Communicating the right message
Communicating the right message
A proactive position can make a difference in quelling negative perceptions
By Andy Holtmann
Over the past decade, public acceptance of gaming-both commercial and tribal-has grown significantly. The once-common image of an industry rife with organized crime, addiction and broken dreams has been largely replaced with an image of an industry that provides thousands of fair-wage jobs, spurs economic development in communities and provides much-needed tax revenues for state budgets.
Yet while public acceptance has increased as some form of gambling has expanded to 48 of the 50 states, anti-gambling forces have upped their efforts, and it's becoming increasingly clear that negativity and common misperceptions will be just as hard to shake. Perhaps it's because of gambling's expansion throughout the United States in recent years that opposition has become more vocal.
Gambling opponents, chiefly religious groups, have placed less emphasis on the argument of morality and are concentrating more on what they call the "social ills" of gambling.
"Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there still is the perception out there that when casinos are brought to a community, they will bring with them an influx of gambling addiction, bankruptcy and crime," said Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. "Our opponents like to refer to these as the 'ABCs' of casinos, and they return to these arguments over and over again because I think the general public tends to believe it. But the reality is that countless independent studies and real experience have proven that these allegations simply are not true."
Organizations like the AGA, National Indian Gaming Association and state gaming associations have utilized extensive research during the past 10 years to help dispel gaming industry myths, and to an extent, that research has made a dent in anti-gaming forces' arguments.
But the public at large still relies heavily on the media and juicy stories of crime, corruption and sex to shape its view of the industry. Meanwhile, the positive stories that casinos, racetracks, lotteries and other forms of gaming have to tell often get lost.
The $50,000 donation by a casino to a struggling local chapter of the United Way is overshadowed by a gambler who tells the press he was a victim of a false jackpot at a casino. Efforts by several casino companies to establish problem gambling treatment programs and train its employees on how to spot compulsive gambling behavior are overshadowed by a story of a single problem gambler who lost his mortgage payment. The renaissance of an entire Indian tribe that was on the brink of extinction, yet can now afford such "trite" items as running water and education due to casino gaming, is overshadowed by the actions of a tribal member who accepts a little more of the wealth than he should. A significant financial donation by a casino to keep a local police force operating despite state and city cutbacks is overshadowed by a pair of patrons getting robbed at gunpoint on the casino's grounds.
All of the above instances mimic real-life scenarios that have played out time and time again throughout the gaming industry. Many have said the time has come for the industry to start promoting itself better, so that the real stories can be told in a way to effectively shape public opinion and stave off misconceptions that anti-gamers turn to time and time again. The keys to that effort include developing closer relationships with the media, having real information on hand at all times for the public and devoting more direct efforts to interact with the public at large-including those opposed to gaming-in an effort to show firsthand the positives the industry can bring.
Meet the press
At the core of public perception is the media. The media provides more than just facts and figures; it can shape stories-positively or negatively-into influential first impressions for the general public. For gaming enterprises to ensure that their messages are part of what shapes media's news and opinion, it has to take proactive approaches to work with the media.
"The best way to be proactive through good times and bad is to create a solid foundation of a good working relationship with the media," said Kathy Callahan, director of communications for Ameristar Casinos. "Each of our properties has a PR manager on staff who invests their time in proactive media outreach and building ongoing relationships with the local media. The PR managers are the point persons for gathering information, preparing messages and working with their general managers, who are typically the property spokespersons. We also have made the investment in media training for our executives, so they feel confident and prepared for interviews."
The biggest mistake a gaming company can make, Callahan said, is blowing off reporters and editors, or ignoring them altogether. "It always surprises me when other companies do not respond to calls or interview requests. To me, being responsive is an absolute basic building block for a successful relationship."
Rob Stillwell, vice president of corporate communications at Boyd Gaming, agrees. At a panel at last year's Global Gaming Expo, Stillwell said accessibility is key, and that internal bureaucracy or policies to get certain approvals before information is released can handcuff reporters, and negatively impact the inclusion of the gaming company's side in stories.
