Venetian criticizes new LVCVA ad campaign

Friday, Aug. 21, 1998 | 11:02 a.m.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's new marketing and advertising campaign "shows the same old Las Vegas neon in a different wrapper," the president of a new Strip property said.

Bill Weidner, president and chief operating officer of the soon-to-open Venetian hotel-casino, said the $27.3 million ad campaign misses the mark. But he said the LVCVA did a solid job of documenting the challenges of filling thousands of new hotel rooms at a time when visitation is flagging.

"These statistics confirm what (Venetian developer) Sheldon Adelson has been saying for three years," Weidner said. "And Sheldon Adelson was criticized for making these same observations."

Adelson touched nerves in March when his address to the International Gaming Business Exposition ripped Strip competitors, unions and the LVCVA. He was most critical of the LVCVA's marketing efforts, which he complained focused on attracting low-budget customers with tired campaigns.

"The marketing report says all the right things," Weidner said of the LVCVA's statistical analysis. "But does the creative execution of the ads live up to the verbiage as stated in the plan? No."

Weidner said the ads don't do enough to explain how Las Vegas is changing from a gambling resort to a destination of entertainment, shopping, fine dining and the unexpected. The fast-paced TV ads don't give viewers the opportunity to identify franchises operating in Las Vegas, he said.

"You need to do more than show somebody at a table eating a steak," Weidner said. "You need to show the brand name, or he could be eating anywhere."

Weidner's recommendation: bring in a new advertising consultant. He said the existing consultant, R&R Advertising, has been creating campaigns for the LVCVA for 12 years.

"We've got five of the top advertising agencies in the country just a 45-minute plane ride away," Weidner said. "Sometimes, having creative people from outside can lend a different perspective. If you're from the outside looking in instead of the inside looking out, you can spot some the things you don't expect about Las Vegas."

An executive at another Strip property agreed with Weidner.

"It's the same stuff we've already seen," said the executive, who asked not to be identified. "How many times are we going to see the volcano, the pyramid and all the neon? To get new people in here, we're going to have to show them something new."

But these comments differ from what most local gaming marketing professionals are saying about the LVCVA ads.

"They did a nice job of segmenting the metamorphosis this city is going through," said Tom Page, vice president of sales for the Las Vegas Hilton, who saw the campaign at an LVCVA presentation last week.

"Shopping is one of the primary components identified as an activity where the interest level is high," Page said. "Some of the ads show a myriad of shopping, from the outlet malls to the Forum Shops."

Page had few complaints about how the Hilton image was portrayed in the LVCVA ads. The neon fans of the Flamingo Hilton are displayed prominently in some. He was concerned about the lack of mention of Hilton's new Paris hotel-casino on the Strip. LVCVA officials have said new ads based on the same theme could be developed showing Bellagio, Paris, the Venetian, Mandalay Bay and the new Aladdin, which will open in the next two years.

"I think the ads are very progressive in light of the competition that's out there," said Caroline Coyle, director of advertising and public relations for the Desert Inn, after viewing the LVCVA presentation last week.