Little Las Vegas, NM Marketing Group / Mainstreet Las Vegas, Inc.
Grants Awarded
The program aims to create an outdoor recreation guide and map for San Miguel and Mora Counties, enhancing community engagement through accessible resources integrated into local websites and a mobile app. By distributing these materials to schools, colleges, hotels, and Visitor Centers, the program will promote outdoor activities, fostering community well-being and attracting tourism while also generating national and regional media coverage to boost awareness.
Little Las Vegas, NM Marketing Group works to inform and engage the community and visitors of the cultural, historical, architectural and recreational opportunities and assets in and near Las Vegas, New Mexico with the goals of sustainable economic development and community well-being. We began our efforts in 2021 with a media marketing campaign to promote local holiday shopping and small business enterprises. The impetus for this campaign was lack of business activity in the Old Town Las Vegas business district due to the Covid pandemic and also a major infrastructure paving project that closed off the streets for months. Collaborating with the City of Las Vegas Lodgers Tax board, Las Vegas/San Miguel Chamber of Commerce, MainStreet de Las Vegas, Las Vegas First Independent Business Alliance and the Las Vegas, NM Community Foundation we raised private funds to purchase advertising in print, digital and broadcast media in Colorado, Texas and the Albuquerque/Santa Fe region. In 2022, our group engaged Geiger & Associates (Destination marketing firm that introduces a destination through articles by syndicated journalists to potential visitors in a more comprehensive way than would be possible or cost effective through paid advertising alone). Our group led the journalist on walking tours and auto tours of the area’s retail, lodging, restaurants, architecture, art and the natural beauty of Northeastern New Mexico. The visit from that journalist in the summer of 2023 resulted in a syndicated feature story published in 159 media outlets reaching 47 million readers nationwide, including major metro markets. The equivalent cost of paid advertising was $1.2 million (See attached article and report). During the visit by the journalist, we were unable to provide an outdoor recreation guide. Our seven board members consist of: Elmo Baca (Chair of the Las Vegas, NM Community Foundation), Michael Peranteau (Executive Director of MainStreet de Las Vegas), Jan Beurskens (outdoor enthusiast and business owner), Frank Beurskens (creator of Connect LV, NM mobile app), Meredith Britt (artist, business owner and member of Las Vegas First Independent Business Alliance), Nancy Colalillo (business owner) and Cindy Collins (former Executive Director of MainStreet de Las Vegas). Each has many years of experience marketing Las Vegas through events, publications and social media.