"It's very important to have the senior executive buy-in (on building mutually respectful relationships with the media)," he said. "One of the things we need to minimize is the practice of getting corporate executives' approval before talking to the press."
Alberto Lopez, corporate director of strategic communications for Harrah's Entertainment, said gaming companies need to recognize-and adapt to-the way the media has changed over the years. The public is relying less on print media for their instant news and much more on the Internet and 30-second clips on the television news.
"The important thing is to do things in real time," Lopez said. "Because of things like the Web, the news cycle is shortened, so you have to be ready to be responsive at a moment's notice."
Lopez added that gaming companies need to both study and understand the markets they operate in, as well as the media sources they speak with. It used to be that beat reporters were the sole gatekeepers of communication, but that's changed, he said. "What you need to find out is...who are the gatekeepers now? It's certainly not the beat reporter. He's part of it, but he's not the go-to guy anymore."
Editors, opinion writers, Web journalists, bloggers-they all have a role in shaping the stories, Lopez noted. And in order for the story to have the most impact, it has to be relevant to the audience it's being disseminated to.
"If you're not relevant, you're dead," Lopez said.
Mark Trahant, editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, spoke at another G2E panel and lent some tips on dealing with the media. Opinion pieces and letters to the editor, he said, are among the best-read sections of newspapers, and it's a great place to get a message across. Letters and op-ed pieces have the best chance of running if they're penned by women, he said.
As for the news side, Trahant notes the old adage that sex and violence sells, but that plenty of positive stories also make an impact.
"It's important to 'bother' people when (positive) stories aren't in the news," he said. By repeatedly making the case to reporters and editors for communicating a particular message or story, there's a far better chance that story gets told in the proper light.
"Over time, I get a sense of what people are trying to say, and better understand the message they want communicated," he said.
Tribal presence
Trahant is a member of Idaho's Shoshone-Bannock tribe and a former president of the Native American Journalists Association. He noted that in recent years, the media and public alike are starting to understand tribes better, including many tribes' reliance on gaming to effectively recover from years of poverty and strife. Part of that shift is due to an influx of Native American journalists now working in the mainstream media.
"There are about 400 tribal members who now work in the mainstream media today," Trahant said. "That's up from about six or eight in the 1970s. These people will help (tribes) find the right way to influence and communicate your message."
For decades, tribes faced negative cultural stereotypes-the most prevalent being that they were all hopelessly affected by alcoholism. When many tribes turned to bingo and other forms of gaming in the 1970s and 1980s as a meager way to keep afloat, much of the general public saw their activities as untrustworthy or shady. With 1988's passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, allowing many tribes to enter into compacts and build casino properties, much of the public saw tribes as greedy. What was largely missed-and not effectively communicated-in all of the sentiment, however, was how the tribes utilized gaming to rebuild their communities and the communities around them. Since then, many tribes have branched out to other industries and are now becoming viable creators of jobs and economic development, benefiting more non-Indians than tribal members.
Frances Snyder, public relations director for the Chumash Casino Resort north of Santa Barbara, Calif., said her tribe has taken significant steps to communicate the positive impacts it has been able to provide. It reaches out to local newspapers, magazines, television stations and other media to communicate nearly every positive story it has-and the result, she said, has not only generated support for the tribe, but has also added customers.
Still, the Chumash has had to deal with a very vocal segment of the community that's backed by celebrities and upset that the tribe's casino-and reservation-is near their multi-million-dollar homes. The tribe has done its best to tackle that negative sentiment head on, through editorials and pushing the positive stories to the media.
"Indian gaming is far too visible for us to hide from the media," she said. "That's just not the right approach."
But when Snyder said one publication refused to work with the tribe, the Chumash created its own publication to further its efforts.
The once-distinct line between tribal and commercial gaming is starting to fade, and it's led to numerous tribes and the commercial gaming industry working together to promote gaming.
"I think the tribal gaming community has done a pretty good job communicating the economic benefits their casinos have brought to Indian Country," Fahrenkopf said. "I do wish the Native American gaming community would be more supportive of the overall industry's responsible gaming initiatives, through increased donations to the National Center for Responsible Gaming and other means. I think there are ways we can (further) work together on this most important issue for both our sectors of the industry."
