What a summer! I haven’t blogged in a while, and those of you who know me know why. Here’s some highlights of my summer 2011:

• Best Man in my brother’s wedding
• Tried to keep up with yard work while watching toddler on evenings & weekends
• Develop Social Media campaign for summer-long concert series
• Work with internal and external team to implement strategic sharing of said concert series
• Turned 35
• Photograph each concert in series (with a couple exceptions), meet & greets & after parties
• Met B.B. King
• Taught my 18 month old son touchdown dances
• Reached 1,000 followers on twitter (Seriously – I don’t get it. I’m not that interesting, am I?)
• Met Motley Crue
• Neglected my lawn to the point that we have now hired a lawn service (worth it!)
• Continue to monitor and manage dozen or so social media streams for work
• Met Weezer
• Develop Social Media campaign for biggest football contest in Vegas
• Hosted mega fantasy football draft (I’m currently dead last. Thanks Mike Vick!)
• Met Eddie Trunk from That Metal Show and bought him a beer
• Attended classes at the first Digital World Expo, organized by my local friends in LVIMA

This looks like fun. I hope you can join us on Saturday, June 4th at the Pinball Hall Of Fame, from 3-7pm. More details below.

Every time there’s an exhibition game in Las Vegas involving pro sports teams, there’s an influx of news reports that “Las Vegas gets hopes up for Pro Team” Here’s one.

I’m a baseball, football and hockey fan, and I would love it. But it’s a long ways off until a few things change. No, I’m not talking about the economy.

Take last weekend’s Frozen Fury – the annual pre-season hockey game at MGM Grand between LA and Colorado pro hockey teams. This game is soooo far from a regular season game…. and I think the attendees know it. It’s a Fan-Appreciation Party for Kings season ticket holders. For Las Vegas – and MGM Grand in particular, it’s specifically designed for LA-to-LV traffic directly into the MGM Grand casino floor. The game itself is secondary, I believe, and this is the tunnel vision that’s keeping the city from having a pro team. Corporate involvement of Sports Marketing in Vegas always seems to involve a competitive slant, fear of losing slot revenue or high rollers while they’re enjoying themselves someplace else. Newsflash: today’s consumer knows what’s on the other side of the street.

So, really… Why can’t it work? Here’s what I think:

• Most locals who wish for a pro team don’t currently show up at the sporting events they do have. It’s apples and oranges, I know. But it’s all we have to benchmark so far.
• Corporate team owners don’t know how to market to locals.

From my experience, the marketing strategy of the Wranglers is to cold call ex-ticket buyers and sometimes offer them free shit on “special” games. The 51′s strategy is a carbon copy. A few phone calls to invite you to the “special” games and a billboard. Bobblehead dolls can only go so far. (Note: I can’t speak for Arena Football, because I have yet to attend one. I hear great things – and it appears that they have an improved strategy over their counterpart sports: I know when the games are without a google search).

I think it’s important to note that this isn’t a testament to the on-field (or on -ice) product. Every single game I have attended was well worth the price and an entirely enjoyable time. No exceptions. I say all the time that these are the two most valuable experiences one can have for under $20 in Vegas, and I stand by that.

Ever the constructive critic, I’ll offer a few ideas for sports marketing in Las Vegas. First – build culture. Teams should lobby for and support more pre-game, post-game events and locations. The Wranglers are present at McMullans Irish Pub across the street after every game – this is an example of how to make your players more visible to fans and non-fans to build familiarity and conversion. Free, or low-cost shuttles to and from games would encourage attendance and responsibility on their respective $1 Beer nights (highest attended games). Pep-rally mentality does exist, but it’s not nearly visible enough to sound like fun to someone who’s not already in the know.

The single largest thing holding back Las Vegas from having a sports franchise: Giving back to Las Vegas. The city’s largest businesses must be involved with ticket blocks. I don’t know or care what the bulk rate is to have a NV Energy, Cox, Zappos, Harrah’s or MGM section at each Vegas sports arena, but it needs to happen. Casino VIP players will love it, employees and their families will love it, and the Las Vegas valley will benefit for years to come.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know….

