles of the largest population base. Our client needed to re-invent and promote their brand, facility aesthetics, service and experience to change the perception of being ‘old, outdated and tired’ to hold/grow market share and compete with the new property.

Our Approach: 

We conducted research to find that ‘one little nugget of truth’ that set the casino apart from the competition and made sure the entire market saw it, knew it, and understood it. 96% Certified Slots, which no other casino in the area could state. We understood that their core audience would visit the new competitor at least once, but that they would understand (and experience for themselves) the difference that a certified higher payout would mean to them and to all potential customers in the DMA.

The Solution/Results: 

We created and promoted a new brand that conveys excitement, energy, fun, and real Vegas-like casino action, and made sure that the new brand was consistently conveyed wherever people saw it. Buzz was fueled with a strategic media buy in environments that immediately connected with the target audience, and, suddenly… everyone was talking about the campaign and the casino!

We delivered the initial campaign through: Television and Radio Commercials, Billboards, Print Ads, In-Casino promotional elements, Website Development, Digital Marketing, as well as Interior and Exterior Design Elements.

During this study period, website visits had more than doubled since the campaign launch, traffic was up, coin-in was up over 15%, overall revenue was up, and the entire staff and management at Royal River experienced a new energy and excitement.