$2.2M paid to more than 240 influencers to promote Las Vegas before Aces player sponsorship
UPDATE: This article has been updated to correct the identification and details regarding one listed influencer.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — According to data obtained by 8newsnow.com, more than 240 influencers were contracted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) between Jan 2022 and April 2024, with more than $2.2 million paid to them collectively over that time.
In a May interview, Steve Hill, president and CEO of the LVCVA, said that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority had “100-plus influencers” who were paid regularly to promote the entertainment capital of the world on social media. The information came following the announcement of an LVCVA-funded sponsorship offer to Las Vegas Aces basketball players.
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The list of paid influencers omits specific amounts paid to each influencer, with LVCVA officials citing Nevada public records law exception regarding confidential trade secrets, and features names like Jason Derulo and Darren Waller, primarily includes social media stars like Liza Koshy, Hannah Stocking, and Lele Pons, who each have millions of followers across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and other social media outlets.
Many of the influencers’ posts were self-narrated videos recounting their experience in Las Vegas. They usually featured the city’s food and drink offerings and various shows and entertainment options. In the case of Florida-based couple Sam & Monica, who have accumulated 2.12 million subscribers on YouTube and 3.9 million subscribers on TikTok, one of the two contracted social media posts recaps the duo’s trip to Las Vegas.
“You know you have the world’s most amazing husband when he literally flies you to Las Vegas for the ultimate date night,” Monica said over an edited video of their trip to southern Nevada. According to LVCVA documents, all flights, hotels, accommodations, and experiences were provided to Sam & Monica.
The video shows the couple driving all-terrain vehicles, eating dinner at the SW Steakhouse at the Wynn Las Vegas, and then seeing a performance of The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage. As of July 2024, that video had accumulated approximately 36,800 likes since Sept. 2023.
Another influencer with 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube, Matthew Meagher, known as MMG on the social media platform, was provided round-trip flights from Phoenix, Arizona, to Las Vegas and was scheduled to play EA Sports’ Madden video game on the LED screen exterior of Resorts World Las Vegas. That content was scheduled to be recorded on Feb. 6, with the game’s winner to receive an “all expenses paid luxury night out in Vegas.”
It was not immediately clear if this game occurred as planned, and the contract states that “the partnership also requires official clearance from Madden NFL – EA Sports.” Video of the game contest was not found on MMG’s YouTube channel, although other content centered around the Super Bowl in Las Vegas persists.
In the case of pop-music performer Jason Derulo, the contract required him to publish a video asset for either Instagram Reels or TikTok recapping his “experiences in Las Vegas and at Super Bowl 58.” Additionally, Derulo was contracted to post two Instagram Story frames.
In exchange, aside from the undisclosed talent fee, Derulo was provided a stay at Encore Resort in a “King Tower Suite” from Feb. 9 to Feb. 12. Additionally, Derulo was provided ground transportation to and from the airport and Allegiant Stadium for the Super Bowl, and two tickets to a luxury hospitality suite, in which he was contracted to stay “for the majority of the game.”
Derulo was one of six influencers listed in the campaign attached to Super Bowl 58 at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11. Other influencers tied to the NFL championship game campaign include Alix Earle, Hannah Stocking, Lele Pons, Liza Koshy, and Inanna, each contracted through a company called Ykone.
According to the organization’s website, Ykone, a “global influencer marketing group,” expanded to Las Vegas in 2022 and works with clients such as MGM Resorts International. They have invited “over 200 content creators from across the globe” and generated more than 400 million impressions using social media platforms.
LVCVA listed a few locals participating in the campaigns. Jennifer Gay, also known as Vegas Starfish, was among the local influencers contracted by the organization, with the sponsored content listed as being published in June 2022. The posts on TikTok were tagged as a “paid partnership.” Documentation shows that the account was part of a contract along with 11 other accounts contracted for 5 TikTok posts in a campaign labeled “June Summer Travel TikTok.” Those posts fit the same scheme as many other influencers’ posts.
Another is Las Vegas Bartender, contracted in March 2022 for a TikTok video about “holiday cocktails.”
The data predated the Aces sponsorship offer announced by LVCVA officials in May. The $100,000 sponsorship offered to each of the 12 Las Vegas WNBA team players was estimated to total $1.2 million, approximately 50 percent of the agency’s influencer output for the past 27-month period.
According to the LVCVA’s website, the government organization is funded by room taxes. Those taxes, paid by visitors and locals alike who book rooms at Las Vegas resorts and hotels, are estimated to have totaled $354 million in the last 12 months.
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