Reno entices Californians with bargains
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. — Reno-Sparks tourism officials are betting on a $575,000 ad campaign to win over Californians who want to make a quick getaway to northern Nevada without the hassle of flying.
Bloomberg News Service
"I would be comfortable in saying that hundreds (of room packages) have been booked," Bob Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority, said of the campaign that began Oct. 19.
Las Vegas tourism fell off sharply after Sept. 11, but the gambling mecca made a quicker recovery than many other destinations.
The campaign by TBC Advertising & Public Relations of Reno is targeting the San Jose, Santa Clara, San Francisco Bay, Fresno, Modesto and Sacramento areas through TV, radio, newspaper, direct mail and e-mail that will run into January. They include enticements for late-season golf, arts and culture, and skiing — all accompanied by a gambling message.
The idea is to appeal to peoples' desire to travel closer to home after the Sept. 11 attacks and keep visitors flowing into the gaming- and tourism-based economy.
Separately, the Incline Village-Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau launched a $100,000 newspaper and magazine advertising campaign Thanksgiving Day to spur business from the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. It will run through March.
The campaign employs a "rhyming, Dr. Seussian" theme, Greg Fine, a partner in Ding Communications in Reno, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. His company created four different ads playing off wintertime fun of sledding, snowshoeing, skiing and making snow angels.
In Reno, Dean Richard, director of sales and marketing at Circus Circus Hotel Casino, said the authority's campaign was welcome.
