The rise of “social media” where people are the publishers, rather than mere readers of news content, will change the way casinos market and advertise themselves in the coming years.

Dario V. Cordero, PAGCOR’s  General Manager and Head of the  Gaming Department, made this statement during a meeting with casino shift managers recently. He noted that “the era of building brands through traditional mass media is over.”

“These days, people are media, and it is social media with user-generated content which drive traffic,” he pointed out.

Citing data, Mr. Cordero said Facebook alone has 150 million users while Twitter has 5 million, and these continue to grow daily. YouTube, known for its slogan “Broadcast Yourself” has a popularity rating of 52% among 18 to 34-year olds.

Furthermore, surveys show 92% of people now prefer word-of-mouth recommendations while an increasing smaller segment (about 14%) trust ads. (continue reading…)