Members of the Parx Casino player rewards program can now earn points on their loyalty cards without setting foot inside the Philadelphia-area property.
Parx recently marked the first installation of the “Rewards Everywhere” platform, created by CompLinks, a software development company that boasts marketing arrangements with more than 1,000 name brand retailers.
Parx customers, when shopping online, can earn points on their Xclub Rewards player accounts. The points can then be exchanged for non-gaming credits, such as restaurant meals and entertainment events.
CompLinks CEO Rob Gallo said two more casinos in other jurisdictions will soon launch the program.
CompLinks CEO Rob Gallo and VP of Operations Morgan Gallo at Parx Casino
“The average casino customer spends only approximately 10 days a year on the casino floor, and that limits their opportunity to earn reward points,” Gallo said. “With Rewards Everywhere, Xclub Rewards customers (at Parx) will earn comp points when they make a purchase online.”
Parx, which is 20 minutes north of Philadelphia and one of the larger casinos in Pennsylvania, opened a 1,500-seat live entertainment venue as part of a $50 million expansion to add more restaurants and other non-gaming areas.
Marc Oppenheimer, Parx’s chief marketing officer, said the timing of the deal with CompLinks comes as a new entertainment schedule was launched at the events center.
“We’ve been looking to bring additional value to the Xclub rewards program, and the Rewards Everywhere platform is a perfect fit,” Oppenheimer said. “We are delighted to be able to reward our customers for things they do off the casino floor and allow them to earn more (complementary) dollars.”
The Rewards Everywhere program is new to gaming, Gallo said in an email, adding that it was built on the same underlying technology used by online loyalty-rewards companies. The program rewards shoppers for purchases they make through the web or mobile platform in the form of points that are added to their casino loyalty accounts.
Gallo said program is a “value add” for the casino customer and the casino benefits because the player can only exchange the points earned from shopping for reward credits at the casino.
“The casino builds brand awareness off the casino floor,” Gallo said.
The idea for CompLinks came when Gallo and his daughter, Morgan, a recent business school graduate, began exploring the online loyalty and rewards space. He credited his daughter with suggesting the business be tied to the casino industry.
He said the Rewards Everywhere platform was able to create a seamless extension of a casino loyalty/rewards program.
“It’s like a comp program for shopping,” Gallo said.
CompLinks oversees front and back end support for the users and manages customer engagement with promotions, incentives, and giveaways. The company also develops the creative marketing collateral, including email copy, digital media, and how-to videos. The casino has approval before the program goes live.
Gallo said CompLinks does not have access to the casino database. The company does gain information to what the casino’s customers are buying, what brands they prefer, and how much they spend online.
“We share this data with the casino, which is very valuable marketing data,” Gallo said. “The only thing the casino has to do is get the messaging in front of their patrons, and we handle the rest.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
