Inside Asian Gaming

November 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 41 Insights sensitivity. It truly comes from the heart. It is a unique experience in the market – an authentically Asian resort for local, regional and international travelers. Ms Tsai : The “Here, you are royalty” campaign really gets to the heart of this. The TVC is truly stunning and a reflection for why we refer to Galaxy Macau as The New Palace of Asia. It follows a couple through the integrated resort, making all these exciting discoveries along the way and showcasing the amazing features which have been carefully designed throughout the property. Every time the couple see themselves in a reflection, they see themselves as royalty. By the time their journey is over, they have come to believe that the perception of themselves as royalty is actually reality. This is the kind of experience we want our guests and visitors to have – to be transformed into something larger than life when they pass through our doors. Back in 2004 there was an acute shortage of capacity in Macau and you could pretty much have a gaming table and not much else, and you’d get customers. You didn’t really have to provide such a high level of service. But now with the explosion of capacity and choice, it seems customers are becoming more savvy and demanding. MsKendall : As consumers acrossAsia are becoming more affluent, they’re also being exposed to more choice. Their consumption preferences have changed a lot when they travel on holiday. They’re looking for as many different types of experiences as they can get within a short period of time. Even for a day-tripper, they may not be staying in one of the hotels or dining in the high-end restaurants, but they can still experience the quality and luxury of the property wherever they go. Not everyone will be accessing every amenity, but they want the choice. Even if they’re dining in an everyday-type restaurant, they are still getting that consistency of service, and it really is a premium experience. For example, simply seeing a movie at the spectacular UA Galaxy Cinemas makes filmgoing an extraordinary experience. Ms Tsai : One of the things that is important is food choice. Food is an integral part of any holiday experience for travelers across the region. When visitors travel to Thailand, they’ll say, “I ate this Thai food”, or when they go to Japan, they’ll say, “I ate at this restaurant”. We want to offer traveling guests a wide variety of world- class cuisines to allow them to try new experiences, while also offering cuisines from their home countries so that there’s also a sense of comfort available during their stay at Galaxy Macau. Understanding the importance of food in completing a holiday experience is why we have placed such an emphasis on offering the finest in Asian and international cuisines. How is the marketing department involved in deciding the shape of your properties, and what types of products and services are offered within? Ms Kendall : Our role is to provide consumer insights into what customers want – whether we’re talking about their expectations of their gaming experience, , their dining choices, their hotel preferences, or how they want to be entertained Whilst I’ve been at Galaxy, I’ve seen that there is a very collaborative approach to the development of concepts to ensure the ideas deliver on the brand promise, and exceed our customers expectations. Ms Tsai : Janette is absolutely right about the consumer insights. We’ve taken those insights and applied them to Phase II of our development with the addition of key amenities such as more restaurants and a wide variety of retail outlets. GEG currently hold the largest land bank in Macau and we’ve only developed one third of it. Having only built one third provides GEG the opportunity and flexibility to expand and adapt to future changes in market demand and evolving customer needs. . Ms Kendall: Phase II is an extension of Phase I. It’s an extension of the New Palace of Asia. The brand positioning remains the same. But there are key learnings from Phase I – customer insights telling us what they like or want more of, and where we can improve as well. For example, the expansion of the retail offering as part of Phase II is very much based on that. How do you gather these insights? Through formal surveys, or anecdotal feedback? Ms Tsai : There’s an active program here to encourage guest feedback and channel that back to the operations. In some cases it’s a formal survey, and in some cases it’s empirical data fromdiscussions that the staff have had. They are constantly engaging with our guests on a one-to-one level and truly listening for ways in which we can improve our guest experience and ensure that we are delivering our signature “World Class, Asian Heart” service. Ms Kendall : Every day we get those consumer insights. Every time you walk across the property, you see what’s popular, talk with staff and get their feedback. Set to expand—retail at Galaxy Macau