Adam Bravo, Executive Director of Loyalty Marketing, MGM Resorts International
When it comes to a winning strategy, Bravo says it’s all about data. “I’ve grown in my career as a direct marketer who doubled as a quasi-data guy—which has served as a benefit in the hospitality and gaming industry,” he says. “In an environment where customer data is paramount, being able to understand and leverage that data to make marketing decisions is imperative for success.” In fact, being both customer- and data-centric has led Bravo to launch a direct marketing team at MGM whose mission was to personalize the customer experience, and that was so successful his team now oversees the direct marketing messaging for the majority of the MGM brands.
Defining moment: In 2008 I was asked to implement new marketing software and train the teams in our regional markets. I had the opportunity to learn our high-frequency business—while living in a hotel room in Biloxi, Mississippi for six months. But it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and learn a different part of the business that, ultimately, expanded my skill set.
Words to live by: “The real make of a man is how he treats people who can do nothing for him.” –Darrell Royal, former University of Texas football coach
Strategy shift: In the hospitality and gaming industry, we’re slowly seeing the key demographic shift from the Boomers to Gen X and millennials; the behavior is vastly different when it comes to gaming and amenities. We have to offer a varying style of options to those customers, and market that experience accordingly.
Up next: Mobile everything. We have to accept and adopt that our consumers—and ourselves—are completely mobile; and we have to adapt our marketing tactics to embrace that style of interacting with our brands.
Advice to young marketers: You’re not entitled to anything until you earn it; you work hard to build the brands you market, and you should do the same for yourself.
–Natasha D. Smith
