Since 2019, the town has been running the “You’ll Be Amazed By What You Can Do In Pahrump” campaign but now, this is giving way to an all-new catchphrase — “It’s an Adventure West of Vegas”.
Pahrump Tourism Director Arlette Ledbetter went before the Nye County Commission, sitting as the governing board for the town, during its Aug. 20 meeting with a series of possible campaign concepts developed by Braintrust Marketing for the board to consider. These included “Your Adventure is Here” and a few variations of a “Wild West of Las Vegas” theme but commissioners ultimately crafted their own version of the tagline.
“The campaign I am about to show you is an outer-marketing campaign. It’s directly used in markets like Las Vegas and greater Las Vegas, greater Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Reno and Sacramento,” Ledbetter explained that afternoon.
She noted that the campaign would be primarily waged in the digital space, including with Google banners and ads, as well as some advertorials, social media outreach and in a small amount of print advertising.
When it comes to why the tourism department was looking to refresh its slogan and associated advertising, Ledbetter remarked, “Pahrump is evolving. We know this, Pahrump is growing. We also know that it’s more than just a stop-over on the highway now.”
Ledbetter said when she started in the tourism department, Pahrump was advertised as “Your Base Camp to Adventure.”
“Because there weren’t enough attractions in Pahrump to build Pahrump as an attraction itself. So we featured China Date Ranch, Ash Meadows, Death Valley… Now we have several attractions that we can feature here, which is just wonderful,” Ledbetter said, highlighting the area’s wineries, hot air balloon adventures, off-road excursions, horseback riding opportunities, Spring Mountain Motor Sports Ranch and Resort, local casinos and more.
As the item was opened for discussion, commission chair Debra Strickland suggested dropping the word “Las” from all town campaigns and simply terming it “Vegas”, a recommendation Ledbetter was happy to incorporate.
Commissioner Frank Carbone then said he would prefer not to feature Spring Mountain Motor Sports in local ads, as its activities come at a very high price point and it’s not open to the general public. However, Ledbetter countered that racetrack patrons are actually the third-highest occupiers of local lodging and therefore, generate a large portion of the area’s room tax.
Commissioner Donna Cox remarked that she would like to see a return to an old slogan, “Heart of the New Old West” but again, Ledbetter disagreed.
“I had a travel agent come in from Germany one time and tell me, ‘I ought to string you up and slap you, because you bill yourself as the Heart of the New Old West, yet you have not a hitching post, not a horse rental, not a western store…’” Ledbetter recalled. “We can’t be what we’re not. We have to be authentic.”
Commissioner Bruce Jabbour made the motion to select “It’s an Adventure West of Vegas” as the town’s new slogan, with a second from Carbone. That motion passed 4-1 with Cox the dissenting vote, citing her dislike of the using Vegas is Pahrump’s advertising.
The town will be retaining its “True Nevada” slogan but will now be discontinuing “You’ll be Amazed” as well as “Your Base Camp to Adventure” and phasing out “60 Miles West, 180 Degrees Different”.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com