Slot Manager - January 2009 - (Page 20)

SLOT SALES STRATEGIES its customers to find collaborative and flexible ways to assist them with their purchase terms. “Nontraditional sales arrangements are being evaluated more and more on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “As with each deal that we evaluate, we need to ensure that the benefits and risks are fully vetted and that a “win-win” arrangement can be achieved. Dan Savage, vice president of marketing for Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies, said customers are more tenacious and exercising even more due diligence in making their slot purchasing decisions. “We think budgets are going to be few and far between and we think that when they get them, offered for sale before.’” “We took seven titles, some with wheels, and offered them for purchase at a reduced price,” said Savage, who noted the deal was set to end Jan. 15 at which time Bally will consider whether to extend it. The games included three Treasure Series titles – Arabian Treasures, Mayan Treasures, and Caribbean Treasures; and four Instant Spin games — Ultimate Diamonds & Sevens, Ultimate Party Spin, Ultimate Dragon Spin, and Black & White Sevens. “We also spent marketing dollars to promote these to players,” he said. Bally took another step by reducing the per-day participation fee to $50 per day, down from $60 to $65 per day on its Reel Money games in the SE9 cabinet. In addition, Savage said, Bally has designed products for its new multigame. “We’ll give you three popular titles on one game. We’re putting more titles in the same hardware platform so they’re getting more bang for the buck.” Bally also is being more flexible on financing opportunities, including offering special terms or value-added deals if an operator buys a certain number of games. In addition, the company will also partner with casinos on marketing efforts. “We’ll partner with you from a marketing point of view to help get customers in the casino and help get more play,” Savage said. Bally polled sales people about the response from customers at G2E, and the results showed a deeper engagement from customers than last year, said, “People would come to us, and say, ”We love the machines, but we have no money; we’re in a budget freeze.’ We’re being very creative in helping our customers out because we all know things will get better.” Glen Sawhill, vice president of gaming operations for the Canadian casino-resort Caesars Windsor, in Windsor, Ontario, also has seen manufacturers reach out to operators. “I think you’re seeing that out of most vendors right now,” he said. “They are understanding that there’s some tough times out there. They’re experiencing them as well. Rather than get no business, they’re taking a look to see how they can be a little more proactive during these turbulent times.” “These are bridges that many companies have never crossed before,” Sawhill added. Rob Bone, vice president of marketing for Waukegan, Ill.-based WMS, noted that in these times when capital is scarce, customers are becoming even more diligent in determining where to invest and what products will provide them with the highest premium in product performance and player appeal. “We think budgets are going to be few and far between and we think that when they get them, they’re going to have a very short window to spend them. We want to make sure we’re on their short list.” — Dan Savage VP, marketing, Bally Technologies “I think a majority of our customers are still focused on keeping their product offering as fresh and compelling as possible,” Bone said. “This is where a good amount of opportunity exists for WMS given that our product performance in multiple categories is among some of the best in the industry.” Many casino operators who typically have had consistent capital allotments are not in the same position this year, and they are seeking creative and prudent ways to get the most innovative and profitable products on their floor, Bone said. WMS is “constantly working” with they’re going to have a very short window to spend them. We want to make sure we’re on their short list,” Savage said. Recognizing the situation, Bally started talking to customers two months before the Global Gaming Expo in November. “We met with 50 casinos on this,” Savage said, noting Bally rolled out a G2E special placement deal and instituted more flexibility in its financing models. “The first thing we did in September is we said, ‘Casinos are always passionate about participation games, so we’re going to offer participation games for sale that we’ve never 20 SLOT MANAGER ❘ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 ❘ www.slotmanager.net http://www.slotmanager.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Slot Manager - January 2009

Slot Manager - January 2009 Contents Editor's Note Quick Hits New Games Cover Story: Going Strong At 30 Game Changer: IGT's REELdepth Operations: Where There's a Will, There's a Way Games: G2E 2008 Slot Report Common Ground Marketing Inside Edge Advertiser Index Forum

Slot Manager - January 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.