Changing brands and impacts on Las Vegas: messages for Asian gambling destinations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover, qualitatively, periods of involvement in Las Vegas gambling marketing campaigns and analyze success factors that may be useful to other gambling destinations, particularly in the Asian market. Design/methodology/approach: The study was established to allow a two-pronged approach of semi-structured interviews and site analysis coupled with review of planning and marketing documents in Las Vegas, Nevada 1980–2000 era and ending with the 2019 branding approach. Findings: Results revealed degrees of success and rationales for changes in campaigns over a 40-year period. When analyzing market strategies, it became evident that many factors were involved decisions to visit Las Vegas, such as social, safety and security factors, as well as opportunities for recreation. Research limitations/implications: Gaining access to top level executives proved challenging due to reluctance of subjects wanting to disclose business strategies. Originality/value: This study was unique in employing qualitative processes to elicit planning and marketing approaches and relative successes or failures from those involved in multi-property management. Further, analysis of documents over a wide time frame provided insight into the pitfalls and strengths associated with various campaigns.