Article analysis on strategy of price discrimination.
Discuss the subsequent excerpt from a recent story in the Wall Street Journal (May 4, p.1). In your discussion demonstrate which you can use the concepts of: "price discrimination," and "barriers to entry" to explain the current success of Harrah's strategy and the prospects for continued success with the strategy.
TUNICA, Miss. -- She doesn't know it, but Linda Maranees is the subject of a behavioural experiment which could change the odds of the gambling business. The Memphis, Tenn., retiree, her blouse bedecked with sequined cards and dice, has just received invitations to two nearby slot tournaments, along with vouchers for $200, all courtesy of Harrah's Entertainment Inc)
"Harrah's is savvy," says Ms. Maranees, who admits which once in the casino door, she is bound to spend much more than illustrate what Harrah's has given her. Which is exactly illustrate what the Las Vegas-based organization is banking on. Over the past two years, Harrah's has quietly conducted thousands of clinical-style trials to determine illustrate what gets people to gamble more) Based on its findings, Harrah's has developed closely guarded marketing strategies tailored individually to the millions of low-rollers who make up its bread-and-butter business.
The results are impressive enough which other casino companies are copying some of Harrah's more discernible methods.
At the center of Harrah's strategy is a former Harvard professor named Gary Loveman and a vast mathematical model much like the ones which airlines use to fill seats with the highest-paying fliers. But this one scores gamblers on how profitable they can be to Harrah's. Richard Mirman, the organization senior vice president who refined the model, boasts which it is Harrah's "secret recipe" -- on a par with the famous unrevealed formula of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The model tells Harrah's marketers how to appeal to gamblers such as Ms. Maranees, based on data tracking their previous behaviour in casinos. Spitting out "behavior modification reports," Harrah's computers suggest which Ms. Maranees -- an avid slot-tournament player -- will respond best to a cash offer, while Tina Montgomery, a real-estate agent from nearby Oxford, Miss., is better motivated by a free hotel room. As Ms. Montgomery gambles downstairs, she explains, "My husband stays in the room."