LVCVA approves cheaper advertisting deal with R&R Partners

Las Vegas boosters this morning approved a new deal with the makers of the "what happens here, stays here" ads that have become ubiquitous in the last seven years — but at a lower cost than previous pacts.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board voted 12 to 0 in favor of a three-year agreement with R&R Partners of Las Vegas.

The deal came without competitive bidding for the contract, which has been the exclusive province of R&R for nearly 30 years, the last 10 without competitive bidding.

Still, R&R agreed to maintain the level of services it has delivered in the past but at a lower price to the authority, which gets most of its funding from hotel room taxes and is enduring declining revenue due to lower demand for Las Vegas vacations and business trips.

Under the agreement approved Tuesday, R&R will cut its commissions on media and production purchases from 15 to 12.5 percent.

The commission cut on media – which applies to buying time for the famous ads – alone will save the authority as much as $2 million annually, depending on how much advertising time it buys.

Also, R&R will charge a monthly agency fee of $400,000.

"The lower commission structure allows the LVCVA to dedicate more money to actual media purchases instead of commissions," said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the authority.