Ski show season is still a few months away, but it’s never to early to get a few ideas for how to use that 10×10 or 10×20 space you’ve snagged.

In years past I’ve shared some of my favorite ski versions, but I saw a golf-themed booth that I really really liked.

The source, Bear Mountain Resort.

The Situation
Now, Bear Mountain Resort is not a ski resort, but given the mountain setting I’ve been a longtime follower of their brand and marketing.

From my member-of-their-audience perspective, they have a few key selling points:

The Setting
Located on Vancouver Island, BC, Bear Mountain Resort has some pretty incredible views.

Luxury
The second is luxury. It’s an important recognition of any brand because it raises the expectations of consumers when they see your marketing messages.

Golf
But the last key selling point is golf. Their mountain course was co-designed by Jack Nicholas and, while a number of the holes have incredible vistas, the 14th offers expansive views of Victoria and the Pacific Ocean (though I’m sure that bay/strait has a cool name I’m not familiar with).

Take this photo from a TripAdvisor review as proof:

This photo of Bear Mountain Golf Resort – Mountain Course is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Not bad, eh?

Sponsor Space
So what should a resort like Bear Mountain do when they get space as part of their sponsorship of the Canadian Open?

I think we could all think of a half-dozen options, but what they did is really clever and right on-brand: they brought the 14th hole along with them…with a putting green to boot.

We brought the 14th hole with us to the Canadian Open! If you are in the area, come visit us in Spectator Village. You can practice your short game and see what Bear Mountain has to offer. #bearmountain #canadianopen pic.twitter.com/Hn1XnrVmw8

— Westin Bear Mountain Resort (@BearMountain) July 25, 2018

Sometimes our strongest marketing is the images we share. But instead of letting them stand on their own two feet, we use them as a backdrop and cover them up with a well-meaning but ultimately inferior message.

Props to Bear Mountain for seeing the value of that view and going all-in on the story it tells.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.