United effort
Fahrenkopf said that since the AGA's inception in 1995, the organization's main goal has been to educate policy makers and the general public about the benefits provided by the commercial casino industry. That's chiefly done on Capitol Hill, where the AGA is very active.
At that federal level, the AGA has been effective in staving off misperceptions about the industry by funding and gathering independent research that disproves many of the anti-gaming forces claims.
"An objective look at the issues proved what we knew to be true-that the economic benefits provided by the gaming industry far outweigh the negative stereotypes," Fahrenkopf said. "One of the most successful ways we've worked to educate members of Congress and their staff is through coordinating educational trips to Nevada for members and staff so they can see how our industry works firsthand through back-of-the-house casino tours, tours of the Las Vegas culinary union's training facility and other activities. When members get a chance to talk with our executives and employees, it becomes quite obvious that we're just another business working to contribute to the economy, take care of our employees and deliver a superior product to our customers."
But, Fahrenkopf added, "despite our best efforts, there always will be a small fraction of the general public who, for whatever reason, hold a negative view of our industry. This subsection of the population is represented by a small but vocal group of critics in Congress."
Likewise, the National Indian Gaming Association has proven to be a powerful and influential voice for gaming tribes on Capitol Hill. The organization has been able to effectively communicate the positives that tribal gaming has produced, and has helped many lawmakers understand issues such as tribal sovereignty and the importance of economic growth for tribes.
But while the AGA and NIGA have been able to net results at the federal level, it's just the tip of the iceberg. Telling the gaming industry's story is going to take a truly united effort-on the local, state and regional levels.
"The industry needs to increase its support for its state gaming associations, providing them with more resources to enhance their efforts to communicate the facts about the industry to local and state officials, as well as to the general public, in those areas," Fahrenkopf said.
Per the AGA's bylaws, it does not lobby on state and local legislative matters, though Fahrenkopf said on occasion, he has personally testified before state officials, and that the AGA has also responded to severely unbalanced criticisms of the industry.
Callahan said efforts should start with individual casinos and companies proactively telling their stories-without waiting for a negative event to occur.
"We have a strong story to tell in terms of making significant capital investment, offering good careers with competitive benefits, valuing diversity among our employees and suppliers, generating vital tax revenues, promoting responsible gaming, and being a good corporate citizen," she said. "If the macro story does not get through, then look at the micro level-there are wonderful human interest stories about individual employees whose careers in gaming have helped them build good lives for themselves and their families."
There has been talk about whether a united effort among tribal and commercial casinos to jointly tout gaming's positives in local communities is overdue.
"It would do wonders, but it's a question whether we could get all these different interests in the same room to share their input and secrets...at the end of the day, we're still competitors, as well," one industry executive, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
SIDEBAR
Reaching out directly
Step forward and tell your story before someone else does
As Hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept over the Gulf Coast, executives with Harrah's Entertainment knew they were facing a disaster. Their properties were being severely damaged and employees displaced. But instead of sitting on its laurels, the company swung into action to help, and part of that effort came in the creation of an online newsletter with up-to-date stories, bulletins and resources.
"We were able to provide information online through our newsletter when other news outlets could not," said Alberto Lopez, Harrah's corporate director of strategic communications. "It showed firsthand just how hands-on we were."
The company also created an online newsletter when it was seeking a license in Singapore. Though that effort ultimately failed to achieve its designated goal, the company was able to keep everyone who was interested-including customers, potential vendors, government officials and regulators and citizens-apprised of every development.
In another proactive effort, when Boyd Gaming made its decision to close the historic Stardust in order to begin building its proposed $4 billion Echelon Place, employees were the first to be told, and it was framed to bring about positive results.
"We essentially gave employees a year's notice of what we were doing and when it would close," said Rob Stillwell, the company's vice president of corporate communications. "Because of that, we were able to turn the situation into a 'farewell tour' for the property. We're still getting positive coverage of that today. It's also helped boost positive coverage for our new project."
