Building Wrap Gives Legs to Las Vegas Casino’s Rebranding

On Las Vegas’ Strip, Sin City moguls, such as Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn and MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren, have long reaped the benefits of brokering space on their deluxe resorts with building-wrap advertising. However, in 2012, city codes in downtown Las Vegas, where Fremont Street is located, allowed only temporary building wraps.

When Greg and Derek Stevens purchased the property of Fitzgerald’s casino from the estate of former owner Don Barden, who died in May 2011, they sought creative ways to rebrand the casino, and zeroed in on wraps as a solution. Paying homage to Detroit, their hometown (and Barden’s as well), they rechristened the newly rebranded casino “The D,” a common nickname for Motown.

“We thought about replacing the rooftop sign, but we decided that a wrap would be a more dynamic, powerful way of presenting our brand,” Greg said. “A wrap presented a much lower upfront cost than a rooftop sign, and could be completed much more quickly. It’s a strong way to tell the world The D is here.”
To obtain the permit, the Stevens brothers hired lobbyist Terry Murphy, who advocated building wraps’ benefits to the Las Vegas City Council. They won approval – for wraps that tout the properties they decorate; out-of-home advertising is still not permitted on Fremont Street.

Through a bid process, the D’s executive team hired Las Vegas-based Vision Sign to execute the 21-story-tall wrap that features the casino logo and a model’s long legs. The two wraps, which measure more than 22,000 sq. ft., were fabricated with perforated window film by National Print Group’s Las Vegas facility.