Lucky ol' Las Vegas got "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." But what about the state of Nevada? Alas, there is no catchy, laser-focused yet all-encompassing, tourist-hooking slogan for it. Indeed, how to do reconcile our casinos with our wildlands and rurals, our neon with our vast dirt? Undaunted, our state is gonna try -- with the help of an outside contractor. From the Northern Nevada Business Weekly:

The Board of Examiners, which reviews major contracts awarded by the state government, last week approved a $249,760 contract with GreenRubino Inc. for the brand-development work. GreenRubino, a Seattle advertising agency, numbers Microsoft, IBM and Boeing among its clients.

GreenRubino, in turn, will work with research firm Destination Analysts of San Francisco to survey consumers in the nearby states that are top markets for Nevada tourism. The researchers also will talk with tourism industry officials in rural areas as well as the large markets of Reno, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas.

“It’s very important to us that our partners feels they have ownership of this brand,” Friedman says.

The survey of tourism industry representatives asks recipients to describe Nevada in two or three words and asks them to identify some of the best target markets for tourism marketing.