Welcome...

To our new and returning readers! This issue of WAT focuses on some of the marketing lessons I learned in Vegas on my recent trip . It is indeed the City of Sin, but I found some marketing sins that I was surprised to see....

Twisted Marketing Lessons From Vegas...

Even The Venetian Can Learn Something

So there we were in Vegas, thumbing through the many promotional magazines, and we see a beautiful ad for "Carnival" at The Venetian. Lo and behold it was going to be taking place while we were visiting. We were staying right across the street at the Mirage, so visits to The Venetian were frequent.

When we got to The Venetian we looked and looked for some sign, some promotion to fill us in on what the Carnival festivities were about and where they would be taking place. Nada, nothing, couldn't find even a hint that there was something special scheduled. We thought maybe we misread the dates in the magazine. Nope, the dates were correct, there simply weren't any promos prominant for this event at the hotel/casino/mall. Go figure.

Lesson learned from The Venetian: Don't be shy about your promotions! If someone needs to track down what you're promoting, you probably should reconsider your marketing plan.

What Was The Mirage Thinking?

The main walkway from The Mirage to The Strip is an auto walkway through a lovely garden. This could have been a really pleasant experience if they didn't have obnoxious incessant loud audio ads blasting through speakers as you glided up or down the walkway. It was downright numbing, and after a couple of trips in that direction, we chose an alternate path in and out of the hotel simply to avoid this disgustingly interruptive promotional method.

Lesson learned from The Mirage: Obnoxious incessant promotional messages are a major turn-off. Don't be distasteful and interruptive and distract from a beautiful environment. A classy print ad half way up the walkway in the Garden will be a lot more effective!

A Room With A View, or At Least Seat Us Together On The Plane!

We booked our trip through an on-line company. Generally, when you book these package trips, you end up with bottom of the barrel rooms and plane seats. Imagine our surprise when we got to the airport and found out they didn't give us adjacent plane seats! Now, that's just rude. With the assistance of the airline agent at the ticket counter, our seats were reassigned to be together.

When we got to the Mirage and they were checking us into the hotel, I made a simple request for a "Room With A View". The hotel clerk lit up with a big smile, punched a few keys on his computer, et Viola`! We spent 4 nights overlooking the outrageous erupting volcano outside of the hotel. All we had to do was ask.

Lessons Learned from America West and The Mirage: It doesn't matter how your customers got to you, whether it was a discount link or a direct connection. Treat everyone with respect and do what you can to offer them what they are asking for. This is emotional real estate that will go a long way.

Til next time, Be Well and Market Twisted,
lisa
WebCocktail.com
Serving Up Your Perfect Web Presence