Vegas tourism companies embrace social media strategies

Amanda Finnegan

Casino and tourism marketing executives talk Wednesday about their social media strategies during PubCon 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. From left to right: MGM Grand Assistant Vice President of Marketing Michael Perhaes, Planet Hollywood Director of Interactive Marketing Brandie Feuer, Vegas.com Vice President of Marketing Bryan Allison, Las Vegas Hilton Executive Director of Casino Marketing Peter Arceo and Luxor Vice President of Marketing Brad Goldberg.

By Amanda Finnegan

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 | 3:20 p.m.

With social media taking hold as a valuable marketing tool around the globe, Las Vegas tourism businesses are developing techniques to ensure they aren’t left behind.

Casino and tourism marketing executives talked Wednesday about their social media beginnings, what strategies work best for their companies and social media’s future during the PubCon 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

While some adopted social media practices later than others, executives from the Luxor, Planet Hollywood, MGM Grand, Las Vegas Hilton and Vegas.com agreed they were drawn to interactive media to communicate with customers in a format that allowed for instant feedback.

“It was a way to introduce a personality or a voice for our property. It was a way of trying to develop a better relationship, a different kind of relationship with potential customers,” said Brad Goldberg, vice president of marketing for Luxor. “We didn’t know what the result would be but we knew that we had to be there.”

Luxor, which has more than 11,000 followers on Twitter (@LuxorLV), has designed a specific personality to speak on behalf of the property. The character was developed by Brandie Feuer, who now is the director of interactive marketing at Planet Hollywood.

Feuer carried the technique to Planet Hollywood (@phVegas) after leaving the Luxor. She said she recently used Planet Hollywood’s 7,000-plus Twitter followers for feedback on a room promotion idea — the Phanatic pass -- and within two days the promotion became the most successful in the resort’s history.

For Vegas.com, Marketing Director Bryan Allison said the social media process was a fairly organic one. He said the company identified employees who already were interested in social media and utilized their interests, similar to what Zappos.com has done with its employees.

Allison said the company’s Twitter page (@vegascom) originally was aimed to be a customer service and promotional tool but became a place to cultivate its knowledge of the city. Vegas.com found that some people with questions about Las Vegas were coming to Vegas.com’s Twitter page rather than the company’s Web site. (Vegas.com is owned by the Greenspun family and is a sister company of the Sun.)

Other companies like Planet Hollywood and MGM Grand have done the same, giving employees like casinos hosts, concierges, poker managers and restaurant chefs their own pages in which to sound off.

Casinos also have used Twitter for contests and promotions like trivia contests and room giveaways. MGM Grand rolled out its latest promotion last month, called “Get Rewarded for your Sins,” where MGM Grand’s 12,000-plus followers are encouraged to tweet their Vegas mishaps with the hope of winning a room.

“I really believe in two years’ time, Twitter and Facebook will be a much more effective communication device than our e-mails,” said Michal Perhaes, assistant vice president of marketing for MGM Grand. “We are building our following on people that chose to follow us, that have an interest in our property. They are more likely to purchase a room or come to our restaurants than, say, someone who has received an e-mail from us.”

Though several casinos use the forum for promotions and branding, most executives agreed that social media should stay true to its purpose.

“At some point, some of these messages become too hard-selling and too promotional,” Goldberg said. “What people enjoy most about social media is communicating what’s on their mind or what they are doing.

“Social media needs to stay social.”