SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
SBC begins this week by speaking to Tapcentive Inc Founder and CEO David Wentker on In-location marketing and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Wentker details to SBCNews why gambling retailers and online operators must pay attention to dynamics which will likely come into play through in-location marketing technologies.
San Francisco based Tapcentive is a technology provider looking to transform how businesses drive foot traffic and engage their consumers by connecting the digital and physical retail worlds through mobile in-location led technologies and communications
Prior to founding Tapcentive Inc David Wentker led Visa mobile product divisions across multiple continents focusing on enhancing product strategies and development.
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SBC: Hi Dave, pleasure to interview you, can you give SBC readers further insight into in-location marketing and engagement, how you see this service benefiting casino operators.
David: Casino operators face many similar challenges that retailers face: Getting customers and guests through the doors, convincing them to stay – and stay for longer periods of time, and encouraging them to engage in other activities once inside. Great in-location marketing should do all of these things well, i.e., increase foot traffic, boost dwell time, and deepen the engagement of guests and players who have chosen to walk into the venue
Like retail customers, casino visitors are likely tethered to their mobile phones, a behaviour that creates tremendous opportunities for casino operators to launch in-location campaigns that deliver rewarding offers and incentives directly to their guests’ phones. The Tapcentive platform gives casinos the ability to deploy additional, fun, in-location customer experiences that complement and encourage incremental gaming, entertainment and dining by customers.
SBC: You are dealing in an early stage technology, how does your team gauge and value user engagement with in-location services. What metrics is your team looking to develop upon?
David: While Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are still in the early adoption stages for broader marketing use, the Tapcentive platform is meant to act as a seamless extension of a casino’s existing loyalty marketing program (or campaigns) and its visual elements, such as floor signage, mobile apps, frequent guest programs and the like. The marketing goals are the same: Deliver relevant and satisfying content that creates player engagement, habitual behaviours and return visits.
We’ve taken a rather unique approach to mobile engagement by incentivising the consumer “to make the first move.” That’s because we’ve found consumer-originated interactions are critical for successfully driving consumer awareness and influencing both short- and long-term in-location behaviours. The first step in this approach is to provide a strong, visible call-to-action, which for us is our Tapcentive Touchpoints. With a swipe of a smartphone, consumers simply tap Touchpoints within the casino environment to begin receiving gamified rewards and offers that are fun and exciting. And there’s really no limit to what these incentives can be – think randomised rewards, sweepstakes, treasure hunt, coupons, instant-win gift card, gamification, random rewards, etc.
Behind the scenes, the Tapcentive platform tracks behavioural data so that ongoing campaigns and marketing messages can be fine-tuned and targeted as needed by the marketer. Tapcentive provides a new dimension of customer data that “fills in the gaps” between activities where casinos are already tracking behaviour. The additional, location-specific data will broaden marketers’ understanding of what guests’ interests are, how frequently they visit, and which offers they engage with and redeem most.
SBC: Many operators with online and retail presence have found it hard to bridge customer engagement from retail operations to online/mobile verticals. Why can in-location technology solve this issue?
David: The mobile phone is the key to making that link. Within the current marketing environment, brands are working toward creating more personalised experiences for customers, while consumers are open to engaging in-location via their phones so long as those mobile interactions and transactions are intuitive and easy.
And that’s what Tapcentive is focused on – bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds. Our in-location, mobile engagement platform incorporates visible Touchpoints that encourage and reward casino guests. They tap their phones to engage, and then stay to patronize the venue for longer periods of time. The underlying SDK comes loaded with immersive “tap” campaigns that deliver great guest and player experiences, intended to “train” guests to stay longer in that session and come back for more because they enjoy what they receive.
SBC: Dealing with an early stage technology such as ibeacons, have you witnessed any shortcomings which users and advertisers should be aware of?
David: Most of the current in-location engagement solutions utilise geo-fences and proximity fences that are invisible to consumers, an approach that relies on “chance encounters” with guests’ mobile devices and can send irrelevant or ill-timed messages. Guests who feel that messages are off-target are more likely to tune out, turn off the app, and maybe even decide that they don’t want to patronize the venue. The Tapcentive approach is built on guests actually seeing the technology that’s “behind the message” and interacting physically with the Touchpoints, a first step in developing trust with the casino or venue.
Of course, once the guest has engaged, marketers must then ensure that messages are focused on content that’s relevant, timely, and creates rewarding, satisfying experiences. Those experiences then reinforce the brand and drive customers to engage over and over again.
SBC: At this early stage of in-location technology’s life cycle, should development teams begin to build and design verticals for the technology or should they wait till in-location capabilities and user habits mature?
David: It’s never too early to start building, especially in an industry when technologies, trends, capabilities and vendors change so quickly. Every marketer should be learning as much as possible about in-location possibilities right now, because it’s definitely the wave of the future. Marketers who are not already learning about in-location capabilities will be even farther behind in 2015. Think about it: it may take months for the entire team to devise the strategies, tactics and tools that work best, and once everyone is on board, it’s then all about execution – not about learning, planning or testing.
Testing is also key: before deploying, make sure to test, test and re-test any mobile app or mobile initiative fully. The goal should be a seamless and satisfying mobile experience for guests and players.
The lesson for retailers: Make a mobile connection with customers while they’re in-location, because if they don’t, their competitors will.
SBC: How do you see in-location marketing affecting general consumer habits; what do digital and retail industries need to prepare for in order to stay ahead of the curve?
David: Industry leaders need to stay abreast of what’s happening in the mobile marketplace, because it changes month to month and even day to day. In some ways, consumers are actually driving the marketplace, because they show a willingness to try new mobile technologies and use their smartphones as marketing tools, as long as the offers they receive meet their needs and aren’t intrusive or irrelevant. Those behind the curve in the retail sector find themselves playing catch-up to their consumers, or they spend more time trying to figure out which technologies to choose/support rather than focusing on the message and content.
“Staying ahead of the curve” means that digital and retail industries have to be nimble and always in a learning mode, willing to invest in the technologies, platforms and infrastructures that support mobile marketing and its continuously evolving cast of devices, technologies and vendors. With technology partners who can handle the up-to-the-minute, behind-the-scenes details of IT and operating systems, the retail and marketing teams can focus on what really matters: content and execution.
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David Wentker – CEO & Founder – Tapcentive Inc
