********* — As volunteers streamed in to donate *****, doctors tended to the ******* and investigators scoured the scene of the deadliest **** ******** in modern U.S. history, ********* tourism officials moved quickly to protect their valuable franchise in a city where branding is everything.
“What happens here, stays here,” the official slogan advertising agency R&R Partners developed in 2002, with a wink to naughty behaviour, no longer seemed appropriate after the Oct. 1 ****** that ****** 58 people.
The city put that motto on hold, and the public agency charged with marketing ********* went to work creating a new pitch for the tourist destination.
Initially, it unveiled messages that focused on how the community came together after the **** ********, with average people joining first responders in helping *******.
A spot featuring a cityscape and the voice of ********* native and retired tennis star Andre Agassi won praise for its sensitivity. “What is strength?” Agassi asks, playing off the #VegasStrong slogan that exploded on Twitter. “Strength is valet parkers who become medics, mothers who become ********* responders.”
The response has been more mixed to the TV ad that followed, showing just how difficult it can be for organizations to hit the right tone after a deeply tragic event. It also underscores how a message that resonates with fans can fall flat with others.
That spot – shown nationally starting late last week on networks including ESPN, Fox Sports, Bravo, TNT, The Weather Channel and Travel Channel – features real-life social media messages posted after the ********.
“NO ONE and NOTHING will stop me from going to *********,” reads the first message.
“Will be there in 5 days,” writes another ********* fan.
Paul A. Argenti, a Dartmouth College professor considered a pioneer in corporate communication, said he was taken aback by the advertisement, which he saw during a televised sports event.
“It’s a little too tacky to continue to promote tourism” two weeks after the ******, he said. “It’s really something for three months down the line.”
Argenti said organizations risk consequential mistakes if they don’t carefully consider messaging after tragic events. British Petroleum, maligned for its clumsy handling of the Deep Horizon ********* in 2010, continued ads touting its “green” record because they were already paid for, he said.
Instead of national advertising, ********* should consider “hypertargeting” people most likely to return, focusing on fun and excitement while avoiding even subtle reminders of the ********, said Eric Schiffer of ReputationManagementConsultants.com, which specializes in cleaning up reputations.
“People move away from pain much faster than they move toward pleasure,” he noted.
Top officials with R&R Partners and the ********* Convention and Visitors Authority said they were certain their most recent ad hit the perfect pitch, and seemed surprised it raised eyebrows.
The posts they chose featured people “speaking out with their hearts,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, the authority’s president and CEO.
Ralenkotter likened the fan’s insistence on returning to ********* to people who won’t let fear change their lives after a ********* ******.
“If you look at the social posts out there, there are a lot people saying things just like that,” said Arnie DiGeorge, executive creative director for R&R Partners. “That’s a pretty universal statement.”
“#VegasStrong” billboards and images of people donating ***** were also recently included in a video assembled by a coalition of southern Nevada government officials and economic development agencies to demonstrate the city’s resilience while promoting the region as a potential site for Amazon’s second headquarters.
*********’ rebranding began shortly after a ****** on the 32nd floor of the ******** Bay hotel casino opened **** on a country music festival below.
The visitors authority, charged with delivering nearly 43 million tourists to ********* annually, quickly brainstormed with its ad agency for a new message to keep ********* out front in a tasteful way.
“We felt it was still important for the town to have a voice,” DiGeorge said.
MGM Resorts International, owner of the ******** Bay, also immediately shelved a slogan it unveiled weeks before: “We are not in the hotel business … we are in the holy s_ – business.” MGM changed its digital signs to #VegasStrong, and in his first public address after the ******, Chief Executive Jim Murren urged convention organizers to keep believing in the city.
Electronic billboards along the Strip that typically promote restaurants, concerts and a ******* pool broadcast a phone number ******* and their families could call to reach an assistance centre. They expressed appreciation for first responders, casino employees and visitors.
“We’ve been there for you during the good times. Thank you for being there for us now,” one billboard message read.
After digital marquees throughout the city were briefly dimmed to honour *******, another new slogan appeared: “When things get dark, Vegas shines.”
Retailers jumped in, selling #VegasStrong T-shirts for $18.75 in airport gift shops. Proceeds from the shirts will go to an official fund to benefit *******, a shop salesman said.
In southern Nevada, where statistics show the leisure and hospitality sector accounts for nearly one-third of the workforce, government officials also embraced rebranding.
Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, a Democratic candidate for governor, told reporters soon after the ******** it would be officially referred to as the “1 October” event. News releases and other county communications adopted that language, omitting the word “********” and calling it an “********.”
Haemoon Oh, dean of the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina, said he has no doubt the city will recover as long as it focuses on healing and refrains from aggressive marketing.
“One distinct characteristic of the hospitality and tourism people and industry is resilience,” he said. “The city will rebound, and people will regroup stronger.”