Monday to mark a critical day for LVCVA advertising contract

Monday promises to be a long day for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s seven-member marketing committee.

It’ll likely seem even longer for executives of advertising agencies looking to dethrone R&R Partners as the advertising and marketing communications agency of record for the LVCVA, a multimillion-dollar contract R&R has held for decades.

The convention authority routinely reviews the contract every three to five years.

It’s one of the most coveted government contracts in Southern Nevada because, over the life of the contract, its value can be hundreds of millions of dollars.

Monday marks a key date in the selection process, originally scheduled last year but delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Starting at 8 a.m., advertising agency finalists for the contract will make presentations to committee members and answer questions in approximately 90-minute to two-hour blocks.

Marketing committee agenda materials and LVCVA representatives declined to say which agencies are finalists, how many there are and if R&R is among them.

In similar past presentations over the years, three agencies made the final cut, but there could be more this year.

The convention authority had planned to review the contract last year but was reluctant to make a switch in the middle of the pandemic when advertising strategy was so crucial.

The LVCVA board eventually approved a $110 million one-year contract with a possible six-month extension to R&R to continue as the organization’s advertising consultant.

In January, the LVCVA renewed its search efforts, issuing a request for information Jan. 21 with a deadline for submission by interested parties in early February. The contract term is expected to be five years with optional extensions.

Respondents to the RFI were reviewed and scored by an evaluation committee, and the top-scoring firms were short-listed and invited to move forward to participate in the request for proposal process. Only firms that submitted a response to the RFI were considered for the request for proposal process.

The names of finalists aren’t being announced until Monday morning.

If previous selection processes in recent years are used Monday, each finalist would have its own room to set up audio-visual presentations and executive commentary to convince committee members that it would be best for the job.

In the past, once a presentation is completed, the committee would move to another room in the Las Vegas Convention Center to see another presentation until all of them have been completed. The LVCVA didn’t allow the competitors to see each other’s presentations in past years.

It’s expected a formal recommendation for the contract would be provided to the board of directors in a future public board meeting with the next scheduled meeting June 8. The current contract expires June 30 but includes an optional six-month extension.

Members of the marketing committee include its chairman John Marz, a Henderson city councilman; North Las Vegas Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown; resort executives Anton Nikodemus (MGM Resorts International), Jan Jones Blackhurst (Caesars Entertainment Inc.), Marilyn Spiegel (Wynn Resorts Ltd.); Vegas Chamber President and CEO Mary Beth Sewald; and Allegiant Travel Co. executive Scott DeAngelo.

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