LVCVA to retain R&R Partners as advertising agency of record
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will retain R&R Partners as its advertising and marketing agency of record when its board of directors meets Tuesday, the organization confirmed Wednesday.
The Las Vegas-based agency, directed by Billy Vassiliadis, has held the LVCVA’s lucrative ad contract for decades. R&R will share a piece of the contract with New York-based Grey Global Advertising, which will contract with the LVCVA as its social brand agency.
Details of the contracts weren’t immediately disclosed but are expected to be explained fully when the board meets Tuesday morning.
“Our destination is complex and multifaceted, with both business and leisure travelers playing critical roles in filling rooms and venues,” LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said in a statement on the contract award.
“Our agencies need to understand what moves these travelers, anticipate what is around the corner, and market our destination to incredibly diverse audiences around the globe,” he said. “R&R continues to demonstrate their unparalleled ability to do just that, and the addition of Grey will complement our existing partnership and bring additional world-class talent to our team.”
The convention authority conducted a competitive request-for-proposals for the marketing and advertising services to market and sell the destination worldwide. The bid process was led by Los Angeles-based external consultant Select Resources International.
The review began in January and included four marketing agencies. The final stage of the RFP process concluded May 17 when the four finalist agencies presented to the LVCVA executive team, the board’s seven-member Marketing Committee and a variety of resort partner chief marketing officers.
Finalists included R&R; Grey, an agency owned by Great Britain’s WPP PLC, a multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London; New York-based Havas Creative, a subsidiary of a French advertising agency, one of the largest integrated marketing communications agencies in the world with 316 offices in 75 countries; and Austin, Texas-based GSD&M, originators of Southwest Airlines’ “Wanna Get Away?” campaigns.
The contract term is expected to be five years with optional extensions. Over the life of the contract, its value can be hundreds of millions of dollars.
The convention authority was in the process of selecting an advertising agency about a year ago. When the coronavirus pandemic settled in in March, the LVCVA opted to maintain its relationship with its existing contractor, R&R.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.