Business Meeting

Vegas Means Business

Using Meetings and Conventions to Fill Rooms Midweek.

The Challenge

The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) opened in 1959 with the goal of stabilizing occupancy rates by filling rooms midweek. At that time, Las Vegas had already become a popular leisure destination, but a historical trend of midweek and seasonal drop-offs in visitation remained a persistent issue. The construction of the convention center created an opportunity to capitalize on the growing industry of meetings and conventions to fill rooms during those slower periods. 

When speaking to a business/convention audience on behalf of Las Vegas, no longer is the challenge to drive awareness or convince people the destination is a place worth visiting. Ironically, our enormous success on the leisure travel side of the equation has created a perceptual environment in which we had to overcome the notion that Las Vegas is not a “serious place to do business.” We were pushing back against the beliefs that Las Vegas had too many distractions, that delegates were not in the right frame of mind, and that Las Vegas-based business and convention events would not be taken seriously by attendees. 

The Strategy

Our imperative became demonstrating, both visually and through statistic-based facts, that Las Vegas is indeed a serious place to do business. The integrated campaign needed to reinforce the success companies had attained while doing business in Las Vegas, giving both meeting planners and C-Suite executives cognitive drivers and reassurance for booking their meeting, trade show or convention in Las Vegas.

Concurrently, offline efforts from the LVCVA sales staff doubled-down on these efforts, hosting site visits, mapping out ways to host successful meetings in Las Vegas, and inviting prospects to conventions already taking place in the destination so they could see for themselves how important work was getting done in the destination. This multilayered approach allowed meeting planners to experience business events that were unique, memorable and, most importantly, successful. 

The Work

Our primary target audience is meeting planners. Our secondary target audience is C-Suite executives. The goal: Develop creative and content that highlights the top reasons that make Vegas a premier business destination. “Why Vegas” was a series of short-form videos and was inspired by the 10 Reasons to Hold Your Events in Vegas. There are four :15 second concepts that feature a variety of extraordinary meetings spaces only to be found in Las Vegas. Another video series called “Tiny Talk” featured testimonials from highly-regarded local meeting planners who share their reasons why Las Vegas is great for business. Lastly, efforts continue to evolve daily to keep the conversation going on the social media so that we stay relevant and information to our customers.

The Results

The Trade Show News Network (TSNN) has named Las Vegas the Number One Trade Show Destination for 26 consecutive years in its “Top 250 Trade Shows in the United States” list.

Las Vegas welcomes more than 6.5 million business delegates to the destination each year.

Las Vegas welcomes tens of thousands of meetings, trade shows or conventions each year, ranging in size from a few dozen attendees to 170,000+ delegates.

Las Vegas trade show delegates spend more time on the trade show floor versus other cities.

40% of Las Vegas convention attendees have the “final say” in decision-making, underscoring the quality of attendees that attend a show in Las Vegas.

Rotating meetings and conventions held in Las Vegas currently experience 8% higher attendance versus other destinations.

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