Through an online marketing campaign managed by Ruf Strategic Solutions, a database marketing company, the commission will begin promoting Nevada's outdoor attractions such as water sports and all terrain activities. The performance-based marketing campaign is expected to drive 20,000 new online travel prospects per month totaling 240,000 in one year. This staggering amount would quadruple Nevada's current online tourism leads.

It has been an extremely useful tool in making adjustments to our Internet segment

NCOT has relied on Ruf's expertise in customized tourism products for four years. The commission recently renewed the four-year contract with Ruf Strategic Solutions. Seventy percent of the new contract will be for performance-based marketing while the rest is covering Navigator, Ruf's proprietary CRM solution. The contract includes prospecting, data management and marketing measurement for the state of Nevada, excluding Las Vegas, which operates as an independent entity.

JoLyn Laney, deputy director of marketing and advertising of NCOT, said Navigator has allowed the commission to closely monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns. "It has been an extremely useful tool in making adjustments to our Internet segment," said Laney. "Having all of the data in one location allows us to utilize the information more effectively."

NCOT will utilize performance-based marketing to cultivate online travel prospects, a tool designed to optimize marketing efforts through greater responses without the cost of waste. It continually tunes the profile of best prospects each time a traveler inquiry is received, making the profile more accurate with every campaign.

According to Brian Ruf, principal of Ruf Strategic Solutions, performance-based marketing works by matching the information received through an inquiry with Ruf's database. "For example, if a consumer searches for snowboarding in Nevada, an advertisement for travelnevada.com may show up," explained Ruf. "The consumer can click on the graphic, and fill out a short form to request information about Nevada. In return, the prospect is sent a copy of the state's official visitor's guide. Our company then takes the information, matches it to our database and we help them determine the most compelling and efficient way for the state of Nevada to pursue the lead," said Ruf.
                                                                
Ruf's Navigator technology will then track and maintain the performance-based marketing information on a real-time basis, storing it in a centralized location. NCOT accesses the data online, analyzes the performance through scoring and segmentation and makes marketing decisions based on that insight. This increases ROI by allowing marketers to pay only for the sources that generate the most desirable leads.

Ruf added how these tools turn marketing information into marketing intelligence, allowing NCOT to make timely strategic decisions. "We build everything off the premise that if you can't measure it then you can't manage it. This intelligence allows us to segment and treat people differently based on their preferences," said Ruf. "It gives them a 360 degree view of all of the inbound and outbound communications."

About Ruf Strategic Solutions:
Ruf Strategic Solutions delivers a full suite of marketing intelligence solutions to help organizations acquire new customers, retain existing customers and develop one-to-one relationships to maximize profitability. Founded in 1976, Ruf Strategic Solutions helps organizations maximize the return on their marketing investment through superior customer intelligence. Ruf's unique ability to integrate vast arrays of data, technology tools and 30 years of expertise, empowers organizations with truly actionable and measurable intelligence. Through Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM), Ruf's clients are able to use consumer insight to reach their target audiences through multi-channel marketing. Ruf currently services many market leaders in a variety of industries.