Video Compels 65% of Mailbox Recipients to Take a Vacation!

Brandweek, July 10, 2000 by Angela Taylor

The resort extended the promotion four months past the expiration date.

Although the well-targeted mailings of West Virginia's Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort typically generate a 10-20% response, Director of Marketing Dorothy Welsh wanted to increase that number. "I wanted to emphasize the action," she explains, "to capture the excitement." She decided there was no way to do that with Mountaineer's standard print mailings. "We needed more than a postcard."

A year earlier, the Resort had produced an infomercial emphasizing the overall entertainment value of Mountaineer's gaming facility, racetracks, golf course, stages and showrooms, restaurants, and boxing arena. Inspired by the success of the infomercial, Welsh decided to create a marketing campaign to boost off-season occupancy by delivering exciting video images to a well-chosen database of 50,000 consumers in the nearby areas of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The infomercial master was edited down to a five-minute sales piece and a special offer was added at the end. If guests presented the tape at the Resort, they would receive 50 dollars in "Mountaineer Fun Money," redeemable for food, lodging or entertainment purchases during their stays. The video sleeve previewed the offer and the package was shipped with a personal letter from Mountaineer President Ted Arneault.

WRS Labs in Pittsburgh facilitated Mountaineer's ambitious campaign. "It was easy to work with Dorothy," WRS Director of Fulfillment Kathy Morandini reports. "She knew exactly what she wanted." WRS not only provided the lightweight video shells that would lower shipping costs, but also worked with Mountaineer's in-house design and marketing staffs to develop a potent cover letter and a package design that met postage standards. "We also shopped for a tape shell that would allow the maximum advertising space on the face of the tape," Morandini says. The label on Mountaineer's video covers nearly the entire surface of the tape shell and boasts their slogan "We'll Leave the Slots on For Ya!" in a two-color design.

"The response was overwhelming," Welsh reports. "We got about 65% of those tapes returned. My office is full of them." In the months following the promotion, the resort was booked at 75% to 100%--even mid-week--despite the fact that it was the winter season, a time when typically only 35% of the rooms are full. So impressive was the rate of return, the Resort extended the Fun Money promotion four months past its planned December expiration date. This enormous success rate has led Mountaineer to consider future video campaigns as well as the possibility of a direct-mail interactive CD.

However, as Morandini emphasizes, the marketing product is only half the story. "Dorothy uses great lists." By using lists of demographically and geographically qualified consumers, Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming resort was able to generate an overwhelming response for no more than the expense of a four-color brochure.