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This holiday season, HOGO is bringing joy to children at a local orphanage in Okayama, and we’d love your help! We’re setting up a Toy Drop Box for volunteers to donate gifts from the children’s Christmas Wish List.

📍 Drop Box Location: HOGO Japan (see address below)

*Prices on wish list are for reference only

Here’s how you can participate:
1️⃣ Visit the gift list to choose a present.
2️⃣ Contact us via Facebook Messenger, email ([email protected]), or phone (060 6123 7634) to confirm your selected gift (we can also provide more details on the gift)
3️⃣ Drop off your donation in our office’s Toy Drop Box.

Two reminders:
»Please ensure any toy from the list provided is NEW
»Please do not wrap your gift

💖 We’ll share a public “Thank You” message at the end of the event and would be delighted to include your name (if you permit).

The children range from kindergarten to university age, and each gift brings them closer to a memorable Christmas.

Thank you for helping us make this season bright for these wonderful kids! 🎅✨

The below are details of the Christmas Wish Lists of the children we will provide gifts to.

We are excited to announce the appointment of two new marketing interns at HOGO! Participating in digital internships as a result of COVID19, these candidates have joined the team for several months to focus on building their skillsets around marketing, public relations and digital media. Welcome to the team Mila and Mikaela!

A short introduction by Mila…

Hello everyone! I’m Milani Notshe, the new intern at HOGO Digital and thought I should just introduce myself. I’m 21 years old and currently living in Cape Town, South Africa and identify as “she/her”. I’ve lived in in South Africa my whole life but I grew up in Johannesburg and moved to Cape Town for university. I’m currently in the final semester of my degree. I’m studying a Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Cape Town. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate degree, I have a keen interest in aesthetics, marketing and brand management. I would love to explore the intersection between social responsibility and marketing. 

Although I can be quite talkative and social, I consider myself to be a homebody. My favourite activities include curating music and images, reading and watching films and debates.

That’s all from me for now. I’m so excited to be joining this team and to be learning from you all for the next few months.

A short introduction by Mikaela…

Hello! My name is Mikaela Fisher, and I am a 4th year college student studying Marketing and Music, Media, & Enterprise at The Ohio State University. I have gained experience as former Events Head and now Vice President of a student organization with event planning, social media marketing, and advertising. I am eager to expand my knowledge at HOGO as well as develop connections overseas. 

Hoiana Suncity officially launched their website presence on Friday, 28 August including a flagship website www.hoianasuncity.com for international customers and www.hoianapremium.com for Chinese (PRC) customers. The website was developed and launched by HOGO, a marketing firm with ties to both Vietnam and Macau.

Hoiana is the first beachfront integrated resort in Central Vietnam boasting around 3 kilometers of coastline in Vietnam’s Quang Nam province. The property’s web presence currently includes and interface in multiple languages, with the plans to fully develop content online in Chinese (both Traditional and Simplified), English, Vietnamese and Korean. The site includes overviews of planned future developments including hotels, food and beverage, the casino, entertainment offerings and more. Details on programs such as the Hoiana Premier Rewards Club are also made available.

Chris Wieners, Managing Partner of HOGO, stated: “HOGO is proud to have helped Hoiana Suncity launch the website. This is an exciting milestone for them, and we are incredibly proud to be part of that. We look forward to our ongoing relationship as they develop Vietnam’s newest and most exciting premier beachfront integrated resort.”

Mary Mendoza, Assistant Vice President of Casino Marketing stated: “We are happy to have worked with HOGO on this important milestone. The exclusive preview of Hoiana Suncity is key to our launch strategy and having a website that works for all of our target markets was paramount. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with HOGO as we work to develop Hoiana Suncity as Vietnam’s premier beachfront integrated resort and to deliver our promise to provide an iconic, cultural and extraordinary brand experience to our guests.”

Future planned enhancements to the digital presence include live chat, a HOIANA Premier Rewards member’s section as well as a booking engine.

Friday, 14 August 2020 (Tokyo, Japan) The Japan integrated resort (IR) consortium led by PIXEL COMPANYZ INC. announced on August 13^th that Groupe Partouche SA, the world-class French casino operator with over 40 gaming properties, has entered into a formal agreement to participate in the consortium. 

