Ad campaign spotlights Made In Nevada products

A 2005 holiday catalog features 75 companies selling products made in the Silver State, and The Made In Nevada program hopes a week of radio spots will put the catalog into the hands of shoppers.

Slated to run during the week before Nevada Day, the radio spots will air during drive times on six stations, half of them Reno stations: KOH, KBULL, and Magic 95, says Kimberly Elliott, program director.

The ad campaign is funded with $12,000 from the marketing department of Made In Nevada's parent agency, the Commission on Economic Development.A sponsorship on KUNR will run through the summer of 2006.

Creative will be handled by each station individually, resulting in six different slants, says Elliott, who maintains cohesion by working with the stations' staffs on the script.

The general tone, she says, is the soft-sell sound of Garrison Keillor on "The Prairie Home Companion" radio show.Made In Nevada wants to evoke a quiet sense of pride, she says.

"It's the tone you hear on the Tom Bodett radio spots with the key line,'We'll leave the light on for you,'" she says.

About 1,000 copies of the catalog were distributed last year.

Elliott has secured future marketing help from students at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The Made In Nevada program was selected as one of two outside consulting class projects accepted by Dr.

Judy Strauss, associate professor of marketing.

The masters of business administration students work on projects that make a difference, says Strauss, who was impressed with how the Made in Nevada membership has grown.

This fall, students will draw up a marketing plan, suggest goals for the program, and create a 12-month budget.

University students have created similar marketing plans for Virginia City, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Discovery Museum.

(The Made in Nevada catalog can be requested at www.expand2nevada.com.)