Sarah Feldberg
If you set out to design the perfect social network for Las Vegas, it might look something like Snapchat. The almost 5-year-old app which has 150 million daily users, according to Bloomberg is defined by its unpolished photos and videos, which disappear after a few seconds of viewing.
Although it's possible to take a screen grab and save a picture of a snap, the general idea of a fleeting image or video evokes Las Vegas' long-held marketing mantra.
"It works well with our what-happens-here-stays-here mentality, because snaps are only available for a limited amount of time," said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
It "matches our campaign of 'What Happens Here, Stays Here' right to a T," added Rob Dondero, executive vice president of R&R Partners, the Vegas-based advertising and marketing firm that developed that famous slogan.
It only makes sense then that R&R Partners has also been tasked with developing Las Vegas' new destination-focused Snapchat channel, which launched over Memorial Day weekend with a celebrity takeover by DJ Khaled, Snapchat savant and Marquee resident performer.
"He was able to activate his fanbase, and he was able to put Las Vegas front and center," Tull said.
In just 48 hours, Dondero says Khaled's snaps garnered more than 400,000 views on the app and earned the Las Vegas channel 25,000 followers. Not bad for the first weekend.
Creating a presence for Las Vegas on Snapchat is important, Tull said, as a method to reach and engage potential visitors, especially millennials. "We need to talk to millennials in places that are most relevant to them."
Right now, that place is Snapchat.
Unlike the content being created for other social media platforms, Snapchat typically features photos or videos that haven't been edited to perfection, snapshots of life perhaps manipulated with a few words of text or one of the app's silly filters.
"The main difference for us is that it's not a highly overproduced piece of content," Dondero said. "We don't have to bring a crew out. We don't have to bring lighting in. It's supposed to be raw and very honest."
So far the Las Vegas channel has focused on live events, snapping from Electric Daisy Carnival music festival earlier this month and the phase-one implosion of the Riviera casino.
"It only takes five seconds for the building to go down, so it's perfect," Dondero explained.
He sees Snapchat not only as an important marketing tool for Las Vegas, but for the travel industry as a whole.
"Whether you're an agent or a destination or a wholesaler or a hotel, it's a convenient and efficient way to get your message out," he said. "I think it's going to be a game changer for the travel industry."