By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It’s become an annual Raiders ritual every late July.
No, not trading camp in Las Vegas’ notorious heat.
It’s the Raiders and a team founding partner, America First Credit Union, granting a $100,000 marketing and advertising package to a small Las Vegas business that generates less than $10 million in annual revenue.
Each year since 2021, an earnest and plucky business that could use Raiders radio, stadium and website exposure to amplify its brand has won the $100K marketing deal, with the award announced and celebrated at a swanky club at Allegiant Stadium in the middle of the summer.
Tonight, it was Aroma Retail, a 25-employee company founded in 2017 that sells its scents to hotels and any place where people gather. Aroma Retail has even sold its smells to the Lee Family Forum in Henderson, the Las Vegas Bowl for the annual college football game at Allegiant Stadium, the A’s experience center off the 215 beltway in the southwest valley and for one-off events at Allegiant Stadium.
The $100,000 prize is vital to market its aroma product because the company does not have the budget to advertise at that financial level, said Jim Reding, Aroma Retail CEO. His wife, Cristina, is the company founder.
“This is a brand program that we could otherwise not do,” Jim Reding said after the small business won the $100,000. “This is huge. This is huge.”
The other three finalist businesses were Once Upon a Child, which resells kids’ items like clothing and books; ReWax & UnWine Las Vegas, which sells an experience where customers make candles while drinking wine; and Sugar and Spice Las Vegas, a company that makes chocolates and sweets.
America First Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative based in Riverdale, Utah, about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City. Born in 1939, America First grants loans to small businesses and its CEO, Thayne Shaffer, said the Raiders sponsorship allows the credit union to connect with businesses and people who overlap with the Raiders fan base.
The Raiders’ VP of corporate partnerships, Christian Howard, said a panel of six to eight America First and Raiders representatives pick a winner. In this case, Aroma Retail was selected from 85 applicants.
PSA