-Andy Holtmann
A proactive position can make a difference in quelling negative perceptions
By Andy Holtmann
Over the past decade, public acceptance of gaming-both commercial and tribal-has grown significantly. The once-common image of an industry rife with organized crime, addiction and broken dreams has been largely replaced with an image of an industry that provides thousands of fair-wage jobs, spurs economic development in communities and provides much-needed tax revenues for state budgets.
Yet while public acceptance has increased as some form of gambling has expanded to 48 of the 50 states, anti-gambling forces have upped their efforts, and it's becoming increasingly clear that negativity and common misperceptions will be just as hard to shake. Perhaps it's because of gambling's expansion throughout the United States in recent years that opposition has become more vocal.
Gambling opponents, chiefly religious groups, have placed less emphasis on the argument of morality and are concentrating more on what they call the "social ills" of gambling.
"Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there still is the perception out there that when casinos are brought to a community, they will bring with them an influx of gambling addiction, bankruptcy and crime," said Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. "Our opponents like to refer to these as the 'ABCs' of casinos, and they return to these arguments over and over again because I think the general public tends to believe it. But the reality is that countless independent studies and real experience have proven that these allegations simply are not true."
Organizations like the AGA, National Indian Gaming Association and state gaming associations have utilized extensive research during the past 10 years to help dispel gaming industry myths, and to an extent, that research has made a dent in anti-gaming forces' arguments.
But the public at large still relies heavily on the media and juicy stories of crime, corruption and sex to shape its view of the industry. Meanwhile, the positive stories that casinos, racetracks, lotteries and other forms of gaming have to tell often get lost.
The $50,000 donation by a casino to a struggling local chapter of the United Way is overshadowed by a gambler who tells the press he was a victim of a false jackpot at a casino. Efforts by several casino companies to establish problem gambling treatment programs and train its employees on how to spot compulsive gambling behavior are overshadowed by a story of a single problem gambler who lost his mortgage payment. The renaissance of an entire Indian tribe that was on the brink of extinction, yet can now afford such "trite" items as running water and education due to casino gaming, is overshadowed by the actions of a tribal member who accepts a little more of the wealth than he should. A significant financial donation by a casino to keep a local police force operating despite state and city cutbacks is overshadowed by a pair of patrons getting robbed at gunpoint on the casino's grounds.
All of the above instances mimic real-life scenarios that have played out time and time again throughout the gaming industry. Many have said the time has come for the industry to start promoting itself better, so that the real stories can be told in a way to effectively shape public opinion and stave off misconceptions that anti-gamers turn to time and time again. The keys to that effort include developing closer relationships with the media, having real information on hand at all times for the public and devoting more direct efforts to interact with the public at large-including those opposed to gaming-in an effort to show firsthand the positives the industry can bring.
Meet the press
At the core of public perception is the media. The media provides more than just facts and figures; it can shape stories-positively or negatively-into influential first impressions for the general public. For gaming enterprises to ensure that their messages are part of what shapes media's news and opinion, it has to take proactive approaches to work with the media.
"The best way to be proactive through good times and bad is to create a solid foundation of a good working relationship with the media," said Kathy Callahan, director of communications for Ameristar Casinos. "Each of our properties has a PR manager on staff who invests their time in proactive media outreach and building ongoing relationships with the local media. The PR managers are the point persons for gathering information, preparing messages and working with their general managers, who are typically the property spokespersons. We also have made the investment in media training for our executives, so they feel confident and prepared for interviews."
The biggest mistake a gaming company can make, Callahan said, is blowing off reporters and editors, or ignoring them altogether. "It always surprises me when other companies do not respond to calls or interview requests. To me, being responsive is an absolute basic building block for a successful relationship."
Rob Stillwell, vice president of corporate communications at Boyd Gaming, agrees. At a panel at last year's Global Gaming Expo, Stillwell said accessibility is key, and that internal bureaucracy or policies to get certain approvals before information is released can handcuff reporters, and negatively impact the inclusion of the gaming company's side in stories.
