To most people, the iPad is a nifty gadget to play around with. But there are some culinary entrepreneurs who are using iPads to create a more engaging and enjoyable dining experience, giving a whole new meaning to the term “social dining.”

Stacked, a fast-casual restaurant chain, is putting the iPad to good use by having one at each table. Patrons use the iPad to design and order their own burgers, salads, and pizzas.

This makes the ordering system faster, more efficient, and most importantly, more fun. You get to watch your meal come together as you click and drag toppings and other accoutrements onto your meal. While the owners say they don’t want to be defined by their unique ordering system, technology is definitely a big part of the experience at Stacked. Each restaurant sees 7,000 customers per week, which means a lot of people are getting exposed to the iPad (a good thing for Apple), and those people are enjoying the experience (a good thing for Stacked).

More »

The results are in!

Our SocialSherpa™ team is very excited to present the 1st Annual Sherpie Awards – honoring the best social media marketing in the casino industry.

We’ve put together the “best of the best” in the national gaming industry, and narrowed them down to seven prestigious categories.

Best Fan Engagement on Facebook
Team Spirit
Most Engaging Use of Twitter
Best Use of Social Media for Customer Service
Best IntegratedSocial Promotion
Most Viral Campaign
Best Social Media Event

Is your casino one of the winners? Visit our Casino Buzz Blog to see the Sherpie results. And if you think there’s another casino that’s doing a great job with social media, be sure to leave us a comment and let us know.

Congratulations to all the Sherpie winners – you’ve truly embraced the power of social media and successfully integrated it into yourmarketing plans. We look forward to seeing more big things come out of your brands in 2011. And of course, if you’d like some help, drop us a line.

Did you know that your hotel, resort or attraction could have an enhanced business listing for free on Google? Google’s launch of Place Pages is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before and we think it’s going to be a very big deal.

What exactly is a Place page? It’s not another social media check-in spot. It’s a single web page that can contain all the relevant information about your business such as as business hours, photos, details about amenities, best transit routes, prices, booking information and most importantly, an aggregated list of reviews and ratings.

Customer reviews are seamlessly pulled from top sites like: TripAdvisor, IgoUgo, Zagat, Yelp, and Priceline – giving people the opportunity to compare notes without having to go any further. Customer reviews are neatly organized by topic, sentiment or source. Not only does this feature impact a customer’s decision, but it also helps your search rankings, click-through rates and conversion rates online.

More »

There’s no doubt that Abraham Lincoln has quite the list of accolades and achievements. As 16th president of the United States, he won the civil war, ended slavery, and even had his likeness carved into the side of a mountain. But the forward-thinking leader has not been resting on his laurels. With a little help from us, Abe can now cross out “win an AGA Communications Award” from his bucket list.

We are proud to announce that our “Missing Abe” Campaign for Beau Rivage Resort & Casino was awarded Best Social Media Campaign at the 2010 Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.

This was no small feat for Honest Abe, or for us. With over 26,000 attendees from around the world, G2E is the leading trade show and conference for the international gaming entertainment industry. So yeah, it feels pretty good to take home the award for the year’s best social media campaign.

“Missing Abe” was a fully integrated effort to promote the installation of about 100 new penny slots at Beau Rivage. It began with reports that Abe had ‘gone missing’ from his normal duties of hanging out at Mt. Rushmore, the Lincoln Memorial, the five-dollar bill and of course, the penny.

More »

No matter how many times I go to Vegas on business, it never gets old. How can you NOT love a town with more great restaurants per square block than anywhere else in the world? The first thing on my mind is always where to eat.

This time I’m going to G2E, the largest gaming conference of the year. In fact, I’ll be heading up a workshop with my distinguished colleague Ryan Leeds on Monday, November 15th on one of hottest topics of the year: social media. Who doesn’t want to learn more about this amazing communications channel?
More »

Hiking, boating, shopping, skiing, golfing – count us in! (FYI, you had us at hiking.) We’re thrilled to announce that Masterminds has been selected as the agency of record for the Pocono Mountains. We’ll be busy keeping a fresh influx of travelers flowing into one of the most storied destinations in the mid-Atlantic region.

To us, the partnership couldn’t be more perfect. Try walking through our halls for more than five seconds without bumping into an avid fisherman, skier, golfer, camping aficionado or foodie. Impossible. Which is why we’re ecstatic to work with the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau to introduce even more visitors to a region that’s just a quick drive from New York City or Philadelphia, and is full of all the things we love to do.
More »

Is your brand getting the most out of online video? And no, we’re not talking about putting your TV commercials on your YouTube channel. Nor are we talking about copying what Old Spice has done and just inserting your own character.

Instead, create original, engaging video content that people will want to share with their friends—something that can go viral. And then, tap into key influencers who will help spread the word for you, ultimately driving their followers to your brand, too.

Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas recently leveraged YouTube’s mass musical appeal to build a tremendous amount of buzz around their branded dance hit, “PHAMOUS.”
More »