Thursday, August 05, 2010

Las Vegas AT&T Commercial

You might have seen this AT&T commercial. It's definitely in heavy rotation on certain channels. I was looking for it on youtube so I could catch a closer glimpse of what the Strip looks like with these fake orange cloths draped over the buildings.

Las Vegas Commercials coming to NFL Broadcasts

The National Football League is now going to allow Las Vegas advertisements on NFL TV broadcasts. Previously the league had banned Las Vegas advertising during games. The commercials will still have to fit a strict criteria though as references to gaming, specific hotels, and potentially suggestive ads (like the What Happens Here Stays Here campaign) are still banned.

The NFL gave Vegas commercials a trial run during the 2010 playoffs and it was apparently successful enough to allow the advertising to continue into this regular season.

While I can understand why the NFL wouldn't want to advertise gambling, many have pointed out that they have no problem advertising products like alcohol and Viagra (although they do ban certain other products). Either way Las Vegas is much more than gaming nowadays so I don't think the restrictions will hinder the overdue marketing of the city on NFL broadcasts. It should be a win-win for both Vegas and the NFL.

Source: Las Vegas Sun.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Cosmopolitan Marquee Turned On

The Cosmopolitan marquee was turned on yesterday. The 65 story marquee is the only one on the Strip to feature a four sided video board with "full bleed" video on all four sides.

Personally I think the video board looks pretty cool. The four sides are a nice touch, and the video looks to be really high quality. I think it does a good job of fitting in with the hotel's image. It's modern and a little flashy without being over the top.





Cosmo CEO John Unwin and Brand Marketing SVP Lisa Marchese were on hand to turn on the lights of the marquee.



Check out more photos of the marquee at Cosmopolitan's Flickr.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

CityCenter is Valued at 2.65 Billion

It was revealed today in the MGM Resorts International 2nd quarter earnings report that CityCenter is now valued at 2.65 billion dollars. This represents less than 1/3rd of the cost to build the complex which has been quoted at $8.5 billion.

In other CityCenter news, occupancy was 80% at Aria for the second quarter with the average room rate of $178. This is higher than the 63% that was reported in the first quarter, but was likely the result of slashing the room rate - which was $194 in the first quarter.

If MGM wants Aria to reach a 90%+ occupancy rate they will likely have to reduce the rates a bit further, or wait until business picks up (which is unlikely considering Cosmopolitan will be adding a ton of rooms to the supply chain in December).

Source: MGM Resorts Press Release.