Challenge:
The new $250 million dollar Quechan Casino Resort was originally scheduled to open in Spring of 2009. However, a newly hired team of Executive Directors came on board in mid-November 2008, and their goal was to open the doors on February 13, 2009. This goal was 90 days away, and 2 months ahead of schedule. The new casino and resort had no brand identity, advertising, marketing or PR plan in place. All that was present at the time was a skeleton of a building currently under construction. Additionally, it was viewed that “Quechan” was a difficult name to pronounce and remember in both English and Spanish – two very important languages to establish the casino in. The new Executive team hired Advanced Marketing Strategies to come up with a brand, marketing and PR plan for the new casino and resort. This included branding the casino, 166-room hotel, event center and 5 unique restaurants.
Strategy:
Advanced Marketing Strategies developed and launched a fully integrated marketing and branding campaign centered around “The Q” – the new nickname of Quechan Casino Resort in January 2009. The campaign was divided into 3 phases: 1) Teaser campaign with no visuals, 2) Teaser #2 campaign with visuals, and 3) Introducing the “The Q” brand with “Who will you be at the Q?” tagline. The 3-phase campaign included radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, emails, online, billboards, movie slides, in-casino advertising and public relations. Advanced Marketing Strategies also developed and executed a brand for the hotel, each of the 5 eateries (Ironwood Steakhouse, Ocotillo Buffet, Sidewinders Bar & Grill, Gila Blend Café and the Food Court), as well as the PIPA Event Center, in which the first 2 concerts were Kenny Loggins and Jenni Rivera. Internal marketing communication for each of these included menus, posters, hotel guest directories, room keys and even cocktail napkins.
Results:
“The Q” (Quechan Casino Resort) opened on February 13, 2009 with 2,000 people waiting in line for the casino to open its doors. There was non-stop traffic coming to the casino starting at 9:30am. Traffic was stopped on the I-8 freeway for 6 miles before the exit to the casino. A total of 20,000 people visited The Q throughout the day. All 1,000 slot machines and 24 table games were completely occupied, and there was a constant line to eat at all 5 restaurant/eateries in the casino. The hotel was sold out for the opening weekend. Additionally, “The Q” received 42 media hits on the casino grand opening, a 479% return on investment!
“In all my years of experience in this industry, I have never seen anything like this.
AM Strategies exceeded my expectations, I could not be happier with the results.”
Marty Gross, CEO – Quechan Casino Resort