Pixel Companyz and Groupe Partouche will work together with their consortium partners to plan, develop and operate a premier integrated resort in Japan. The consortium aims to develop an IR unique to Japan that will highlight the tourism assets, food culture, brands and the hospitable culture that the country has to offer.

As a result of this agreement, Pixel Companyz, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, becomes only the second Japanese IR consortium leader to have partnered with a proven international gaming operator.

The inclusion of Groupe Partouche contributes another extraordinary aspect to Pixel’s Japan IR consortium, which aims to incorporate aspects of Japanese, Asian and European culture into a unique and symbolic IR facility. Groupe Partouche brings nearly 50 years of extensive casino business experience in the competitive European gaming market and is also known to progressively introduce new technology and data analysis methods to their operations.

The announcement also follows the notice of a capital and business alliance agreement between Pixel Companyz and TTL Resorts. TTL has wide-ranging experience in data analysis and investment aspects of the gaming industry.

Pixel Companyz CEO Hiroaki Yoshida puts emphasis on the importance of a Japanese entity being actively involved in a Japan IR consortium. As stated on the company homepage, “Pixel Companyz aims to connect Japan to the world and showcase the best of the country by forming this consortium and deeply rooting ourselves into the Japanese IR industry.”

Pixel Companyz was established in 1986 and currently holds a central role in their Japan IR consortium. The company’s three key business segments relating to integrated resorts are entertainment, development and system innovation. The company is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is engaged in a variety of businesses such as gaming, e-sports, fintech, solar power facilities and resort development.

Groupe Partouche was established in 1973 and is a market leader of Europe in casino operations. They operate 42 casinos in addition to their luxury hotel and restaurant businesses. The company is listed on Euronext Paris Stock Exchange.

Thursday, 16 July 2020 (Macau SAR) HOGO (Hogo Digital Macau Limited) has signed a partnership agreement with Response:AI, an automated and AI-based market research platform with representatives in Europe, the United States, and Japan. The partnership sees HOGO working with the Response:AI team to consult and conduct quantitative market research projects and in-depth analysis for clients in Macau and throughout Asia. It is part of a broader strategy by HOGO to offer services that clients can use to grow and protect their brands and investments by making intelligent, data-driven decisions in the time of COVID19.

The Response:AI platform will allow HOGO’s clients to conduct market research studies in areas such as product and service testing, usage & attitudes studies, long-term tracking studies, pricing model, and testing marketing and advertising campaigns, and more. The power comes from the high level of available segmentation and geo-targeting options, including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam as well as its ability to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure quality responses from highly segmented audiences. The platform also allows clients to use their data (such as those from loyalty programs) safely and securely on their own server.

Chris Wieners, Managing Partner of HOGO, stated: “We are thrilled to be able to offer a comprehensive market research product to our clients here in Macau as well as the other locations in Asia that we serve. We know the need to conduct timely and cost-effective research, especially for those in the tourism, hospitality, and entertainment industries is paramount during the current situation.

While we see much interest from a variety of markets to re-start marketing campaigns, being able to make quality data-driven decisions is key to ensuring success when so much is uncertain. We are looking forward to helping provide our clients as much data as possible when making these critical decisions.”

Dr. Frederick Barber, CEO of Response:AI, stated: “Since being spun out of a traditional market research firm in 2016, we have built a robust platform and worked with leading global brands, agencies, and consulting firms, such as Google, Mastercard and McCann Worldwide. We have also worked on tourism projects in the United States and Europe, and thanks to Andrew Edsall, our local director in APAC, we are excited to work with HOGO.”

We’ve recently been asked questions by clients in the consulting business (primarily in casino gaming industry) about ways in which they can use digital advertising channels (primarily search and programmatic display) to drive leads to their website. Below, the team at HOGO features a few of the key ways that digital can be used to drive (and track) new leads for. Although aimed at the gaming industry, this can really be utilized for any consultancy business across a variety of verticals.

Paid Search Marketing

The use of paid search is key is the first channel we recommend to clients, especially those which are new to digital advertising and promotion online. Paid search (search engine marketing, or SEM), allows consultants to display their branded ads to users who search specific keywords or phrases, as well as “similar” keywords and phrases. The ads (generally text, although expanded ad styles are also available) include enough information that is used to drive click-thru to the consultants landing page of choice (website homepage or more likely, a specific page about the service enquired about during the keyword search term).

