| Type | Marketing |
|---|---|
| Industry | Marketing |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Number of locations | 5 |
| Area served | Las Vegas, Reno, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Washington DC |
| Key people | Billy Vassiliadis - CEO Mary Ann Mele - President & Chief Strategic Officer James King - Partner & Chief Financial Officer |
| Products | advertising |
| Website | http://www.rrpartners.com |
R&R Partners is an advertising, marketing, public relations, and public affairs firm with offices in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Reno, Salt Lake City, and Washington D.C..
On June 23, 2008, R&R was one of 25 recipients of the Society for Human Resource Management Best Small Companies to Work For in America award.[1] In June 2008, R&R and the Southern Nevada Water Authority were awarded the Silver (second place) EFFIE.[2] R&R won a 2008 AdweekMedia BUZZ Award for the “Best seamless integration of a brand into a reality show” for an integration with ABC’s Carpoolers on behalf of Valley Metro.[3] Valley Metro provides public transportation alternatives for the greater Phoenix metro area.
One of R&R's largest clients is the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
R&R is responsible for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's "What Happens Here, Stays Here" campaign.[4] The "What Happens Here, Stays Here" campaign was named the "most effective" ad of 2003 by USA Today, and the trade publication Advertising Age termed it "a cultural phenomenon."[5] In 2004, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and R&R Partners were named Grand Marketers of the Year by Brandweek [6] for their work on behalf of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. A CNNMoney.com article on the report stated “Las Vegas followed Google at No. 2 in the projected winners list. As a brand, Vegas has benefited from the "what happens here, stays here" advertising campaign wave”.[7]
After the $1 sale of the "What Happens Here, Stays Here" copyright to R&R Partners on November 9, 2004, the LVCVA paid $321,000 in attorney's fees because of an investigation into the legality of the controversial sale.[8] The sale was later overturned by a federal judge who claimed that the sale was made without the knowledge of the board. The judge also ruled that R&R partners was never the owner of the copyright and therefore could not collect damages or profits from the copyright.[9]
According to internal LVCVA documents the advertising campaign "What happens here, stays here" has had little impact as most people, about 70% stated to R&R (the advertising firm who created the ad and conducted the market research) that the slogan had no impact on their decision to visit Las Vegas.[10]
In a September 27, 2009, article in the Las Vegas Sun discussing the rebirth of the "What Happens Here" campaign, Matt Scheckner, executive director of nonprofit industry group Advertising Week, said, “No city in America has marketed itself as well as Las Vegas. The slogan transcends the recession. The Yankees are all about winning championships and FedEx is all about trust. People go to Las Vegas to have a good time. It’s on message.”[11]
The "What happens here" slogan is not new, see What happens on tour, stays on tour, yet the campaign brought Las Vegas a record-breaking 37.4 million visitors in 2004. Since then the phrase has been used by many celebrities. Gambling fan Ben Affleck used it on Saturday Night Live. Billy Crystal used it to close the 2004 Oscars. It's been a clue on Wheel of Fortune. In 2004 on The Tonight Show when Jay Leno asked Laura Bush whether she had gambled or had seen a Chippendales show while visiting the Las Vegas Strip, the then First Lady got a big hand by replying, "Jay, what happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas."[12] In later years the phrase was used as the title for a 2008 movie 'What Happens in Vegas' starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. Plus, it has also been used in the 2009 blockbuster hit The Hangover.
R&R has been scrutinized by the Nevada Policy Research Institute, who reported findings of a 2007 internal audit by the LVCVA that discovered a subsidiary of R&R Partners overbilled the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority by as much as 43 percent.[13] Through public records request NPRI found that the LVCVA not only knew about these irregularities but literally gave R&R the rubber stamp to approve expenditures above $500 without any oversight from the LVCVA. NPRI stated that R&R's contract with the LVCVA was worth $87 million in 2008.[14][15] Keith Smith, board member of the LVCVA and CEO of Boyd Gaming, claimed in a letter to the editor that the particular overpayment cited by the Las Vegas Review Journal totaled about $2,000 and was already discovered by the LVCVA's internal auditor.[16]
William P. Weidner, President of the Las Vegas and critic of the LVCVA is also a board member of Nevada Policy Research Institute. According to LasVegasNow.com Mr. Weidner can direct policy for the group. NPRI officials have indicated that Las Vegas Sands Corp. is also a donor to the organization.[17] However on the same website, Steven Miller, vice president of NPRI claims that Weidner cannot direct policy because policy is directed by the consensus of a 13 member board and that Mr. Weidner was not present at any of the board meetings when it was decided to investigate the LVCVA.[17] Critics still question NPRI's motives because the Las Vegas Sands Corporation competes with the tax-funded convention center run by the LVCVA.[18] Steven Miller of NPRI claims, in an opinion column he wrote in the Las Vegas Review Journal, that this is a "red herring" to steer policy makers away from an external audit into the LVCVA's relationship with R&R partners.[19]