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Hospitality & Convention
Cache Creek Casino
Resort: Signs of the Times
Cache Creek Casino Resort, located in Brooks, California,
is owned and operated by the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians. From its
humble beginnings as a bingo hall in 1985, Cache Creek now encompasses
74,720-square feet of casino space featuring 2,600 slot machines and 142
table games. The 415,000-square foot property also includes a 200-room
luxury hotel and health spa, eight restaurants, Club 88 entertainment
venue, outdoor swimming pool, casino
gift shop and tribal-operated mini mart, gas station and fire station.
Cache Creek focuses on
more than just entertainment – the emphasis at this resort is beauty and
modernity. People’s expectations have changed since the old days of
visiting the Vegas strip, and Cache Creek is focused on continuously
improving the guest experience with superb facilities, varied offerings
and modern communications to guide and inform. They’re using digital
signage powered by AxisTV to maximize guest relations, wayfinding
efforts and promotional campaigns.
Mark Harman, Technical Manager for Cache
Creek, says, “AxisTV presents an attractive, captivating message system
for timely, pertinent communications with our customers.” They currently
use AxisTV Professional edition, version 6.4, with ten Visix Channel
Players broadcasting content to dozens of displays, including twelve NEC
42” and 50” plasmas, twenty Panasonic 50” displays, an NEC 61” plasma
and several industrial grade displays ranging from 25” to 40”.
The digital signage
system was tested in 2003 and implemented early the following year.
AxisTV has kept up with the increasing pace of technological improvement
that is the hallmark of the early 21st century. “The field is
more competitive than it was three years ago,” says Harman, “and the
product has evolved over time. It’s increased the flexibility of content
creation and end-user content control. The ease of use for the message
creator is great and it can all be done over the Internet. We also
upgraded our Content Server, which gave us a marked performance
increase.”
While Harman and his
team use some traditional print signs, such as freestanding “lollipops”
and backlit duratrans, dynamic communications are vital in an environment
like Cache Creek where people are constantly on the go. “Motion is a
great thing. A moving video display catches the eye – we’re all trained
these days to automatically look when we see a TV or other moving
image.” A staff videographer produces facility footage, special
projects and promotional spots using an on-site video editing suite for
production editing and
effects.
“We don’t use tickers,
or display weather – none of that. We focus on maximum impact marketing
content, using it like a video billboard. We try to make our visual
signage striking and captivating, “ Harman explains. “We use a lot of
video with contrasting text and motion graphics. A lot of stuff gets
storyboarded and then created using digital cameras and video, then
tweaked in the video editing suite. Right now, for example, the casino
is building a golf course, so we shoot some footage, make it look good,
and display it. The idea is that people will see it and say ‘Wow, that
looks great. I’ll have to try that.’ It gives the customer a chance to
see what’s available to them, now or in the future. It’s also a portal
for the visitor to see other aspects of the property.”
Like their décor and
their advertising, Cache Creek digital signage content focuses on
aesthetics. Harman continues, “A lot of our content is, well – it’s
beautiful. We want it to be eye-catching but also eye-pleasing. Staying
resonant and working in harmony with our graphic design department is important.
We all work together to create memorable and beautiful content that our
guests will stop, watch, and remember.”
In a visually
stimulating environment like Cache Creek, finding just the right place
for displays is one of the major concerns for Harman. “Display location
is key,” he tells us. “People walk by for a very brief time and we have
to catch their attention and get them to look. If they’re in a line somewhere, then
we can display a longer message.” AxisTV is used to convey content to
displays located just about anywhere – in gaming rooms, next to
elevators, in the halls and lobby, in the restaurant, and anywhere else
people might linger for that crucial extra second needed to capture
their attention. Guests can find information on the spa and gourmet
restaurant, entertainment offerings, gaming specials and promotions, and
even directional wayfinding instructions (such as “No Smoking Slots –
This Way”) just about everywhere in the public areas of the property.
Harman and his team even use digital displays to show rules for
different games for visitors in the gaming rooms.
The ease of updating
content is another advantage of AxisTV’s friendly user experience.
Harman says, “We update content usually once a week. Our entertainment
offerings alone are constantly changing. AxisTV is easy to use and also
up-to-the-moment current. This makes it competitive as well as
cost effective.”
Harman plans to
incorporate more digital signage in the future as Cache Creek continues
to expand its facilities and range of offerings to customers. As we
approach the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Harman feels
that they are pacing the leading resort properties with regards to
digital signage. “We’ll be studying the future quite carefully,” he
concludes. “There’s a contemporary appearance to digital signage. It’s
modern and we want to stay modern.”
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