THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS | SOCIAL MEDIA CLIENT
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a unique luxury resort and casino in the heart of The Las Vegas Strip, partnered with BentoBox Media where Miiko Mentz led the charge.
The challenge and assignment in a nutshell: be a game-changer. Mission accomplished! On social media and beyond, The Cosmopolitan became the most talked-about resort casino on The Las Vegas Strip, outshining its competitors, winning awards for social media, and being called by the media a “world-beater on social media” and the “most socially savvy hotel.”
Learn more in Miiko’s own words…
In early 2010, I had an opportunity of a lifetime to work with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It’s not every day you get to launch a resort hotel and casino on the 50-yard line of The Las Vegas Strip. I jumped at the opportunity. They were a dream client and it was a dream gig. Talk about hitting the jackpot!
It was still the early days of social media marketing as a business driver. At the time, many people still thought social media was a fad that would soon fade, while others took it more seriously and were testing the waters, so you can imagine how exciting it was to launch a brand and social presence from scratch during this time.
The challenge and assignment were to defy the norm, attract, engage and pique curiosity with potential resort guests pre-launch. Then post-launch, add into the mix on-property experiences that were extended to social media.
It was quite exciting to help build a new and unknown brand from scratch. I quickly got to work on developing and establishing the brand’s voice on social media, developing its social media marketing strategy and framework, and launching its social media channels six months before the resort casino opened.
I handled all aspects of its social media marketing, social content, community growth, and management, which included a high level of customer service on social. In addition, I was responsible for monitoring, tracking, and reporting on Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews.
I started as a team of one during the first year and grew the social media team to three people in year two; and in year three, we became a team of four.
From the start, our goal was to attract the “curious class,” which is not a demographic but rather a type of person who is adventurous and craves new experiences. We aimed to deliver unscripted playful experiences online and in-person that surprised and delighted, and got people raving about their experiences with the brand before, during, and after their visit. I’m proud to say, mission accomplished.
A year after launching The Cosmopolitan’s social media channels, Inc. magazine named The Cosmopolitan the “Most Socially Savvy Hotel,” while Masterminds awarded The Cosmopolitan two Sherpie Awards for “Best Use of Twitter” and “Best in Show” for its overall social media strategy.
Furthermore, in October 2013, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was recognized as a social media leader in hospitality by Skift, a website providing global travel industry news, info, data, and analysis, in its “Las Vegas Hotels Beat Global Hospitality Brands on Social Media.” It listed The Cosmopolitan in the top three globally in Twitter engagement just behind two global hospitality brands (Hyatt Hotels and Starwood) and first among Las Vegas resorts.
Las Vegas Weekly wrote about it in a post titled, “Cosmo is proving to be a world-beater on social media.”
To this day, I am humbled and honored by the media recognition and awards. All the hard work paid off.
But my lil’ secret is that I was having so much fun that it didn’t feel like work! It felt more like a guilty pleasure than it did work.
However, I didn’t do it alone. I may have started as a team of one during the first year, but I brought on top-notch social marketers and created a rock star team. Together, we outshined The Cosmopolitan’s competitors. I remained an integral part of the team over the years and left it in excellent hands.
I worked with The Cosmopolitan for more than four years developing its social voice, content, campaigns, and promotions, as well as growing its social media following from zero to hundreds of thousands of raving fans and followers, many of whom became loyal guests of the resort hotel and casino. It was an incredible experience. As I mentioned, it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
My experience with The Cosmopolitan and other clients has given me the expertise needed to help you with your social media marketing needs. If you’re interested in working with me, let’s chat. Contact me.
