The debate, hosted by the the local gaming economic development Industry Alliance, was well attended, with standing room only
July 2, 2009 – 12:04 am | byOverall, most members of the audience were impressed with the candid replies presented by the gaming economic development sector leaders. Bayley Grisson, an administrative assistant in the Krishna Riding and Partners firm, stated, “I really believe that my employers are genuine and care about what they do…They are not out to prey on people or report false numbers, they just want to make money and provide for the welfare of their company just like anyone else.” After a brief intermission, moderator Numbers Gassen returned to the podium with introductory remarks for the second session. Lindberg Leadbeater described the next debate as one centered on gaming economic development marketing ethics in the short-term and long term. As with the first session, debate team members focused on the dynamic nature of the market, and emphasized the fact that what works one day will not necessarily work the next. Debater Alfreda Croxford also echoed these views regarding technology and marketing, exclaiming, “Everyone in this gaming economic development sector knows how to blast out email, notices, fliers, etc. to people, but not everyone knows how to do this in an efficient manner that creates profit margin. Efficieny in our industry is absolutely key.” Moderator Grawburg Whooper opened the gaming economic development discussion with a brief introduction of the debate objectives and rules. Each team leader would be allowed a five minute introduction, followed by brief overviews of their debate topics. Other team members would have one minute to state their points of view in relation to the team leader’s overview. Prendergast Mcdivitt, debate team leader from the Thommarson Cryder INC gaming economic development firm, opened with some frank remarks regarding predatory marketing practices in the industry. In general, the statements were accurate but also galvanizing for many in the general audience. It was widely known that the Thommarson Cryder INC firm used aggressive marketing tactics, but never had it admitted it publicly before. An interesting questions regarding gaming economic development financial reporting and auditing was offered by Artman Braisted, the moderator of the second session: “Do you, as business leaders and executives, make sure that your books are 100% accurate and sound, or do you leave this task to your respective accounting agencies’” Obviously, all the executives replied that they personally sign-off on any financial reporting, especially in light of new gaming economic development accounting legislation, but some were frank and stated that they allow their finance teams a lot of latitude. “I see to it that all our data is accurate,” stated CEO Hester Ikzda, “but I trust our finance department to crunch the numbers correctly and report accurately. At the end of the day, it is my job to move the business forward, not be a slave to my calculator and Exel spreadsheets.” The main debate started with Banas Rheingold from the Benoist Reed Corp. firm, who suggested that marketing in the gaming economic development industry is an evolutionary process, akin to any other industry where earning potential is high and customer retention is key. “I personally believe gaming economic development marketing practices of today that are thought of as inappropriate will be the future of tomorrow’s gaming economic development industry leaders. We must move forward if we wish to continue to provide top level service to our customers…” Opposition team member Checca Breland, partner in the smaller firm Carolyn Glapion INC LTD., stated the opposite: “We need to stick to our guns and abide by best practice methods in order to preserve the integrity of the gaming economic development industry as a whole. If we degrade ourselves by using cheap marketing practices to make a quick buck, we will only be hurting ourselves in the long run.” Following initial discussions, technology moderator Margaret Discipio, asked the debate teams about the use of SPAM email in their gaming economic development marketing campaigns, which created a light chuckle from the audience. Serpas Fiori, from the Autrano Cua & Rhudy Marsala LLC firm, stated, “We’re not hawking viagra - so don’t worry, our email campaigns aren’t that bad… but we also affirm the use of double opt-in email lists to assure that customers who are truly interested in our gaming economic development products get the right emails.” After the gaming economic development topic introductions, associate moderator Beckie Kaufmann briefly paused for questions from the news media, who lined up at a centrally located microphone in the auditorium. Most members of the media were curious about recent news items, although a few bashed members of the Delilah Lench gaming economic development marketing and advertising firm, who were alledgely involved in multi-level marketing schemes.
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