The new Reno Tahoe campaign tagline unveiled
That’s right, we have settled on a new marketing campaign slogan for the destination: Reno Tahoe USA … Far from expected
Far from expected conveys the almost universal reaction that new or recent visitors have after experiencing our region.
Take a second and count up the number of times your friends or family have said “I didn’t know….” that your town:
- … has a river running through town and a kayak park
- … hosts an annual, month-long arts festival
- … recently opened the world’s largest all-sports store
- … races planes upside down
- … is just 45 minutes from the shores of Lake Tahoe
- … has a brand new Triple A baseball team and stadium
- … is a must-stop on the way to Burning Man
- … runs live cattle through town during the rodeo
- … has some of the best hotels and restaurants on the West coast
- … is just a 45-minute hop by plane from the Bay Area
And so on …
I am glad to report it is a significant milestone that will power an entirely new and differentiated marketing program to hit the airwaves very soon.
It is important to note that the RSCVA is targeting a new market for visitors; one with the potential to bring millions of dollars of tourist revenue to the region over the next few years. You can learn more about the project here.
The work by the RSCVA over the last year has been an effort to effectively reposition the destination to this new target audience to grow overall visitation. The goal of this effort is to turn around many consecutive years of declining visitation to Washoe County. This decline in visitation means a huge economic loss of revenue for hotels, restaurants, bars, retail shops and local governments.
While we are replacing the “America’s Adventure Place” slogan, we are not suggesting that the entire destination adopt the new campaign tagline as its individual identity. Reno will always be “The Biggest Little City”, Sparks will be “It’s happening here” and North Lake Tahoe will remain “Go Tahoe North.”
Though it is hard to comprehend for many, campaign taglines are not destination slogans.
We are also not retiring the America’s Adventure Place campaign just to “change.” Research showed America’s Adventure Place was not motivational to potential new visitors. The new destination identity is going to be Reno Tahoe USA. There is a new destination logo and a new campaign that is currently in the process of rolling out both in the region and nationally. While the tagline always gets all the attention it is truly not the focal point of the campaign. Taglines also almost never work by themselves and have to be taken into context with the entire marketing campaign.
Now the hard work really begins. The RSCVA is in the midst of organizing an extensive co-op marketing strategy with our stakeholders in the destination. These stakeholders are being asked to fund along with the RSCVA the advertising campaign that will target these new visitors. That group has provided extensive input and guidance on developing the plan.
The most difficult thing to accomplish in destination marketing is forcing yourself to think like a “visitor” and not like a “resident.” This new campaign strategy is built on what thousands of consumers told us they liked or what appealed to them most about our region. With that said, it will be imperative that “residents” embrace this effort. Helping visitors uncover what is unique, special and different is a job all of us should take seriously. This economic engine powered by tourism is needed now more than ever to continue the momentum of significant improvements in the region.