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 Everyone’s a winner - or could be…
88 Flush with issues
Everything in the States is bigger and better – or at least so they will have us believe. Cars the size of student
rooms, houses that would accommodate a small village and cities that touch the sky. And Vegas just pushes
the envelope beyond the imagination of anyone not on illegal substances. As you come in from the desert, it
rises up before you like a mirage and it is not until you touch the pavements that you believe what you see. It is
the epitome of bigger and better and proud to be so. It is said to be the only place on earth where you can get
whatever you want whenever you want it. Whatever.
There has to be a reason for its success – possibly because it represents so fully the dream of the country’s
inhabitants. Wealth, success, exuberance: the American way of life. For some reason, however, casinos just don’t
seem to do as well in Europe. Perhaps the different regulations and casinos’ positioning mean they are not
so much front-of-mind as in the States. In fact, in the Netherlands, the country’s only casino operator Holland
Casino is witnessing a decline in visitors per individual casino and reduced average turnover. So what’s up in the
Netherlands’ gameland? Well, three things actually: political issues, market developments and internal matters.
All three points will have to be addressed and lead to a new brand strategy.
Politics is the splits
Unlike its American counterparts, Holland Casino is fully-owned by the State of the Netherlands and its right
of existence is providing legal games of chance responsibly and in a safe environment. Analogous with other
financial institutions, it therefore falls under the Dutch Financial Service Provision Act, which means that it has a
legal obligation to register major transactions and visitors. Tight regulation of the company also means that it is
able to ensure the observance of the Responsible Gaming Policy, aimed at reducing possible harmful effects of
gambling. Of course, government control also enhances the possibility of keeping tabs on criminality and pro­
tecting the public. While all very positive in an absolute sense, these restrictions make it tough and the company
is caught in the splits, being both commercial and state-controlled, and complicating its competitive position as
similar companies like games halls and other places of entertainment are not burdened in such a way.
Murderous markets
While casino-going has never been up to cross-Atlantic standards, recent developments are pushing back the
numbers further than ever before. Why? First point is that consumers have ever-greater numbers of ways to
spend their time. This means being as relevant as ever within the range of available options. The question as
to whether just a game, be it one that could have ample return, is sufficient has been answered by the market.
No, it is not. You have to offer more. Second, the growth in existing casinos has stagnated and people’s willing­
ness to participate in games of chance has stabilised. The only option, therefore, would be to build new ones. Yet
within the governmental assignment of focusing on covering the need for legal facilities for games of chance,
this is not an option in the short term. Finally, guests’ appreciation of the Holland Casino offering started to
decline, with various other suppliers offering almost identical facilities.
The result is a decline in Holland Casino’s brand strength. What used to be of medium strength became simply
weak despite extremely high brand and top-of-mind awareness. Moreover, the company’s image was somewhat
arrogant and distant, a deadly combination for a service company, especially for a company that is state-run
and wants to be everyone’s friend.
The third challenge lay with the staff. While certainly professional, the stacks of rules meant people were losing
their identity and brand loyalty was poor. Time to seek out the passion in people again. Service industries cannot
function without their staff, so there was much to gain in the empathy corner.
Three of a kind
So, three points to be addressed in a single brand strategy. Pass or play…
It all starts with identity. Who are we and who do we want to be? After much soul-searching and research, this
led to a new brand promise: We offer Game & Glamour combined
with Pleasure! Of course, the game angle is the driver, the com­
CEO Dick Flink (as of October 1, 2007) | Number of employees 3686 FTEs | Company turnover (gross) w721,5m | Brand values responsible and safe,
pany’s right of existence and the heart of the company. Yet, with the
involved and sincere, contemporary and alluring, sparkling and professional | Brand promise ‘We offer Game & Glamour combined with Pleasure!’ | Brand
increased competition, just offering the game is not enough.
So how do you position the game so that it is attractive to a broad
target group adult innovator | Visitors’ target group 21+ | Primary advertising media TV, posters, newsletters (hard copy and digital)
audience? One word: glamour. Fortunately, this is part and parcel of
the casino industry, so a tool to be used. Glamour has many facets
ranging from dressing up before a night on the town to the lighting
and décor used inside the casinos themselves. All in all, it is the
translation of ‘stretching’ the game component: ensuring guests
can temporarily be part of ‘another world’. Alongside glamour,
pleasure is also important. Staff must radiate enjoyment and
the game must be fun and exciting – not forced enjoyment but
genuine – as this reflects on the guests, concurrently enhancing
their enjoyment.
Coolbrands: Maarten & Anouk in discussion with René-Paul Haas
Holland Casino’s market promise is We offer Game & Glamour
combined with Pleasure! It soon became clear that this should also
be Holland Casino’s mission statement, the internal driver to show
staff what is expected of each individual in the collective.
Yet, Holland Casino went further, and attached a number of brand
values to the statement as well: responsible and safe, involved and
sincere, contemporary and alluring, sparkling and professional. The
first two are the company’s internal values: the emotions elicited
by the game have to be caught in responsible and safe, without
creating a claustrophobic feeling. Involved and sincere towards
both guests and staff. Appreciating guests and appreciating that
they are spending their time at Holland Casino. Giving staff the
chance to demonstrate their professionalism. Contemporary and
alluring mean being a modern organisation, but not falling into the
old casino trap that clearly was not working. And finally: sparkling
and professional; two external values whose antithesis evokes the
tension you want to create – all is professional behind the scenes,
yet sparkling up front.
Let the good times roll
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With the market promise, mission statement and brand values in
place, it is now up to Holland Casino to make it happen. It is currently
ensuring the new strategy comes to life internally before making
external promises. The brand-thinking has been launched internally
and the fact that the market promise has also been assumed as
mission statement shows Holland Casino’s internal enthusiasm. The
translation towards the new focus is in the works, with the brand
experience guide (brand book) as the initial concrete result. The
internal cultural shift is underway with a focus on hospitality – not
to introduce more rules but rather to provide handles that show
what its guests expect. All has to be up and running by 2011. Time
to get the Tux out again – or will it be jeans this time?