VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/122800
talking points Reader comments We want to hear from you. Visit vegasinc.com to post your opinion. On Rick Velotta's April 9 and April 13 vegasinc.com stories about Nevada's new slogan ("A six-word slogan, and the marketing campaign to advertise it, cost Nevada $9 million" and "Despite criticism, state tourism officials hope new slogan will boost business"): I do branding and naming for a living — including taglines. This "A World Within. A State Apart" slogan is simply god-awful, so god-awful that whether you are a devout Christian or a committed atheist, you would pray that it be changed. If you want this kind of clarity, perhaps you should read Jacques Derrida or better, Finnegan's Wake. If I were in my most generous mood, I might give it an F-plus. But here's a one-minute lesson. A tagline must be: 1) Memorable; 2) Able to be repeated, passed from person to person, as a viral meme; 3) Meaningful, not "WTF?"; 4) Evocative of the brand — it has to make you think of the essence of what the brand stands for; 5) Able to be pronounced without tripping over your tongue; and, as many have pointed out, 6) Catchy. This tagline meets not one criterion. It is an abject failure. — Steven Mason (TheBrandMason) The slogan is ridiculous because it is meaningless unless you watch a video. Slogans have to stand on their own. Frankly, I think more space in the video should have been given to the state's entertainment options and gaming. The band in the video is not great but OK, however the song choice was stupid. ... The state is pretty desperate financially and from a marketing perspective, $9 million to buy major market media is not a lot of money if they do a good job placing the media buys. Visitation to the state is being diminished by the number of new casinos coming online in every state. We no longer have the western U.S. corner on the gaming market, so they're obviously trying to drive interest in other options the state has to offer. — PatinLaughlin Well-done commercial and very fun, but the images and adventures they showed were not unique. This ARVILLE INDUSTRIAL PARK 2,280 TO 9,120 SQ. FT. OF INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE SPACE. 4520-4560 SOUTH ARVILLE ST. SOUTH OF WEST FLAMINGO ROAD could have easily been a commercial for Arizona, New Mexico or even West Texas. There are very few adventures in the commercial that you can't do in just about every state. I get that they were trying to stay away from the same old Las Vegas Strip, but they missed the mark. I like the song though. — Michelle Alejandra Booth It's amazing how they hire and pay big bucks to companies outside of Nevada to come up with a slogan. What do they know about Nevada? Not only that, shouldn't the money go to a Nevada company? This slogan sounds backwards. "Nevada: A State Apart. A World Within," just sounds better. This slogan will never catch on like "What happens here, stays here." When this new slogan doesn't produce to expectations, I can just hear all of the excuses now. — amyjk Not digging it at all. It says isolationist to me. Also, the state has an employee, Richard Elloyan, who is a brilliant songwriter and musician, with an entire body of work centered around Nevada, and no one at the state has picked up on using him and his work. His songs practically write the whole marketing campaign. We use him up here in Washoe County every time we have a government conference because no one says 'Nevada' as eloquently as he does. Additionally, I refuse to accept that Nevada has no marketing firm capable of delivering this campaign. It is inconceivable that officials, who are constantly working to bring money into the state would even consider awarding a multimillion-dollar contract to a New York firm. That money could have employed 30 people for the next five years. — Chris Matthews If they want to boost tourism, they should bring back decent bargains at these "resort" hotels. They will charge (and not tell the guest) a resort fee of $25 a day and more and add tax on that also (those small print forms they have you sign and initial at checkin? Yeah, you agreed to the resort fees and tax). — perfectmedium Las Vegas, NV // Mandalay Bay May 6-10, 2013 // Expo: May 7-9 IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY Rates from 25¢ psf NNN Building IT Innovation 300 Exhibitors, 120 Sessions, BYOD, Mobility, Networking and more! EXPERIENCE IT INNOVATION TOGETHER. Buy One All Access Pass and Get a Free All Access Pass for a Colleague. Exclusive Leasing & Management By COMMERCIAL SPECIALISTS | 702.364.0909 20 0000088644-01_VINC_CommercialSpecialists_AD_042213.indd 1 20130422_VI20_F.indd 20 Register at interop.com with Priority Code LVBOGO. | 22 APRIL 2013 | 4/16/13 4:44 PM 4/18/13 2:17:51 PM