In retrospect the solution should have seemed obvious, but as we all know sometimes the most obvious solutions are overlooked. The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau and its stakeholders were both facing the same situation: significantly decreased advertising budgets, expensive media markets and increased competition. Sound familiar?

How could their modest budgets be used in a way that truly made an impact? The solution, said David West, VP, Sales and Marketing of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, was to invite their stakeholders to buy into a fully integrated advertising campaign developed by Masterminds. After all, both the Visitors Bureau and the stakeholders had the same goals – maintain top of mind awareness for the Pocono Mountains as a getaway destination, and drive business to the variety of hotels and attractions in the area.
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Our Social Media Boot Camp at this year’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) was a huge hit. We had a lot of fun sharing our latest insights with over 80 casino marketers in this hands-on workshop, and we hope everyone got as much out of it as we did.

Due to popular demand, we decided to share these slides with the rest of you folks who may not have been able to attend the conference in Vegas.

Click below to see all the slides from our five different seminars. If you have any questions (especially about staying within Facebook’s ever-changing guidelines), feel free to drop us a line in the comments section. We’re always here to help.
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Nearly every casino in the country recognizes the importance of social media and is dedicating more and more resources (both human and financial) to its success. However, few devote the time to create a true strategic plan that outlines their objectives, goals and strategies, and even fewer know how to measure the ROI.

That’s why we’re hosting a very special Social Media Boot Camp at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, specifically meant to keep casino marketers ahead of the digital curve. We’ll provide actionable ways for you to improve your social media efforts – right now.
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This piece was written by Nicole Wolf for Global Gaming Business Magazine. Original article here.

What is social media really worth to the marketing of your casino?

David Ogilvy. Leo Burnett. Bill Bernbach. These are just a few of the ad industry legends who never interned at Masterminds. (Although we once had an intern named Rusty Bogusky). Regardless, they all had to start somewhere, just like you. So why not start at the beach? It’s fall. The crowds have split. The water’s still warm. The Pokemon are easier to catch. It’s the perfect time to kickoff your advertising career by interning at Masterminds, the award-winning full service ad agency down by the Jersey Shore.

We aren’t looking for obnoxious sexy 20-somethings with orange glowing skin and spiked up hair who want their MTV. Well, maybe we are. But we are also looking for a few bright young go-getters for our fantastic Fall 2011 internship. Three (3) selected applicants – an account management intern, social media/copywriting intern and a design/studio intern – will have the opportunity to not only immerse themselves in their own specialty, but they will also have a chance to collaborate with other departments and maybe have some ice cream.

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The time has come once again to celebrate the most impressive social media marketing in the casino industry. It’s been an exciting year, and many casinos continue to raise the bar with their digital efforts. So we’ve teamed up with Global Gaming Business Magazine to honor the best of the best.

Social media may have started as a supplement to your traditional advertising efforts, but now, brands are truly integrating it into a two-way conversation with their customers. It’s a way for your audience to interact, share their experiences and have their questions answered in real time. And several trailblazing casino brands are leading the industry with innovative social media strategy and engaging content.

Is your casino among them? If you’ve executed a social media campaign or promotion recently that’s as creative as it is effective, tell us about it. Submit your entry by August 31 – we’ll be announcing the winners at G2E in Las Vegas.

Click here to enter, and see how your casino stacks up.

We’re looking for a few bright young go-getters for our Summer 011 Internship Program Extravaganza. Four selected applicants – an account management intern, media intern, copywriting intern and a design intern – will have the opportunity to not only immerse themselves in their own specialty, but they will also have a chance to collaborate with other departments as well – WOW!!!

This full time, eight-week opportunity of awesomeness kicks off on Monday, June 13th and comes to a dramatic, heart-pounding conclusion on Friday, August 5th. Along your 8-week advertising odyssey, you’ll pick up a solid ad agency foundation that will help you grow your advertising career. You may also pick up a cool office nickname like “Falco” or “Lil’ Rodrigo.” Our goal is to have you leave Masterminds with real world work and some damn good experience. You will be trained and given access to all of the same tools, software and processes we use at the agency. We may even let you into the exclusive Mustache Lounge.

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