The Borgata Hotel and Casino

A gaming/resort facility, run by MGM Mirage and Boyd Gaming Corporation, opened in Atlantic City. It was the first new gaming facility built in 13 years. Management wanted to compete with other more established casinos to encourage repeat visits. Like many casinos, they developed a loyalty card program to encourage customers to increase spending. Management used the card to track gambling/purchasing habits.

The casino had heard of variable data print marketing and was familiar with database mining. They used an on-line platform to manage data driving the Welcome Bounce-Back mailing. Each day data was collected on customer spending habits and sent to a customer management program.

A bounce-back mailer was personalized with 150 different images from a photo library. Personalized images were based on interests. The result was 35,000 different word and image combinations. Mailings of relevant offers (like free spa treatments, dining, and shopping) were sent within 72 hours of the visit.

Results were calculated, not just who returned for a second visit, but how much they spent. Response rates and ROI went up 100% for the mailing.

Source: PODi