Las Vegas Swings Into Action Early

LAS VEGAS—In response to signs there may be some softening in the travel market, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and its ad agency, R&R Partners, have launched a new campaign to keep business and leisure visitors coming to Sin City even if there is a recession.

At a monthly board meeting on March 11, the LVCVA and R&R marketing team presented a campaign called Vegas Right Now, estimated to cost $11 million to $12 million, that they began working on in the last quarter of 2007 when they started to see some red flags in the U.S. convention and tourism market. The campaign includes an attendance promotion element specifically for the Las Vegas tradeshow sector, which the campaign's developers described as one of the weak spots in a generally strong destination.

Citywide occupancy and room nights sold in Las Vegas from November through January continue to reflect positive, albeit small, increases (0.2 and 0.8 percent, respectively), said Terry Jicinsky, LVCVA senior vice president of marketing. “On the other side of the coin, we see that convention attendance is actually down 11 percentage points, which is reflective of some of the things that Tradeshow Week is telling us on the national landscape - that fewer people are signing up to attend individual conventions and tradeshows,“ he added.

Jicinsky was referring to TSW's Quarterly Report of Tradeshow Statistics, in addition to the LVCVA's own research.

Besides convention attendance, Las Vegas is also seeing some weakness in airport and highway traffic, Jicinsky said, and the Gaming Control Board's January numbers indicated gaming revenue was down 1.4 percent compared with a year earlier.

Billy Vassiliadis, president and majority owner of R&R, added, “The good news is, despite the slowing economy, the Las Vegas brand remains incredibly strong.“

According to a study that R&R contracted Penn, Schoen & Berland to conduct among people who, Vassiliadis said, “we know are travelers,“ 17 percent fewer of them plan to travel this spring than in June of last year.

Still, Las Vegas remained at the top of their list of choice destinations, and they also ranked the city as the best value, followed by Orlando. Among those surveyed, 76 percent also said they were more likely to attend a convention held in Las Vegas than elsewhere.

The combined research of the LVCVA and R&R indicated the negative pressure on the travel market will continue. “Fuel prices are going up, the housing market hasn't rebounded yet and, as we get closer to an election, typically things sort of bottom out,“ Vassiliadis said.

Their strategy for facing this pressure is based on the one they used successfully following the last economic downturn that began in 2002. Vassiliadis said the Vegas Right Now campaign was designed to encourage those people who are making more spontaneous travel decisions to choose Las Vegas, by informing them of upcoming activities and entertainment and dining options. Working with its hotel partners, the LVCVA will create TV, radio and Internet ads (some with sweepstakes) emphasizing what's going on now and in the immediate future around the city.

The meeting planner market will get a hot dates program and incentives for submitting electronic RFPs.

For tradeshows, the LVCVA convention sales team, led by Vice President Chris Meyer, has expanded its attendance promotion program, which consists of five elements: postcards, domestic and international press events, data mining to provide new lists to show organizer customers, CEU programs through the University of Nevada Las Vegas and on-site promotions for shows subsequently booked in Las Vegas (for example, a Las Vegas booth at a 2008 show in Chicago that's coming to Las Vegas in 2009).

To that, Meyer added a call center component. Working with Infolink Communications' Laura Leduc, who first pitched Meyer the idea at the Intl. Assn. of Exhibitions and Event's Expo! Expo! last December in Las Vegas, the LVCVA will contact potential attendees at every show scheduled during the next three months.

“Using their technology and their center, (Infolink) makes these calls, and a live person talks to the prospect,“ Meyer said. “The script is produced by the client, and the call center helps them with that.“

The LVCVA tried the service for the Amusement Showcase Intl., scheduled March 27-29 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. “We were able to move the needle for the Amusement Showcase by 4 percent,“ Meyer said, meaning 4 percent of those who hadn't been to the show in at least two years said they would go this time around.

Other clients to benefit from the program include the Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters, Reed Exhibitions (for the Natl. Hardware Show), and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

“We learned our lesson pretty quick after 9/11,“ Meyer said. “This was a pre-emptive move by our destination to combat any possible downturn that might happen.“