Relaxing with a drink

Vegas Changes Everything

Giving drive markets a reason, make that several reasons, to make Vegas plans.

The Challenge

As the entertainment, dining, shopping, day tripping, night clubbing capital of the world, Las Vegas holds a special place in the hearts and minds of millions of adventure seekers. The destination’s attraction of adult freedom appeals to just about everyone looking for incredible, one-of-a-kind experiences.

But like every industry or destination, Las Vegas also has its challenges. There are seasonal times of the year that can typically be slower in terms of visitor volume like Thanksgiving, not to mention during Vegas’ summer heat.

For the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), succeeding in overcoming these challenges is their mission and purpose. They’re responsible for delivering effective, proactive messaging that creates attention, drives visitation and increases room occupancy for their hotel property partners and in-destination brands. But the LVCVA doesn’t do it alone. They turn to R&R Partners for smart, outside-of-the-box marketing solutions.  

The Strategy

Through extensive research, we created a comprehensive profile of the various types of Vegas visitors and have identified the kinds of motivators that can move audiences to consider planning a trip to Las Vegas. Applying these insights to help address our seasonal challenges of slower visitation, we knew messaging must appeal to an audience that could get here fairly easy.

For those visitors who live in key drive markets like Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix as well as San Francisco, the promise of adult freedom can initiate an impulse to visit as travel is just a few hours’ drive away. We also know that the drive market includes repeat and lapsed visitors who are fans of Las Vegas and often just need a new or additional reason to incentivize another trip.

Next, we would identify the platforms and channels that would reach our identified audiences as part of our overall marketing strategy.

The Work

In creating this campaign, our “Vegas Changes Everything” goal was to highlight Las Vegas’ energy and larger-than-life entertainment experiences that are unlike anything offered in any other city in the world.

We knew that during the summer months visitors needed to be reminded that Vegas takes any event to another level – that nowhere else could they feel as energized and inspired by the spectacle of entertainers, events and shows – Vegas simply offers the ultimate in summer fun.

Specifically, the campaign would capitalize on the headliners and entertainment residencies while sharing the exuberance a visitor feels when talking about their planned Vegas trip.

For the fourth quarter, we added specific season spots that featured super-stressful holiday gatherings. We would leverage the fact that awkward family dinners and the chaos that follows is relatable to most people. Our suggestion: maybe this year they skip those gathering and choose an elevated and nontraditional experience for their thanksgiving holiday and come to Las Vegas.

The integrated campaign included four 30-second TV spots, digital spots, radio, display banners and ran in spot broadcast, cinema, spot radio, pre-roll, native, display and across social media target to our specific audience and drive markets. Consumers were directed to go to VisitLasVegas.com to begin planning their trip and were referred to property partners to book their stay.

The Results

The “Vegas Changes Everything” campaign was an immediate success in prompting visitation from key drive markets during the destination’s typically slower months.

61% Heightened interest in visiting Las Vegas among viewers who had seen the campaign.

77% in Ad Favorability rating among travelers aware of Las Vegas advertising.

The campaign inspired over 256,000 Page Views to VisitLasVegas.com.

Average time spent on the website increased by three-and-a-half-minutes over the site average, and generated more than 2,900 property partner referrals.

Influencers created 15 posts using #VegasChangesEverything, which garnered 1.4 million in Reach and more than 36,000 Engagements.

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