Ads target Californians' worries

Nevada's newest campaign to woo California businesses reflects recent changes in the Golden State, but seeks to raise doubts about whether the changes will arrive quickly enough.

The campaign, which carries the tagline "You Can't Hang On," rolled out last week with print advertisements in papers in major metropolitan areas throughout California.

It comes on the heels of an earlier campaign, "You're Out of Business," which compared the costs of doing business in Nevada and California.

That campaign generated 43 calls and 17 solid leads, said Jeanie Ashe, director of marketing for the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.

The new campaign, she said, throws a spotlight on workers compensation and family-leave costs.

Nevada looks good in that comparison because workers compensation rates in the state are down an average of 9.1 percent this year.

The ads note, too, that Nevada has no plans for mandatory health care, and a Nevada worker on family medical leave returns to work in half the time of a worker in California.

Just as important as factual comparison in the ads is the emotional message, said Stephanie Kruse, president of KPS/3, the Reno advertising agency that created the campaigns.

The agency's research dug deep into the fears of California business people before developing the ads.

"They were panicked.

They did not know what to do," Kruse said.

Although the recall of Gov.

Gray Davis and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, settled some of the political confusion in California, Kruse said Nevada's advertising makes a case that the Golden State can't reverse course quickly.

The ads ask directly if California business owners can hold on as long as the turnaround might take.

The advertising campaign is a joint effort of the state Commission on Economic Development, the Reno-based Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, the Nevada Development Authority in Las Vegas, the Northern Nevada Development Authority based in Carson City and Sierra Pacific Power.

"This campaign has really struck a chord with the California business owner.

The message we consistently hear from companies is that California is making it difficult for businesses to survive," said Chuck Alvey, the president and chief executive officer of EDAWN.

While the recent ad campaigns have drawn national attention, Ashe said advertising by Nevada in California markets is a longstanding tradition.

"As long as California is having these problems, we'll continue our advertising," she said.