The marketing department of Reno- Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority feted a wide range of local media in Los Angeles at a private party last week.
The purpose? A continuation of RSCVA's strategy to tap regional markets to promote Reno-Tahoe as America's Adventure Place, adding Los Angeles for the first time to the list of target markets after Sacramento and San Francisco.
The event in Los Angeles was designed to allow RSCVA representatives to mingle with reporters, pitching potential features for coverage in the next year, says Erin Wallace, RSCVA's spokeswoman.
"From here our goal is to follow up to generate media coverage and encourage media visits to the area,"Wallace says.
The experience of organizing similar events last year in Sacramento and the Bay area, the two region's two primary drive-over markets, shows that reporters in California see a story in Reno-Tahoe's transition to an adventure place, says Wallace.
"We have more to offer than in just gaming, and so we feel we have a strong story to tell.
They want to listen to that story," she says.
The ease of travel to Reno-Tahoe via the Reno-Tahoe International Airport is a plus for Southern California travelers, says Wallace.
"It's an overnight market, a fly-in market," Wallace says.
Publicists from hotel-casinos accompanied the RSCVA personnel to the event in Los Angeles.
Representatives from hotels and casinos pitched their hotels, talked about lodging, highlighted the special events throughout the year and discussed gaming they have to offer, says JacLyn March,Atlantis Hotel casino resort publicist, who went to the event in LA.
The presentations at the event seemed to be valuable for the media people who attended the dinner.
Joseph Rosendo, executive producer of Travelscope Productions which does a travel radio and television show and also has an online publication, was one of about 28 who turned up out of a list of 42 invitees.
Travelscope looks for interesting destinations, ones that people either don't know or about which they have misconceptions, says Rosendo.
Years ago, he says he was interested in doing a show on Reno, but never got to do it.
"That it's not just a casino destination, that perked my interest again.
In the future we would come and probably do something for the radio and TV.
May be get some local partners to produce the shows," Rosendo says.
Gloria M.
Herbert, associate publisher/editor of Black Meetings and Tourism magazine, says a significant portion of its readership consists of travel agents, tour operators, group travel leaders and business travelers.
She was able to ask one-onone questions about meeting and convention space and facilities.
"But we try to balance the leisure with the business in our editorial and so I thought the tag line about the adventure place adds a very colorful perspective about the area, about which I didn't know much,"Herbert says.
