Reno Tahoe

On Thursday, the RSCVA Board approved a new logo, look and campaign for marketing the Reno Tahoe region.

The decision was unanimous that the RSCVA should proceed with marketing the region under the brand platform of “refreshingly offbeat” and move ahead quickly with our program to make the region stand out better as a tourist destination.

Some in the community have debated at great length in the past few days the proposed tagline for the new Reno Tahoe campaign. In an attempt to set the record straight here are few things to consider:

• It appears to us that many people are over thinking this very small aspect of a much larger marketing strategy
• The tagline is not the marketing campaign
• The campaign is moving forward and will continue to evolve over the next few months
• “A Little West of Center” was a proposed marketing campaign tagline.  It was not a slogan meant to speak to why we as locals live in the region; rather it is targeted toward visitors who need to be motivated to come to Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe.  Research showed that Reno in not top of mind on the list of places to visit for most consumers.
  Research also shows that the region has to stand out in its marketing and fight through many ill-informed negative perceptions

Everyone who is now suggesting new taglines both seriously and in jest probably have not been looking at the research findings gleaned from more than 11,000 consumers over the past nine months. That information has guided the decision process to date and has to be utilized to find an effective marketing message.

Since so many have guessed what “A Little West of Center” was all about, here it is: This region offers a real and authentic experience that is a departure from the norm.  The line was designed to remind visitors that a trip to Reno Tahoe offers a lot that’s different and exciting (Camel Races, Air Races, Gambling, World-Class Spas, Elvis’ gun collection, etc.).

The “Little” echoes Reno’s world-famous tagline “The Biggest Little City in the World.” (We couldn’t use that line because we are marketing Reno, Sparks AND Tahoe together. Visitors LOVE the idea of enjoying all the attractions of North Lake as well as the cool stuff here in Reno and Sparks. The fact is our research shows the metropolitan area has a lot to gain from reminding people how close it is to the lake; and that visitors to the lake can be persuaded to extend their stay with a trip to Reno).

Were we trying to get people to think? Yes.

Hope they would ask questions about what it meant? Yes.

Start a conversation? Yes.

So we are going back to the drawing board to develop new ideas to support the campaign.

What’s been lost in the cacophony following the introduction of the logo is that yesterday the RSCVA Board approved a bold new marketing direction for the region that embraces the distinctive attributes and real personality of Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe.  Hundreds of local people over the course of the last year have helped the RSCVA and our creative agency Mortar arrive at this new campaign.

We’re glad to see the community has a passionate interest in our work and we are keen to retain your support for our drive to reinvigorate tourism.  So keep those comments and ideas coming.  The hope is by uniting all of our stakeholders (hotel-casinos, special event organizers, ski-resorts, golf courses, etc.) behind a common idea that is authentic and real, the region can turn around 11 years of declining visitation.  This is a challenge we do not take lightly.

• To read about the Reno Tahoe’s market potential research, check out Branding Reno Tahoe: Research is Key.
• To learn more about this blog, visit our about page.

After a year of research, brand strategizing and deliberations over creative direction, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority Board of Directors approved Thursday (Sept. 24) a new logo and creative direction for the agency’s marketing efforts. This comes on the heels of the approval last month of a new brand platform – the work “behind” the logo.

At Thursday’s meeting, the board also expressed apprehension about the proposed tagline, “A Little West of Center,” opting instead to ask the RSCVA and its brand agency Mortar to revisit that part of the campaign. Although “A Little West of Center” was intriguing to many, the board asked for more work to find a tagline more in line with the essence of the campaign.

The logo and accompanying creative direction follows extensive input both from local stakeholders and residents, as well as testing with potential visitors. In all, the brand platform approved last month was predicated on research that touched nearly 11,000 consumers, mostly in primary drive markets in the Bay Area, Sacramento and the Central Valley, as well as fly markets that serve the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

The platform focuses on promoting the true, authentic Reno Tahoe to visitors who have either never been to the region, or have not been in awhile. Among those visitors – the low-hanging fruit, to use an alternative phrase – there is a generally positive perception of Reno Tahoe, but a general lack of awareness about what Reno Tahoe offers, and the amount of change that new development and urban revitalization has brought to the urban core.

So, with the exception of revisiting the proposed tagline, the RSCVA is prepared to roll out the new brand platform and creative. Although introduction of the campaign will happen in phases over the next six months or so, targeting demographic and geographic markets, the RSCVA remains hopeful that the buy-in expressed by our partners in tourism and the region’s residents will be the engine that reverses the 11-year decline in visitation that our region has suffered.

• To read about the Reno Tahoe’s market potential research, check out Branding Reno Tahoe: Research is Key.
• To learn more about this blog, visit our about page.

For the past week the RSCVA marketing department has conducted a series of meetings in the community. The presentation has focused on the research and rationale behind the new marketing strategy that will be considered for approval by the RSCVA Board on Thursday, Sept. 24.

As other postings on this blog reiterate, the new strategy focuses on ways to overcome 11 straight years of declining visitation to the region. The effort targets a new group of visitors that are motivated by a new message about the region.