Gaming consultants and those in the industry should focus on targeting searches around the specific offered services as well as broader terms that may be used by those seeking consultancy services. A quick search for “casino consultant”, for example, returned ideas around a variety of keywords including:

casino game consultant
bet consulting
sports betting consultant
casino game developers
casino gaming companies
gambling consultant

…and many more. These few terms alone averaged >1,000 monthly global searches. Additional targeting including geography, language and other options are easily controlled via Google’s Adwords platform.
When launching ads, it’s important to work with A/B or even A/B/C copy variants. This ensures that Google launches several copy options and is able to optimize based on the performance (clicks, conversions (lead submissions) or any other ’trigger’ decided by the gaming consultant). 
Leads are tracked based on the websites lead generation tool (most often a form) which allows for consultants to clearly understand their cost per lead / cost per acquisition and adjust ad spends based on higher performing markets / services.

Display / Programmatic

Simply put, display advertising refers to running banner, video and other media on Google’s ad network. The benefit of display for gaming consultants includes:
– The ability to more graphically showcase the brand and its offerings- The ability to target specific audiences – including the basic demographics (location, age, gender) as well as interests, education level, household income and more (although these audiences vary by country / jurisdiction)
Programmatic can offer more complex options including retargeting to audiences based on site actions or even to existing databases of loyal customers via email – at the least, display marketing allows gaming consultants to further instill their brand to users who may have been targeted with a paid search marketing ad. 

Lead Building Campaigns – LinkedIn

While the above platforms are primarily referring to advertising across the Google network, LinkedIn has proven to be a very effective way for casino gaming consultants to target very specific users within the gaming space, including decisions makers, by market and in localized language.
LinkedIn generally proves more expensive due to its specific reach opportunity, but does prove a fast option that is highly targeted. Consultants can utilize a variety of paid advertising options including banner ads and sponsored videos. Banners ads specifically work well for mass-market pushes (similar to display advertising on Google) – these are highly targeted by industry and can specifically target senior leadership within casino operations in any jurisdiction. For example, a consultant can specifically target senior roles within casinos in Macau with their messaging. Another highly effective and personalized option is InMail. This allows the consultant to send a direct message to those LinkedIn users who fit a specific category (for example, Macau casino-related workers in senior roles).

InMail can be highly personalized, and while expensive, can prove a great tool to get in front of a highly targeted audience with a specific message or sales pitch.

This article is just meant to delve into the very basics that casino gaming consultants may consider when launching or building their brands. As the demand for expertise in gaming expands, specifically in Asia, consultants will need to be understand how to expand their presence from hyper-local markets to those which span multiple regions, countries and even languages in order to grow their client base. These ideas are just a few meant to inspire consultants on ‘quick wins’ they can achieve across several simple digital marketing channels.
For more information, contact us directly via [email protected]. Read more about digital marketing channels and services at www.hogodigital.com.

The interest in the development of iGaming initiatives continues to grow across Asia and the globe as COVID19 continues to affect the revenue generated by land-based casinos. While there is good news on the horizon for many land-based jurisdictions with the re-opening of casino operations, the combination of fear among travelers and the sure-to-be stringent measures to protect public health and safety will surely continue to hurt the operations at large.

Meanwhile, the iGaming front has flourished in the past several month, on back of steady growth over several years. As of 2018, the global iGaming market was valued at $48.5 billion USD – with continued exponential growth expected.

While gaming jurisdictions in countries, states, provinces and prefectures around the world work to ensure public health and safety, it will become important to look at new opportunities to connect with customers via digital (i.e. iGaming) initiatives.

A recent article by the Bitcoin Association discusses this, and also some of the issues that have plagued the iGaming space for years. It is key that these issues are overcome and that iGaming grows in the eyes of gaming jurisdictions as a legitimate, safe and manageable means to reach gaming customers in this “new normal”.

View the article here: https://bitcoinassociation.net/enterprise/use-cases/bsv-for-igaming/igaming-on-blockchain/

Thursday, 4 June 2020 (Oaka, Japan) Marketing firm HOGO has signed a formal partnership with the Japanese casino-focused media platform Resocasi.com (リゾカジ.com). The agreement will see HOGO representing media sales for the firm, as well as working on the development of the platform’s iGaming affiliate network with plans to expand globally.

