R&R wins coveted LVCVA ad contract

Tuesday, March 9, 1999 | 3:52 a.m.

R&R Advertising, the Las Vegas-based agency that has held the lucrative Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority ad contract for 18 years, has won a five-year extension.

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday afternoon, the LVCVA board of directors chose R&R following hour-long presentations by three competing agencies.

The contract, which last year had a value of $28 million, was put to a competitive bid at the suggestion of R&R President Billy Vassiliadis in December.

Two other bidders making presentations Tuesday were Colby, Effler & Partners, Santa Monica, Calif., and The Merica Agency of Las Vegas, which partnered with Young & Rubicam, San Francisco, in its bid.

The board ultimately was swayed by R&R's experience in Las Vegas and the company's role in the development of a long-range strategic marketing plan, which the LVCVA began implementing last year. R&R incorporated television advertisements from the campaign in its presentation.

Among the goals of the strategic plan are to increase overall visitor volume to 36.4 million by the end of 2000. Last year, the city drew 30.6 million.

The new contract is effective July 1 through June 30, 2004.