"It's very important to have the senior executive buy-in (on building mutually respectful relationships with the media)," he said. "One of the things we need to minimize is the practice of getting corporate executives' approval before talking to the press."
Alberto Lopez, corporate director of strategic communications for Harrah's Entertainment, said gaming companies need to recognize-and adapt to-the way the media has changed over the years. The public is relying less on print media for their instant news and much more on the Internet and 30-second clips on the television news.
"The important thing is to do things in real time," Lopez said. "Because of things like the Web, the news cycle is shortened, so you have to be ready to be responsive at a moment's notice."
Lopez added that gaming companies need to both study and understand the markets they operate in, as well as the media sources they speak with. It used to be that beat reporters were the sole gatekeepers of communication, but that's changed, he said. "What you need to find out is...who are the gatekeepers now? It's certainly not the beat reporter. He's part of it, but he's not the go-to guy anymore."
Editors, opinion writers, Web journalists, bloggers-they all have a role in shaping the stories, Lopez noted. And in order for the story to have the most impact, it has to be relevant to the audience it's being disseminated to.
"If you're not relevant, you're dead," Lopez said.
Mark Trahant, editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, spoke at another G2E panel and lent some tips on dealing with the media. Opinion pieces and letters to the editor, he said, are among the best-read sections of newspapers, and it's a great place to get a message across. Letters and op-ed pieces have the best chance of running if they're penned by women, he said.
As for the news side, Trahant notes the old adage that sex and violence sells, but that plenty of positive stories also make an impact.
"It's important to 'bother' people when (positive) stories aren't in the news," he said. By repeatedly making the case to reporters and editors for communicating a particular message or story, there's a far better chance that story gets told in the proper light.
"Over time, I get a sense of what people are trying to say, and better understand the message they want communicated," he said.
Tribal presence
Trahant is a member of Idaho's Shoshone-Bannock tribe and a former president of the Native American Journalists Association. He noted that in recent years, the media and public alike are starting to understand tribes better, including many tribes' reliance on gaming to effectively recover from years of poverty and strife. Part of that shift is due to an influx of Native American journalists now working in the mainstream media.
"There are about 400 tribal members who now work in the mainstream media today," Trahant said. "That's up from about six or eight in the 1970s. These people will help (tribes) find the right way to influence and communicate your message."
For decades, tribes faced negative cultural stereotypes-the most prevalent being that they were all hopelessly affected by alcoholism. When many tribes turned to bingo and other forms of gaming in the 1970s and 1980s as a meager way to keep afloat, much of the general public saw their activities as untrustworthy or shady. With 1988's passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, allowing many tribes to enter into compacts and build casino properties, much of the public saw tribes as greedy. What was largely missed-and not effectively communicated-in all of the sentiment, however, was how the tribes utilized gaming to rebuild their communities and the communities around them. Since then, many tribes have branched out to other industries and are now becoming viable creators of jobs and economic development, benefiting more non-Indians than tribal members.
Frances Snyder, public relations director for the Chumash Casino Resort north of Santa Barbara, Calif., said her tribe has taken significant steps to communicate the positive impacts it has been able to provide. It reaches out to local newspapers, magazines, television stations and other media to communicate nearly every positive story it has-and the result, she said, has not only generated support for the tribe, but has also added customers.
Still, the Chumash has had to deal with a very vocal segment of the community that's backed by celebrities and upset that the tribe's casino-and reservation-is near their multi-million-dollar homes. The tribe has done its best to tackle that negative sentiment head on, through editorials and pushing the positive stories to the media.
"Indian gaming is far too visible for us to hide from the media," she said. "That's just not the right approach."
But when Snyder said one publication refused to work with the tribe, the Chumash created its own publication to further its efforts.
The once-distinct line between tribal and commercial gaming is starting to fade, and it's led to numerous tribes and the commercial gaming industry working together to promote gaming.
"I think the tribal gaming community has done a pretty good job communicating the economic benefits their casinos have brought to Indian Country," Fahrenkopf said. "I do wish the Native American gaming community would be more supportive of the overall industry's responsible gaming initiatives, through increased donations to the National Center for Responsible Gaming and other means. I think there are ways we can (further) work together on this most important issue for both our sectors of the industry."
