Your client living it up in Las Vegas

But the number of visitors it welcomes annually puts it on par with major markets when it comes to out-of-home advertising.

Nearly 40 million people visit Vegas each year, and those visitors spend billions of dollars in the city.

The city’s visitors are a highly desirable audience, and they’re getting younger. In 2012, 43 percent of Vegas visitors were age 39 or younger versus 30 percent in 2011. In that span the mean age of visitors dropped from 49.0 to 44.8.

To find out more about the out-of-home landscape in Las Vegas, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home markets.

Fast Facts

Where

Las Vegas

How it works

There are a huge number of out-of-home options around Las Vegas, but the place to be seen is undoubtedly the Strip, the 4.2-mile section of Las Vegas Boulevard that houses the bulk of the city’s major hotels and casinos.

“This is where the people are, where the entertainment happens, and where what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” says one local media buyer.

While most vacationers head to Vegas to party, more than 10 percent of the town’s annual visitors are there for trade shows and conventions.

This allows advertisers to target large groups of people drawn together by a specific interest. For instance, advertisers might sponsor wrapped shuttle buses that pick up convention attendees at the airport and give them a free lift to the hotel.

Among the out-of-home opportunities unique to Las Vegas are some of the largest building wraps in the U.S., which can cover an entire side of a hotel or casino, as well as the ability to run digital ads on casino tables along the Strip.

Vegas also has a large number of transit opportunities, such as ads on city buses, ads on top of the plethora of taxicabs in the city and advertising on the Las Vegas monorail.

Like other markets, the digital billboards in Vegas run a loop of static advertising, but there are some larger-format digital screens along the Strip that allow full-motion video.

Billboards

There are 1,534 rated static billboards and about 100 digital signs in the Las Vegas DMA.

Numbers

In 2012 Las Vegas attracted 39.73 million visitors, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Last year there were 21,615 conventions held in the city, bringing in 4.94 million attendees.

Clark County brought in $9.4 billion in gaming revenue in 2012, while the Las Vegas strip alone brought in $6.2 billion.

How it is measured

TAB ratings are used, and other things such as vehicular traffic, pedestrian traffic and travel surveys are also used.

What product categories work well

The most common categories using out-of-home advertising in Las Vegas include alcohol, entertainment, travel, retail, fashion and self-promotion for casinos, hotels and shows.

Demographics

In 2012, the latest period available, 51 percent of Las Vegas visitors were male, 49 percent female, according to GLS Research data provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Nineteen percent were ages 21-29, 24 percent were 30-39, 21 percent were 40-49, 16 percent were 50-59, 6 percent were 60-64 and 14 percent were 65 and older.

Three percent had an annual household income below $20,000, with 6 percent between $20,000 and $39,999, 17 percent between $40,000 and $59,999, 26 percent between $60,000 and $79,999, 15 percent between $80,000 and $99,999 and 26 percent at $100,000 or more. The remaining 7 percent didn’t know or didn’t answer.

Making the buy

Lead time can vary greatly depending on the time of year and the availability of the medium used. Typical lead time for static ads ranges from three to six weeks, while time for digital ads can be a week or less.

Pricing also varies based on factors including medium and location. Traditional static billboards average about $3,000 per month, while larger formats such as transit and spectaculars can start at $20,000 and go into six figures.

Who’s already in Las Vegas

Recent or current out-of-home advertisers in Vegas include Microsoft, Rockstar, Mandalay Bay, Hard Rock Hotel, H&M, Mobil, Red Bull, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint.

What they’re saying

“The key to finding success in Las Vegas is to cut through the visual clutter, of which there is a ton. But a real market expert can help you hone in on your target audience, key target areas of execution, and to successfully implement your client’s budget in accordance with their metrics of success. Most importantly, creative must be strong, bold, and powerful in this market.” — Tom Pirog, director of media services at Out of Home America Wilkins Media

Tags: out of home, vegas, las vegas, out of home market profiles, las vegas out of home, out of home advertising las vegas