Everyone is of course, incredibly busy these days; however, there are still more meetings taking place before the Sept. 24 board meeting. Here is a complete listing of those meetings.

September 22 at 4 pm

September 23 at 2pm

To attend one of these meetings please RSVP to Sally Moore at smoore@rscva.com.

In my biased opinion, reaction to the new strategy has been overall positive and there appears to be a great deal of curiosity about the final advertising creative elements. Unfortunately, those will remain under wraps until after the Board of the RSCVA approves the new direction. Please post your questions about the project in the comments section. We will answer all of them in a timely fashion.

• To read about the Reno Tahoe’s market potential research, check out Branding Reno Tahoe: Research is Key.
• To learn more about this blog, visit our about page.

As a result of 11 years declining visitation to Reno Tahoe, the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA) undertook an extensive project starting last year to develop a new strategy to improve visitation to Reno Tahoe.

As a community member you have a vested interest in the success of the new direction and the opportunity to help us shape the conversation about Reno Tahoe going forward. The RSCVA invites you to attend a presentation to view the destination’s “Updated Tourism Brand Promise,” online, or during one of several public forums. It will provide key insight into the process that RSCVA has undertaken over the past 12 months to develop a tourism marketing strategy and will focus on four main steps of the process: Internal Research, External Research, Distillation and Workshop, and Brand Platform and Execution.

The RSCVA will be hosting a WebEx conference and would like you join. The meeting is scheduled to last approximately 60 minutes.

• Topic: Preview Reno Tahoe’s Tourism Marking Strategy
• Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
• Time: 2:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -07:00, San Francisco)
• Meeting Number: 334 541 493
• Meeting Password: (This meeting does not require a password.)

To join the online meeting (Now from phones too!)

• Go to https://thna.webex.com/thna/j.php?ED=115040727&UID=0
• Enter your name and email address.
• Enter the meeting password: (This meeting does not require a password.)
• Click “Join Now”.

Please RSVP to Sally Moore at smoore@rscva.com or call 827-7668 with a date that you are able to be on the WebEx.

If you are unable to make the above date the RSCVA would encourage you to try and attend one of the other community-wide meetings listed below:

The meetings are scheduled to last approximately 60 minutes.

Schedule of Community Meetings:

September 16 at 9 am

September 17 at 2 pm

September 22 at 4 pm

September 23 at 2pm

What does this mean for locals?

Local residents should understand that the RSCVA along with its numerous stakeholders are working to develop a brand promise that resonates with visitors, tourists. Locals need to think about this new brand direction like a tourist would, not how a local resident would. The mission of the RSCVA is to drive overnight visitation into the destination (Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe).

What does this mean for potential visitors?

A key strategy in this new campaign is to expose tourists to more of the local flavor of Reno and Tahoe.  As a result we are officially retiring the “Don’t hassle me I’m a local” T-shirts and replacing them with “Ask me for something fun to do-I’m a local” logo gear. In all seriousness more effort will be placed on providing guides and services to expose visitors to the offbeat things to do in the region. Some of those are in the known tourist spots such as hotel-casinos and shopping malls.  Others are a bit more off the beaten path yet still authentically Reno and Tahoe.

Communications Plan Summary

RSCVA marketing programs have been based upon a more traditional advertising model. Reliance on public relations and Internet-driven strategies has been light. Our new audience, on the other hand, is far more likely to get their getaway ideas from friends and online. The RSCVA has a new marketing focus that requires a revised marketing strategy. The RSCVA will focus on effective Co-Op marketing and securing support from area partners. For the near-term, all area marketing budgets are constrained by the challenging economy. There is a widespread desire for greater efficiency. While not the ‘main’ motivation for visitation, gambling is a popular activity for tourists. The RSCVA can be more efficient by focusing its efforts on attracting new visitors to the destination.

Measurement

The RSCVA Marketing Department is developing more sophisticated tracking that will accompany the implementation of the Market Segmentation Study findings. The goal is to evolve the current measurement methodology to include a better understanding of the relationship between Word of Mouth media drivers (e.g. PR coverage, internet searches, positive reviews) and more traditional measurements of marketing effectiveness such as room nights booked, total visitation and growth in Average Daily Rate. The new measurements which include metrics for Awareness (PR impressions, print circulation, newsletters sent, keyword impressions and total Web visits, etc.), Engagement (online banner clicks, Website downloads, repeat Web site visits, newsletters opened, etc.) and Action (leads, bookings, visitation) would ultimately be presented for adoption by the RSCVA Board of Directors as Marketing Department goals for fiscal year 2010-2011.

Time commitment

Several short-term goals have been established to see if the new advertising campaign and updated tourism brand promise is working as hoped.  However, a 5- to 10-year time commitment will be needed from key stakeholders in the destination in order to most effectively gauge the success of this new strategy.

Community outreach

The RSCVA acknowledges that the process will involve a substantial amount of community outreach. The story is compelling but not effective to tell through media coverage alone. Therefore, the RSCVA is meeting with a variety of local community leaders over the course of several weeks. These small group presentations will allow community leaders to understand key findings of the Market Segmentation Study in order to help them understand the process. Community leaders will also have the opportunity to get involved with the process by participating in community contests, commenting on social media sites, etc.

