Both experts, Egber Hernandez Diaz and Jaime Cruz Bernal (JCB) combine their knowledge and experience to share their valuable stories about an amazing job done in the organization and the development of a marketing campaign for the inaugural World Series of Poker tournament in Mexico.
By Egber Hernandez Diaz, independent Specialist in Marketing and Sales*
Email: egber.hernandez@gmail.com Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/egberhernandez
By Jaime Cruz Bernal (JCB), Digital Marketing professional**
Email: jimmykruz@gmail.com Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmykruz/
Both former employees at key Mexican operator, Logrand Entertainment Group, our marketing expert Egber Hernandez Diaz joins Jaime Cruz Bernal (JCB), digital professional and marketer, to explain how they managed to plan, develop and execute the strategy that led to a massive digital impact and to attract participants to the World Series of Poker in Mexico, an event held in October 2019. A total of 1,700+ players from 33 countries were there playing poker and enjoying their time. This event broke local attendance records, with huge money rewards and an astonishing global audience that even surprised the owners of the brand, Caesars Entertainment.
How was this possible? In this exclusive column, Jaime and I will explain step-by-step our marketing strategy to success for WSOP Mexico 2019. The first step is to have a clear vision and communicate it to all the team involved. We wanted to provide the best gaming experience for players in the best venue, assuring that Mexico would be able to organize the event for the first time, choosing Monterrey as headquarters in a safe and optimal environment. The second step was to implement this vision with a team that wasn’t used to preparing an event of this caliber. Our responsibility was to give a sense of confidence, motivation, and enthusiasm to the team for them to strengthen their values and attitudes in order to make a difference in the gaming industry.
We began to create a digital map with Jaime, his team, and the agency (@RepublicaDigital) that gave us support for this strategy. Our vision comprised a definition of qualitative and quantitative objectives for the strategy, the classification of buyers, and the selection of audience profiles to be impacted by our campaign. We also wanted to generate a proper digital environment for the brand, and choose communication channels to spread our national and international strategy.
STAGES FOR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT For the major steps, great phases or stages were established in which the communication strategy would be developed:
1) Teaser: At this stage, our goal was to create interest in each of the audiences’ levels. These audiences were people to whom we talked throughout the campaign. We designed ‘characters’ based on the different types of players and profiles that currently exist in the digital world. We named them: Daniel, the millennial (Mx); Federico, old school (Mx); Victoria, poker queen (Mx); John, the American (Texas); and Diego, the South American (Argentina).
2) Launch: In our second phase, it was the launching, in which we set three main objectives: “Attract”, “Retain,” and “Convert.” In the first one, we had to communicate messages that called the attention of our audience. With the second goal, we had to use our brand attributes to make players retain our essence and understand why we were important in their lives. The third objective was focused on converting the consumer into someone who would recognize those attributes of our brand and value this brand.
3) Goals/KPIs: On the other hand, before starting our launch, we clearly defined the lines of communication of the entire campaign in which we set objectives at the level of “Awareness.” In this phase, we had to make the brand known, that the consumer knows that it exists and be clear about what it is and what it offers. It is summarized in the ‘You know me’ concept. In the “Consideration” phase, the motivators of consumption are communicated. These are attributes that try to generate the purchase decision, to be their ‘top of mind.’ Here, the concept was ‘You consider me.’ At the “Conversion” or “Doing” level, the purpose is the action; lead the user to purchase, download, subscribe and/or visit the website. In this stage, the concept is ‘You test me.’ Finally, there is “Loyalty.” At this stage, efforts are focused on those users who have already converted. These people are ‘brand lovers’ and the goal is to create bonds. Here, we use the concept ‘You stay.’ Once we had a clear line of communication, we defined the online and offline channels for each of the lines and developed our media plan for the entire campaign.
4) Maintenance: For our “Maintenance” phase, we had to be consistent. Once the campaign was already known, we would inform people about all the details of the tournament: dates, venues, etc. This process was going to maintain throughout the whole campaign, giving visibility, information, awareness, and interest to people. This stage is where we would motivate people to enroll in the final circuit.
5) Closing: The most important of the phases. We finish the campaign informing of the great results of the tournament: winners, best moments, and more. Among the amazing results we obtained are the following ones:
● The impact generated over 37+ million people in more than 45 countries. ● More than 30,000 followers on social networks. ● More than 152,729 interactions in various digital channels. ● More than 10,000 attendees in the 10 days of the event. ● More than 3,528 participants in total for the 6 tournaments. ● Economic benefits of more than $50 million (US$2.55 million) for Monterrey city. ● 25% of budget savings vs. planned budget. ● More than 1,700 unique players and a US$1.5+ million prize pool were distributed among them. ● Presence of players from more than 30 countries. ● Installing Mexico as one of the main three successful countries for the organization of a first Main Poker Event, gathering for the first time in Mexico more than 1,000 players in an initial Poker tournament.
As it can be read and understood, a comprehensive digital strategy process demands an important effort and some order of priorities to better define and prioritize activities to achieve the planned success.
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*For over 19 years, Egber Hernandez Diaz has been applying his knowledge and skills in marketing, sales, and customer service in important gaming companies, such as the Mexican operator Logrand Entertainment Group, and in respected companies of other industries. He masters issues such as online & offline marketing and market research; he has led projects of his specialty under the PMI methodology and has launched products with excellent results locally and internationally. He has a degree in Marketing from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico, with a specialization in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute. Hernandez Diaz also has MBA studies and a wide range of certifications in topics such as coaching, SEO, NLP, leadership, and strategies in social networks, among others.
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**Jaime B. S. Cruz Bernal (JCB) is a Digital Marketing professional with solid knowledge in marketing automation. He has a Master's in Strategic Management and more than 15 years of experience positioning brands nationally and internationally. A former Digital Marketing Manager at Logrand Entertainment Group, Jame has worked in developing digital marketing strategies through processes innovation, and in the implementation of strategies focused on the generation of demand/sales, electronic commerce, and social networks. He has demonstrated leadership skills, helping people to meet challenging KPIs and creating strong teams that deliver great results.
Fuente original: https://g-mnews.com/
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