Spots to air during RTO target business decisionmakers

Commercials on The Golf Channel during the Reno-Tahoe Open won't mince words: Reno is a great place to live and a great place to do business.

About 20 spots are expected to run during broadcasts of the tournament at Montreaux Golf and Country Club August 1-7.

The televised promotion of the region is an outgrowth of the Reno-Tahoe Open Renegades initiative, in which about 70 business and community leaders so far have ponied up at least $1,000 each to support the PGA tournament and the region.

The fundraising effort ensures that "Reno-Tahoe" remains a part of the tournament's title.

And the community sponsorship includes the spots on Golf Channel.

As fundraising efforts continue, The Bauserman Group, a Reno-based marketing agency, has begun developing the content of the advertising spots.

"We're trying to dispel some of the myths about Reno," says Jim Bauserman, owner of the agency. "We want people to know that this is a good place to live and a good place to do business."

Orange Tree Productions, a video and audio production firm in Reno, is partnering with The Bauserman Group to produce the commercials, and research from Lorna Shepard of Red Dog Consulting is providing direction for the message.

"A lot of people are helping out with this thing," Bauserman says.

Depending on continued fundraising efforts led by Renegades co-chairs Mike Bosma of The Bosma Group and Scott Shanks of NAI Alliance, Bauserman said he expects at least 20 airings for the commercial during the four-day telecast.

The spots will direct viewers to a Web page that provides more details about the quality of life and business climate in the Reno area.

Bauserman said the ultimate target is creation of leads that can be followed by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and other economic development groups.

The spots will be talking to a group of viewers who make business decisions.

Compared with the average U.S. consumer, viewers of the Golf Channel are 138 percent more likely to make business-purchasing decisions valued at $1 million or more, the channel says.

Viewers are 168 more likely than average consumers to have spent $5,000 on domestic vacations, and they have personal assets that average $1.3 million.

Bauserman says the tournament and the Renegades are eager to tell the region's story to that audience.

"We just have to explain what a great place this is," he says.