LVCVA expects to up its advertising game to counter coronavirus

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill told board members Tuesday that agency leaders are expecting the financial fallout to last two to three months and when research shows the time is right to advertise, it will do so aggressively.

“We will look at targeting,” Hill said after the meeting. “We ask our customers and those out there who might view our ads what they’re thinking on a weekly basis. We will look at that research and the results of that and target people who, frankly, don’t want to stay home for the next two or three months and understand that Las Vegas is not only a great place to go, but a safe place to go.”

In the next three months, Las Vegas is set to host the National Football League’s 2020 draft on April 23-25, the Electric Daisy Carnival May 15-17, and one of the top five conventions for the market, the National Association of Broadcasters, April 18-22.

Hill indicated that with temperatures rising in Southern Nevada, COVID-19 could very easily “burn itself out.”

Having seen downturns and rebounds during previous calamities, Hill said he is confident in the LVCVA’s ability to know when and how to promote the city to drive-in markets of people most likely to visit.

Revenue reduction anticipated

“From an economic perspective, we know there is going to be a reduction in our revenue over at least the next couple of months,” he said. “We’re making efforts now to mitigate the effect of that revenue drop.”

He noted that the city set records for room-tax collections in five of the past eight months and that the agency is well prepared to market the city when the time is right.

In all likelihood, that would mean an advertising push to drive-in markets in Southern California.

In the meantime, Hill said he’s been listening to state leadership and county and federal health organizations to weather the COVID-19 storm.

“We’re implementing all health department recommendations,” he said. “We need our response to be based on facts and not fear.”

The LVCVA already has announced that it is directing employees to follow Health District guidelines and that cleaning crews are spending more time wiping down surfaces within the Convention Center.

Board member Lawrence Weekly, a Clark County Commission member, encouraged the community to band together while waiting out the crisis.

“We’re all in this thing together,” Weekly said. “It’s a statewide issue. This is big. This is bigger than what we think it is.”

He then recommended following Gov. Steve Sisolak’s advice to “prepare, not panic.”

Fear factor

Board member Carolyn Goodman, the mayor of Las Vegas, criticized the media for frightening the public and said she supports delivering a strong advertising message that Las Vegas is open for business. She invoked the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to make her point.

“The media is absolutely destroying us,” she said. “In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, ‘There is nothing to fear but fear itself.’ This fear has taken over the world and if you look and talk to doctors, I have yet to see a doctor who espouses the voice of social media and what the media is doing here.”

Board member Greg Lee, chairman and CEO of Mesquite’s Eureka Casino Resort, encouraged the public to take a page from the hospitality industry playbook and treat each other with respect during the health crisis.

And, board member Michele Fiore, a Las Vegas city councilmember, remarking on the recent run on toilet paper at Southern Nevada stores, suggested that people embrace the European use of bidets.

“Stores are running out of toilet paper,” she said. “I say bidet it. Bidet it is better anyway. Let’s just start bideting it.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.