Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

The Objective

Growing a massive TikTok presence with native video

As the official destination marketing organization of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) proudly represents one of the world's most exciting and iconic travel destinations. With domestic and international travel back on the rise post-pandemic, LVCVA couldn't wait to remind people of all the incredible sights and attractions Las Vegas has to offer, aiming to increase their share of the travel market. To that end, the marketing organization came to TikTok, seeing a massive opportunity to connect with new audiences through fresh and innovative content. LVCVA's first goal on the platform: run compelling content on TikTok to get to 1 million platform followers.

The Solution

Amassing a following through the Community Interaction objective

LVCVA tapped its in-house creative team and agency, while partnering with multiple travel and lifestyle creators to make rich, native TikTok videos. LVCVA's official @vegas TikTok account showed the world some of its most iconic destination spots and activities like the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens and the Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis at Caesars Palace.

@thebucketlistlatina gave users great ideas for free-to-do activities while in Vegas, and @kenxtori recommended their favorite romantic spots for couples to enjoy. All content stayed true to creative best practices: the videos kept viewers' attention through compelling visuals, text overlays, trending sounds, and voiceovers. LVCVA amplified the creator videos using Spark Ads, a native ad format that allows advertisers to tap into authenticity by boosting organic content.

Behind the scenes, LVCVA bought against the Community Interaction objective on TikTok Ads Manager. The Community Interaction objective, which sits under the Consideration part of the marketing funnel, allows advertisers to build and nurture their connections and can be optimized for either new followers or profile visits. LVCVA optimized for followers, which ensured that the brand's Spark Ads would be shown to audiences most likely to follow its @vegas TikTok account. LVCVA targeted broad audiences with travel and travel-related interests while excluding current and new followers to ensure the ads only appeared to users who weren't following @vegas yet. LVCVA launched its follower growth campaign in May 2022 and ran Spark Ads through September.

The Results

1 million TikTok followers strong

Viva Las Vegas! Post-pandemic, LVCVA wanted to build a strong presence on TikTok and let people know that the entertainment capital of the world is back and better than ever. Not only did LVCVA hit its goal of 1 million TikTok followers, but it did so efficiently, beating benchmarks for cost per follower by 20% and cost per impression by 23%. @vegas's creative approach also helped to leave a lasting impression on the TikTok community: a post-campaign Brand Lift Study showed a 9% lift in Ad Recall, proving the effectiveness of native-feeling content shown to the right audiences.

So what's next for LVCVA? The brand continues to build out its @vegas presence on TikTok with exciting content to drive FOMO and trip bookings, including its "Meanwhile in Vegas" campaign, which reminds the world that something great is always happening here.