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NEWS


Like me, please... a gaming supplier logs on to Facebook


FutureLogic believes B2B vendors, as well as operators, can benefit from social media


R-Pattz has one, Barack Obama has one, you probably have one; in fact, 500m people and a growing number of businesses have them. They’re Facebook pages, and now FutureLogic, the maker of gaming printers, is a slightly surprising addition to the list of companies using social media to interact with their customers and find new ones. Slightly surprising, because for all that social is the big marketing buzzword of 2011, it’s largely seen as a tool for organisations wanting to reach out and touch consumers. B2B social happens, but it has a much lower profile. FutureLogic, however, believes that a Facebook page with content such as industry news, product videos, links to blogs, and company information is a worthwhile investment. (Such a page costs nothing to set up, but every guru on social media – and there are a lot of them – affirms that keeping content fresh and conversations active is a must. There, in staff time, is where the investment lies.)


Social media may look free, but it requires an investment in the form of employee time


“By creating a Facebook page we are


reaching out to our customers, in real time, in hopes of offering them the benefit of our long-time industry perspective and expertise,” said Nick


Micalizzi, FutureLogic’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing for North America.


Many gaming companies that service the consumer already have a


presence on Facebook and similar services, although few vendors have taken the FutureLogic route and developed more than a token presence.


The most straightforward way for a business to benefit from social media is to use it as an advertising medium: because it is free to the consumer, it is usually (although not always) advertising-funded. However, this is not fundamentally different from any other form of Internet advertising, and extracts no value from social media’s special characteristics – merely from the size of its audience, which is of course only of value to consumer-facing operations. Longer-term rewards are likely to arise from a fuller engagement, and that’s where B2B can benefit too. Social media can enable businesses to hear the voice of potential customers, and service and develop existing customers. It can deliver a return on investment in a number of ways, including the creation of cost savings by replacing other activities (for example, it may reduce the number of call centre operators required, or the need for a printed newsletter). It can also directly generate sales leads. And it can grow sales in a


less direct way by changing perceptions of your organisation, product, or service: these sales may not be obviously initiated by your social media activity, but they are encouraged by it. FutureLogic may be among the first gaming suppliers to seek such benefits from Facebook, but it surely won’t be the last.


4 JUNE 2011 INBRIEF


ASIAN DEBUT Inspired Gaming Group is exhibiting at G2E Asia for the first time this year, launching new games for Asian operators and highlighting its Roulette and virtual sports products. In Europe, meanwhile, Inspired was joint sponsor of the Slot Summit held in Slovenia at the end of May, where CEO Luke Alvarez was among the speakers. Other sponsors of the four-day event were Bally Technologies, IGT and Atronic.


FRAUD PREVENTION Newave has installed its myCageOperations Check Prove system at the Avi casino in Laughlin, Nevada, to automate cheque cashing and reduces fraud.


THERAPY GRANT Britain’s Responsible Gambling Fund is making a £747,000 grant to The Gordon Moody Association over 18 months, to provide two therapeutic residential communities near London and Birmingham as well as support for problem gamblers waiting for a place and those who have completed a residential programme.


TRICKY TURN Penn Jillette, half of the Penn & Teller duo of magicians, will open October’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas as keynote speaker.


HIGHER PINNACLE First-quarter revenue at Pinnacle Entertainment rose 9.6% and operating income was up 28.6%. Casinos performing strongly included Lumiere Palace and River City in St. Louis, as well as Boomtown and L’Auberge du Lac in Louisiana. The company has recently shed several businesses but continues to work on a $357m casino hotel development in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, scheduled to open next year with 1500 slots and 51 table games.


MORE SLEEPS The Coeur d’Alene tribal casino resort in Worley, Idaho is adding 98 more hotel rooms, bringing the total to 300, and other facilities.


WE HEART VEGAS Nearly half of US gamblers have voted for Las Vegas as the place where they would most like to play. New Orleans was second at 10%, followed by Atlantic City (8%), Reno (5%) and St. Louis (4%).


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