Quote:
Originally Posted by Jackal69
What remains to be seen is if poker can really exist just as a casino game with few true winners, or if there is an aspirational element to it that drives people to play over roulette/blackjack etc.
I think the company name & brand itself is inextricably linked to 'the dream' : play Poker and become a Star (a pro).
The aspirational element is embedded in the meaning of the brand. (as further explained below).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jackal69
The VIP scheme/SNE was introduced effectively as a way of employing regs to play high volume and service the vast amounts of recreational players who wanted to play, with the long term goal in mind of building the business and gaining market share.
I'm going to refer to this as a 'brand loyalty' scheme.
Ok so I like your post and I just wanted to add a couple of ideas/questions to the discussion:
1.) public vs private company
2.) why buy a brand to destroy it?
1.)
Isn't one of the main problems: it being floated on the stock market rather than being a private company?
Shareholders simply want to see their shares constantly increase in value. How it increases - they don't care.
A private company could have consistent profit, without having to answer to shareholders. Seems like as long as they keep a player pool, it's a license to print money.
Maybe a private company can offer the brand loyalty scheme that pokerstars is threatening to remove and thereby steal their customer base?
2.)
PokerStars over the years have created a brand. A trusted brand, I think is what drew in new customers over the years.
(you may not feel like it now, but that is what drew customers in, in the first place. And by 'you' I mean anyone reading this post who plays there
).
'Find the Poker Star in you' = play here and become a pro / play with the pros / the pros play here
'We Are Poker' = we have a monopoly / everyone plays here / you can find a game at 3am or whenever
Seems to me their brand is their most valueable asset.
It is what brings people in and it's what keeps them there.
The name itself is inextricably linked to 'the dream' : play Poker and become a Star (a pro).
They could increase the rake until it is an unwinnable casino game (all luck and no skill).
But why buy a brand to destroy it?
Why drown yourself in debt to buy a brand and then destroy it?
The only reason I can think of at the moment is short term profit, but they damage themselves in doing so.
If they fail to offer a decent brand loyalty scheme, other companys can offer a better one and take their customers.