Psst…Do you follow me on twitter?

Hey friends, if you know me personally, you probably know my summer has been a total zoo. (If I cash in all the “Rain Checks” I have issued, I’m going to be out of the house until Christmas!) I recently became a father, remodeled a home, moved my family  into it, and turned my old home into a rental – all while working full time with no vacation time and the amount of sleep you’d expect with a 5 month old in ‘da house. All that said, Project Dinner Table is a can’t miss event in Las Vegas. I wrote about it earlier this summer here. Be sure to visit the official PDT site – check it for schedules, pictures, menus, videos and – no brainer – to buy your tickets!

Below, I’d like to share some photos from the last Las Vegas dinner event held in front of the El Cortez in one of my favorite places – Downtown Las Vegas, where it’s as funky as it is fun. Coincidentally, the next Project Dinner Table Event will be held only a few short blocks away, at the Historic 5th Street School – a truly cool space that really gets what it means to contribute to building culture in Las Vegas. From AIGA to The Vegas Valley Book Fair – each time a creative group needs a venue, Richard Hooker and the good people at the 5th Street School have their hands up willing to help.  I hope to see you there on September 11th. I’ll be the guy with the camera

Here’s some events I’m looking forward to attending in Las Vegas (and/or working with). I hope to see you at some of the shows. Come introduce yourself if you see me there.

Saturday,  June 12 (today) REGGAE IN THE DESERT. This is an annual thing for my wife and I. Great food, very chill afternoon and evening on the lawn with some of the best touring reggae bands you can find.

Friday, June 18th: Sin City Sinners first show as resident Friday night band inside Club Madrid at Sunset Station. (Full disclosure: I work for Stations Web Marketing, but this isn’t a sales pitch – I can’t, it’s a free show!)  The Sinners bring a rock-legend-guest to almost every show, and always have a great set in store. I’ll be shooting the show for fun (and for work). Did I mention there’s no cover?

Saturday, June 19th: Steel Panther returns to Green Valley Ranch’s Ovation. I’ll be shooting this show as well. And don’t miss the interview on the Stations blog coming up this week. It’s pretty funny.  They’re in the new Bud Light commercial about the haircut as an excuse to throw a party.

That’s it for this week. Watch for the photos the following week.  I’ll try to keep these updates coming if you like it. Again, hope to see you at the shows!

I have to assume that SIRIUS/XM is pretty spooked about Pandora and it’s continual surge in popularity due to mobile apps on iPhones and the like… But trust me – don’t cancel SIRIUS or XM subscriptions yet, use them both, like I do!  I love Pandora. I also pay for SIRIUS satellite radio. Use the link over >>> there and sign up for a trial. You won’t regret it, I promise. Here’s some reasons why I support both.

ADVANTAGE: SIRIUS/XM

1. JASON ELLIS SHOW – Absolutely hilarious daily train wreck combo of comic relief, action sports, and really dirty jokes. “Dude, is it gay?” segment is hysterical. Mayhem Mondays with Mayhem Miller is great, too. See #2.

2. FACTION 28/ XM 52: The Marky Ramone Show is sort of like going to punk rock church and the sermon was given by God on Wednesday nights. Tony Hawk might be the coolest guy in America. Johnny Moseley is up there, too. Bam Margera annoys the crap out of me, but I think that’s the idea.

3. NO FUSS IN THE CAR – No battery issues, cables, worrying about adapters, compatibility, etc. A dream for long-distance drives.

4. PERSONALITIES – Confession: I’m a rock fan. (Old/new/heavy/indie/folk) I’m biased towards Faction, but Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Alt Nation, Boneyard, and Octane (I’m sure I’m forgetting several others) all have fantastic DJs. Frequent guest channels are cool, too. I hear great things about the Hip-Hop channels, and there’s plenty of talk networks for politicial douchebags who like to argue and people that can stand Martha Stewart and Oprah. Hey, more power to ‘em. Gives them something to do with their time to feel important, I suppose.

