Gila River Resorts & Casinos
Capitalizing on Experience-Seeking Audiences Through a Unique Medium and Street Activations
To capitalize on the excitement and increased foot traffic during the NCAA Final Four weekend being played locally in Glendale, Ariz., Gila River Resorts & Casinos wanted to go big and make a scene—so they did, in a Valley-wide guerilla marketing tactic in the form of projection mapping.
Expand DetailsCHALLENGE
When the NCAA Final Four games came to town, Gila River Resorts & Casinos had an opportunity to reach thousands of sports fans in their target audience for one of their main verticals: their sportsbook. Like other local businesses, Gila River was looking to cut through the big brand noise and capitalize on the increased foot traffic without having to pay huge sponsorship fees or expensive traditional media placements.
STRATEGY
To make our presence at the games meaningful, we used a non-traditional (and completely unauthorized) method: a guerilla-style marketing campaign using projection mapping, a tool that turns regular objects into a display. This created a big impact on a much lower budget than a typical NCAA sponsor.
SOLUTION
Using the platform “The Game is Always On at Gila,” we created a graphic video intertwining basketball and casino gaming, positioning Gila River as the best place to get your game on, whether on the casino floor or at their sportsbook. That design was projected onto buildings at key events during the Final Four weekend, including the Final Four tournaments themselves, the March Madness Music Festival, the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest, and First Friday.
THE APPROACH
Getting the Ball Rolling
In an “ask for forgiveness, not permission” move, we went into stealth mode to launch the projection at three different locations (and with several backup plans), knowing it could be shut down at any time. A street team accompanied the activation at each location, gifting audiences poker chips worth $50 in food and beverage credits or $50 in free play at any Gila River Resorts & Casinos to encourage foot traffic to their properties.
THE RESULTS
After four projections and their accompanying street activations, impressions were estimated at just over 170,000. To date, the redemption rate for the $50 credit at Gila River Resorts & Casinos totals 17%, with an estimated $31,000 theoretical win.