The Situation

• NCOT is funded in part by the room tax collected within the state of Nevada. It divides the state into 5 “territories” in order to equally fund those territories and provide support for marketing and travel with a primary focus on rural Nevada and small towns and communities
• Nevada Silver Trails is the largest of these territories and approached ERC in 2009 to help guide them in spending their marketing grant money more frugally, as well as create a brand/campaign that would be more fitting to the territory and rural areas it encapsulated

• After review of the existing brand, it was obvious it over sold the sights and offerings and in turn was getting poor feedback on social media, as well as not resonating with many of the communities it was intended to sell
• A new brand campaign was developed that played “tongue and cheek” humor with many of the amenities that the larger metropolitan areas such as the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Reno are known for while still keeping a very grounded and humble feel
• Part of the uniqueness of the campaign was the fact we reached out to the community to get involved, requesting them to submit their own personal photos to be used in the campaign

• The result was a brand campaign that was extremely authentic and well received
• Allowed residents to “take ownership” and pride in their communities and offerings again
• A much more focused media buy was created with more online components and added value targeting RV’ers and outdoor enthusiasts