Five Creators Get $25,000 Each

There seems to be a new strategy being used by the Las Vegas authorities in order to lure young tourists to the destination. They have invited five Gen Z social media content creators for a promotion campaign called “Summer Intern House” to visit the destination.

This promotion campaign has been devised by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). They selected five digital content creators who were between 21 and 29 years of age. Each of the creators has been given $25,000 as their compensation for the campaign.

However, there has not been any house as such in which all five have stayed together. Rather, they have spent 10 days in Las Vegas starting from July 30.

Public Voting Helped Select Creators

The process started back in May with participants being tasked to make videos explaining why they should get the chance.

LVCVA then assessed the submissions and launched a voting process that would help choose the finalists. Michael O’Brien, LVCVA vice president of digital and content marketing, talked about the initiative saying it was an excellent chance for the participants to build their platforms and get content production experience in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Wants Younger Travelers

This is one of the changes in the marketing strategy that has been witnessed in the marketing of Las Vegas.

For instance, generation z is more likely to engage in other activities rather than gambling as compared to the other generations. As reported by Casino.org, 64% of generation z visitants gamble as compared to 79% of the Millennials.

This is because the economic development of Las Vegas depends heavily on casino-related activities.

Social Media Becomes a Major Marketing Tool

It takes into account how young adults identify places to visit as well as forms of entertainment.

According to the statistics presented by the Pew Research Center in the report, between 40% and 43% of Gen Z adults use TikTok and Instagram as sources of news and information.

Influencer marketing is one of the major strategies used by the LVCVA. In 2022–2024, the tourism organization spent around $2.2 million to promote Las Vegas via over 240 social media influencers.

Early Engagement Raises Questions

The campaign has been financially supported, but its first results in social media have not been particularly impressive.

For instance, there was a TikTok video made by influencer Tori Kay on July 30. This video promoted the idea of capturing a Wizard of Oz apple in Sphere, one of the top immersive experiences in Las Vegas. Although there was the promotion behind the campaign, the number of likes for the video was 218 by the time of the writing of the report.

Therefore, the campaign can be seen as an interesting experiment for Las Vegas, trying to switch some of the promotional efforts from casinos to experiences that would attract younger audiences who learn about their vacation destinations via social media.