5. STERN’S NETWORK – Not my bag, but millions of devoted listeners dig the legendary shock jock. Opie & Anthony and Farrell are great.

ADVANTAGE: PANDORA

1. IT’S FREE, DUMMY – And when you run out of free hours, finish out the month for $1.00. A BUCK!

2. DESIGNER CHANNELS – If you hear a song you don’t like, just skip it or delete it. (Perfect for when Nickelback and Linkin Park interrupt your good channels). Imagine, you can make a custom channel with Slayer, Run DMC and John Mayer. Though, it might make you a little schizophrenic. Ask me how I know!

3. YOU CAN SHARE YOUR MIX – the new mix tape? Check out my Pandora Profile here: http://www.pandora.com/people/nate.ludens

4. BEST EVER SOURCE FOR DISCOVERING NEW MUSIC – I love the voodoo formulas that Pandora uses to know what I like.

5. NO HARDWARE MAKES IT OFFICE FRIENDLY – streaming free radio at work makes the world a better place.

BOTTOM LINE: Get them both. You can say you were there when the power in radio shifted from boring, redundant, record-company crap-oganda to the people’s-choice radio, featuring inspiring music you want to hear, when you want to hear it. Without commercials.

An article in last Friday’s Review-Journal could turn out to be a really timely effort from McCarran Int’l Airport. Hopefully, the revenue from billboard leases will trickle down to some of Las Vegas’ hungry creatives. This will lie entirely in the hands of the winning bidder, and I’m cautiously optimistic.

There’s tons of complex reasons why the creative industy here is hurting. Some are internal issues at companies who were/are  managed poorly, but most are directly related to gaming cutbacks. In this case, I think it’s a chicken-or-egg system. Sales are down, so companies have stopped spending on marketing. It’s the only “controllable expense,” they say…. I disagree, to an extent. Blindly pulling the plug on marketing is effectively selling off your entire brand investment. Hey – cut where you need to cut, but keep in mind the work and expenses that have led up to your sales slide. Not to mention the jobs for the people that stay late and work weekends for thankless campaigns that shift millions of dollars around town. I always try to buy these guys a beer or a pizza whenever I can.

On a similar note… Yesterday, while returning from Utah, my wife and I counted at least 10 consecutive billboards with nothing on them. I think billboard companies should have stock templates with general feelgood campaigns instead of running blanks. Hell, why not? I’ll even volunteer to design them. If you know someone who is in a position to make decisions on something like this – please email me. I’m curious to see the benefit of running a white blank board vs. a message reminding people to drive courteously, hang up their cell phones, or spend time with their kids when they get home.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having good friends in your industry. For years, I have offered to bail out anyone who needed a spot to hang out and check their email, work for a few hours (or weeks), make a handshake happen or find the name of a missing font. I’m always glad to do these things to help out friends in a jam – or even friends of friends. I’m sure most people are the same as I am – with a few bad check writers and client stalkers in there, of course .(Karma works both ways).

Over the last month or so, I have had some bumps in the road with software, hardware and an exciting new endeavor or two or three. Thankfully, some of the people who I have helped out of jams in the past have come to my aid – and these things call for a Humongous Thank You.

You know who you are, and you know I’ll bail you out of your next jam. Cheers, Nate.

One of the best design evangelists is Tom Peters. His books have been a huge inspiration behind Black Diamond Digital Imaging. I recently re-discovered Mr. Peters’ website, and his blog, in particular.

Check out this excellent recent blog post from Tom Peters.

Hi Everyone, we have uploaded the shots from last Friday’s Beanie Bash 2008.

Check them out!

The shots turned out great. Thanks again to everyone that showed up.