Let us speak of awesome things….and things that are Double Awesome.
Crocodile hijacks plane?
Awesome!
Article about crocodile hijacking plane that reads like it may have been written by the crocodile?
Double Awesome!
You get the idea.
So.
Writeup in SFThrillist about fun stuff to do in Reno where each picture is a little bit misaligned which makes it seem like you can rent fully-automatic weapons at local eateries?
Awesome.
Using The Power Of Mortar to reverse Reno’s 13-year decline in visitors, room rates and tax revenues?
Double! Awesome!
The Part Where We Use Numbers To Back Up All That Big Talk:
In first 3 months of Mortar’s “Far From Expected” campaign,
- The average daily rate paid for a room in Reno Tahoe jumped by 5%. (Awesome.)
- Taxes from hotel rooms jumped by 25%.
(Also awesome. You thought we were going to say “Double Awesome” there, but we’re talking about taxes, which carry a natural awesome-deficit, so, sorry, no.) - Visitors to the area increased by some 82,000 room nights – the first growth in a period of nearly 13 years of decline. (See, now that is Double Awesome.)
Double Awesome. It's what we do.
The Part About The Results:
We could have bumped Reno’s numbers up by just giving stuff away. But that’s what’s been going on for 13 years. People throwing their chips in the air as if to say “Vegas! Sort of!” and then a too-low price on a room. Instead, we went after “a specific subset of SF Bay Area tourists (with) the greatest potential for increased Reno visits.”
People who liked Reno–but had not visited, or had visited once, time long ago.
People who are active on the Internet. People like you.
A recent EMC survey of over 1,000 adults in the San Francisco Bay Area showed the following:
"Awareness is higher, Intent-To-Visit is higher, and people are talking about Reno Tahoe USA more."
Facebook fans jumped over 1,000 within one week after the national Save RENO 911! campaign and over 600 within 3 weeks after the Bay To Breakers promotion. Flickr and YouTube hits are up 30%.
Some call it "a grown man in sheep suit." We call it: Strategy!
Attributes that were used to describe the Reno Tahoe brand are: "fun" "good value" "easy" and "unpretentious.” Which, when you consider they used to say “diesel fumes and heartburn," blows right past awesome and heads straight to Double Awesome-town.
Our point? Great creative is awesome. But when it drives great results?
Make ours a double. Fact.
Illustrations courtesy of the amazingly stupendous Allie "Raptor Face" Brosh, whose blog, Hyperbole And A Half is required reading of the very finest kind. We should all give her money. Right after we get back from Reno.