• To read about the Reno Tahoe’s market potential research, check out Branding Reno Tahoe: Research is Key.
• To learn more about this blog, visit our about page.

The RSCVA has worked to determine where opportunities exist to grow overall visitation and understand what key messages appeal to potential visitors.

By introducing Reno Tahoe to a fresh group of potential visitors, the RSCVA is optimistic the region will see an increase in the number of visitors, increase in the number or rooms/nights booked and an increase in the average daily rate charged at hotel, casino, resorts in the destination.

What is branding for a destination?

Branding is not a logo or a tagline.

It is what people see about a place, company or organization.  In a more clinical sense it is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer.  It is not what a region wants to be, but rather what consumers believe and help reinforce about a destination.  While it would be great to think that advertising could create a brand, perception and reality are much more persuasive in today’s world.  That is why a brand promise has to be authentic and real.  The most successful companies and destinations make sure their brand positioning is reinforced in all marketing, communications and customer service.

Connecting emotionally

Even in the face of a steep decline in travel and the overall economic slowdown, research highlighted opportunities to position both Reno and Tahoe as a fun, easy to get to and value-based destination. The goal of the marketing segmentation study is to create a ‘target mindset’ and find more emotional triggers in our potential visitors. This change in execution provides a departure from the typical destination marketing that focuses on features and attributes rather than connecting with the ‘psyche’ of customers.

The process

Over a two-week period Mortar conducted stakeholder meetings, gathering information about how the local community/stakeholders look at the destination and current RSCVA marketing efforts. Mortar met with RSCVA staff, the majority of Reno-Tahoe’s hotel partners, Reno, Sparks, and North Lake Tahoe tourism officials, Nevada Commission on Tourism, Reno-Tahoe International Airport, destination activity partners, and special event operators.

Following internal research, Mortar conducted in-person intercepts with visitors in Reno Tahoe to get a sense of why people come to the destination and what they like about it. The intercepts were held throughout the region. Mortar also conducted in-person and Web-based research with Reno Tahoe visitors in the Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles markets.

At the end of March, a New Market Segmentation Committee (made up of some of the stakeholders involved in the internal research step) held an all-day workshop to study video of the consumer intercept interviews, the commonalities and differences between the two target segments, and how locals view the destination. The information revealed details on why the RSCVA needs to develop a brand promise for tourists, not locals, but there are distinct differences between the two. This workshop provided an open forum for the committee to interject comments/suggestions, and create an opportunity for the committee to buy in to the process.

The brand platform embraces the research findings, and begins to explore the target mindset while creating a target archetype of the two segments. Also included in this portion of work is the communications strategy. The communications strategy is still under development, and will address how the RSCVA will communicate the key messages of the updated tourism brand promise to first timers and those needing reintroduction.

The brand platform

Utilizing a combination of the mindset and archetype of the two segments, Mortar worked to develop the RSCVA brand platform. The platform uses the following statements to characterize the destination: A True Original, No Judgment, Easy, and Fun for All. These for statements come together to create the brand DNA. Brand DNA is the foundation and tone in which destination marketing will revolve around. If executed effectively it will be the way tourists and visitors describe the destination to their friends and family, encouraging them to also visit the destination.

The personality and tone of the new brand platform characterize the destination as proudly unapologetic, confident, energetic, big sense of humor and embracing the quirky and funky.

Summary of brand blueprint

Several indicators exist when thinking about the new brand position. Both the Brand DNA, personality and tone are utterly true and have always been true; it is informed by the past and projectable to the future. This concept can be applied to Reno and Tahoe. It is differentiated – only this region can lay true claim to this kind of attitude. The new direction is motivating – it tells the target how to act and what is expected of them, rather than focusing on the location. It is purposefully simple and aspirational. It can apply to any activity and any frame of mind and it intersects the truth of both visitors and residents.

Supporting the positioning with additional research

In August 2009 the RSCVA took the updated brand platform and tested potential advertising executions with the new target markets (needs reintroduction and first-timers) in the I-80 corridor.  The objective was to evaluate the potential of new campaign to assess the comprehension, memorability and motivational aspects of the proposed advertising materials. The work was tested both quantitatively (through a web-based survey panel) and qualitatively (through one-on-one, 60-minute interviews).

The research provided a number of key insights including:

• All the work is successful – in varying degrees – in shifting people’s perceptions of Reno
• Some of the executions go as far as motivating people to take immediate action
• The work indicates that something has/may have changed in the region – and that is a positive
• Respondents saw more to do, activity-wise, and a more contemporary, fun personality
• The brand attributes that have been articulated in the brand platform – offbeat, unpretentious, unique, easy, inclusive and fun – come through very clearly
• The work is seen as very different to conventional destination advertising

• To read about the Reno Tahoe’s market potential research, check out Branding Reno Tahoe: Research is Key.
• To learn more about this blog, visit our about page.