Resocasi.com is Japan’s largest-trafficked website focused on casino and integrated resort content. The site targets Japanese users and sees nearly 250,000 monthly page views across the platform. The website also includes membership of over 32,000 customers who are interested in learning about the best global casino offerings.

Resocasi.com is entirely focused on Japanese content and includes casino reports from throughout the world, a forum where Japanese users can discuss their experiences, offers and more, as well as daily news from the global gaming industry relevant to players. Visitors can also utilize the site’s world casino hotel guide.

HOGO and Resocasi.com have announced the development of a new platform within the site, focused on iGaming and affiliate related content for platforms that offer services in Japanese. The new section, launching July 2020, will focus on iGaming sites with reviews, offers and more.

Chris Wieners, Managing Partner of HOGO, stated: “We are extremely excited to have signed our formal agreement with Resocasi.com and the team. HOGO has a long-standing relationship with the group and we believe that we will be able to add great value to the current offerings. As COVID19 continues to impact overseas travel and gaming at large, we are hoping to help develop successful iGaming content that will allow legitimate and premium operators to connect with Japanese speaking players.”

Nobuhiro Imigi, Operation Director for Resocasi.com, stated: “We are very happy to have HOGO on board as a formal partner for Resocasi.com. Their expertise in the gaming industry as well as media knowledge will help us to expand the Resocasi.com brand across the industry. Our aim is to develop ourselves as a household name for Japanese speakers everywhere, and contribute to the development of Japanese player-bases for casinos around the world.”

Friday, 22 May 2020 (London, United Kingdom) ICE Asia Digital 2020 continues to develop an impressive lineup of new speakers and topics as the event draws near. Scheduled to be held as a virtual event from Monday, 8 to Wednesday, 10 June 2020, the ICE brand’s inaugural Asia show will cover topics that the regional Asian gaming industry will face in the coming months and years post-COVID19. This includes announced sessions that cover the entire Asian gaming operators, manufacturers, policymakers and other industry experts.

Day 1 of ICE Asia Digital will begin with a keynote discussion by Andrea Domingo, the Chairwoman and CEO of PAGCOR. This will be followed by a focus on the outlook of Asian regional gaming in a post COVID19 world, including discussions around the state of the markets and what regional recovery may look like in the coming months. The panel will include Alidad Tash of 2nt8 Ltd., Kevin Clayton previously of Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China and Vitaly Umansky of Sanford C. Berstein. This will be followed by a panel on the regulatory impact that COVID19 will have on the gaming sectors throughout Asia and include Jamie Nettleton of Addison, Ranjana Adhikari of Nishith Desai Associates and Lau Kok Keng of Raja & Tann Singapore.  

Additional topics will include a discussion around the marriage of digital and land-based gaming operations led by Jonathan Pettemerides of Rank Group and a detailed review around Australian regulations which will be led by Michael Sarquis, Executive Director of the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation Department of Justice and Attorney-General.

Day 2 of the event will begin with another keynote presented by Andrea Domingo of PAGCOR. This will be followed by a panel discussion around the re-opening of casinos in Asia and what the “new normal” will look like from an operational perspective. The panel will be chaired by Jose Angel Sueiro, Chief Operating Office of PH Resorts. Following the panel discussion, Steve Wolstenholme, Acting CEO of HOIANA Casino, will give his take on the development of integrated resorts and the gaming industry at large in Vietnam.

The regional focus will shift during the second half of Day 2 to include an update on Japan integrated resort development. Chaired by Brendan Bussman of GMA, the panel discussion will center around the timeline for casino development in Japan and be discussed by Ayako Nakayama of the Japan IR Association, Kazuaki Sasaki of Toyo University and Toru Mihara, Chair of the National Council on Gaming Legislation. This panel will be followed by a focused exploration into the public consensus of Japan’s casino development by Dominic Carter of the Carter Group. The day will end with a look at Chinese consumerism and tourism by Annie Siara of 86 Connects. There are additional regional topics that will be added to the agenda in the coming days, including more content around the Macau and Korean markets.

The event concludes with a third day dedicated to Gaming training, hosted for free by the international course provider Totally Gaming Academy. This training will focus on land-based challenges, including AML & CFT, casino commercialization and social gaming for land-based operators.

Registration to ICE Asia Digital is free of charge, including the training. For more information, including the full agenda, speakers, advanced registration and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.ice-asia.com.