United effort
Fahrenkopf said that since the AGA's inception in 1995, the organization's main goal has been to educate policy makers and the general public about the benefits provided by the commercial casino industry. That's chiefly done on Capitol Hill, where the AGA is very active.
At that federal level, the AGA has been effective in staving off misperceptions about the industry by funding and gathering independent research that disproves many of the anti-gaming forces claims.
"An objective look at the issues proved what we knew to be true-that the economic benefits provided by the gaming industry far outweigh the negative stereotypes," Fahrenkopf said. "One of the most successful ways we've worked to educate members of Congress and their staff is through coordinating educational trips to Nevada for members and staff so they can see how our industry works firsthand through back-of-the-house casino tours, tours of the Las Vegas culinary union's training facility and other activities. When members get a chance to talk with our executives and employees, it becomes quite obvious that we're just another business working to contribute to the economy, take care of our employees and deliver a superior product to our customers."
But, Fahrenkopf added, "despite our best efforts, there always will be a small fraction of the general public who, for whatever reason, hold a negative view of our industry. This subsection of the population is represented by a small but vocal group of critics in Congress."
Likewise, the National Indian Gaming Association has proven to be a powerful and influential voice for gaming tribes on Capitol Hill. The organization has been able to effectively communicate the positives that tribal gaming has produced, and has helped many lawmakers understand issues such as tribal sovereignty and the importance of economic growth for tribes.
But while the AGA and NIGA have been able to net results at the federal level, it's just the tip of the iceberg. Telling the gaming industry's story is going to take a truly united effort-on the local, state and regional levels.
"The industry needs to increase its support for its state gaming associations, providing them with more resources to enhance their efforts to communicate the facts about the industry to local and state officials, as well as to the general public, in those areas," Fahrenkopf said.
Per the AGA's bylaws, it does not lobby on state and local legislative matters, though Fahrenkopf said on occasion, he has personally testified before state officials, and that the AGA has also responded to severely unbalanced criticisms of the industry.
Callahan said efforts should start with individual casinos and companies proactively telling their stories-without waiting for a negative event to occur.
"We have a strong story to tell in terms of making significant capital investment, offering good careers with competitive benefits, valuing diversity among our employees and suppliers, generating vital tax revenues, promoting responsible gaming, and being a good corporate citizen," she said. "If the macro story does not get through, then look at the micro level-there are wonderful human interest stories about individual employees whose careers in gaming have helped them build good lives for themselves and their families."
There has been talk about whether a united effort among tribal and commercial casinos to jointly tout gaming's positives in local communities is overdue.
"It would do wonders, but it's a question whether we could get all these different interests in the same room to share their input and secrets...at the end of the day, we're still competitors, as well," one industry executive, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
SIDEBAR
Reaching out directly
Step forward and tell your story before someone else does
As Hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept over the Gulf Coast, executives with Harrah's Entertainment knew they were facing a disaster. Their properties were being severely damaged and employees displaced. But instead of sitting on its laurels, the company swung into action to help, and part of that effort came in the creation of an online newsletter with up-to-date stories, bulletins and resources.
"We were able to provide information online through our newsletter when other news outlets could not," said Alberto Lopez, Harrah's corporate director of strategic communications. "It showed firsthand just how hands-on we were."
The company also created an online newsletter when it was seeking a license in Singapore. Though that effort ultimately failed to achieve its designated goal, the company was able to keep everyone who was interested-including customers, potential vendors, government officials and regulators and citizens-apprised of every development.
In another proactive effort, when Boyd Gaming made its decision to close the historic Stardust in order to begin building its proposed $4 billion Echelon Place, employees were the first to be told, and it was framed to bring about positive results.
"We essentially gave employees a year's notice of what we were doing and when it would close," said Rob Stillwell, the company's vice president of corporate communications. "Because of that, we were able to turn the situation into a 'farewell tour' for the property. We're still getting positive coverage of that today. It's also helped boost positive coverage for our new project."
-Andy Holtmann
