LVCVA ads called impressive

By Richard N. Velotta

Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors gushed over a sweeping long-term marketing plan unveiled Tuesday, but industry experts say more is needed to boost visitation to the city.

The nuts and bolts of the LVCVA's 1998-99 marketing plan were reviewed and unanimously approved by the board Tuesday following a slick video presentation featuring nearly completed versions of nine television spots that will appear in 11 traditional feeder markets and seven new target markets.

The nine TV spots show leisure activities beyond gaming in Las Vegas or are targeted to a specific audience. For example, one ad focuses on retail amenities, another on showroom and lounge entertainment and another on the city's magicians. Others target Southern Californians and another cozies up to repeat visitors who appreciate the Las Vegas experience of old.

Surrounding the packed meeting room at Cashman Center were colorful enlargements of print ads that will appear in USA Today, TV Guide, People, Time, Sports Illustrated and newspapers in the 18 target cities.

The mission of the plan is to reposition Las Vegas as a retail and entertainment center as well as a gaming playground. The plan's goal is to increase overall visitor volume by about 6 million people to 36.4 million by the end of 2000, when more than 20,000 new hotel rooms will be on line in Southern Nevada.

The ads label Las Vegas as "anything and everything" and ask the audience, "How soon can you get here?" A logo promoting the city as open 24 hours also adorns the ads.

Rossi Ralenkotter, vice president of marketing for the LVCVA, said the entire package is costing the agency $27.3 million. R&R Advertising, which created the campaign, also is handling all the media buys. The $27.3 million, 1 percent greater than the previous year's ad budget, covers R&R's contract and the cost of newspaper, magazine and television advertising.

The LVCVA receives its revenues from room tax collections and evaluates ad budgets for the upcoming fiscal year every January and February.

Commissioners praised the campaign for its extensive reach. Mayor Jan Jones, a member of the commission, said the multifaceted plan "really institutes that sense of fun of visiting a gaming resort city."

A trade show producer attending the LVCVA meeting on Tuesday said he was extremely impressed with the presentation.

"I think it is fantastic," said Chuck Schwartz of PGI Exhibitions, a multifaceted company that produces trade shows and offers destination services to Las Vegas visitors. "There is no destination resort in the world that can compare to what we have, but it's a message we haven't gotten across. This should help do that."

"It's the most thorough broad-based program we've ever had," said Commissioner Don Snyder, president of Boyd Gaming Corp.

Snyder said he was most impressed with the amount of research the R&R staff completed before devising the plan.

Randy Snow, creative director for R&R, said a team of about 20 began work on the project in February and went about interviewing executives from several resort properties for their ideas on the plan. From there, it was a brainstorming process.

"We sat down and wrote down a lot of ideas, some of which we'll use in the future," Snow said. "For every idea that made it, there were 25 that didn't."

Portions of the final product may stir some controversy. In the television commercials, there's no announcer delivering a Las Vegas message and background music helps tell the story. Snow said that while no-announcer ads might not reach audiences that are only listening to their TVs, the intent is to reach attentive viewers.

Another potential problem: R&R has yet to secure all the musical rights to songs presented in the rough TV ads. Among the songs taken for background music were Paul McCartney's "Jet" on a spot showing McCarran International Airport and "Hotel California" by the Eagles on an ad directed at the Southern California market.

Billy Vassiliadis, chief executive officer of R&R Advertising, warned commissioners that "you're going to get phone calls" from hotel executives complaining that their properties were slighted in the ads or that competitors got more air time. He defended the ads for using visuals of properties that already have broad international franchise recognition synonymous with the Las Vegas experience.

But ads and public relations campaigns aren't the only components needed for attracting visitors. The marketing plan acknowledges that, noting that public and private entities will have to communicate and cooperate more than ever before in the face of stiff competition from other destination resorts.

Patti Shock, chair of the Tourism and Convention Department of UNLV's Hotel College, hasn't seen the marketing presentation, but said there are other issues that should concern local resort operators.

She said that LVCVA's goal to expand convention visitation by 50 percent is realistic, but that despite the addition of several convention facilities, Las Vegas is still lacking in providing a true conference center.

A convention center, she explained, is a big-box building that can be set up and broken down for displays and exhibits or dinners and banquets. A conference center features permanent seating, state-of-the-art audio-visual and telecommunications equipment and facilities conducive to corporate brainstorming.

"A 50 percent increase (in convention visitors) is reasonable," Shock said. "You won't find a better location with the facilities we have and the number of hotel rooms, which is what convention organizers are looking for."

Now that there are more venues with new convention space, it's reasonable to attempt to attract more shows, which have the potential of adding tourists who get their first glimpse of Las Vegas at a convention, then want to return for a vacation.

Shock said UNLV may attempt to fill the conference center void with a proposal for a facility on campus.

As for conventions, she also said Las Vegas must repair an ugly reputation it has acquired over time. Convention planners aren't happy Las Vegas properties charge higher than rack rates for convention guests. Most cities hungry for hotel guests offer reduced rates for groups associated with conventions.

Shock explained that doesn't happen in Las Vegas because the casino executives call the shots and they see conventioneers as less likely to spend time and money gambling than tourists.

Schwartz, the trade show producer, said intense marketing for conventioneers runs in cycles. He notices that when occupancy rates and gaming revenues begin falling -- as they have in the past year -- hotels make a better effort to serve the convention market.