One of the most valuable insights I ever get into marketing is when I find myself being influenced by marketing.

In those moments (at least when I recognize them) I’ll stop, retrace my steps, and find out what happened between the marketer’s desk and my decision.

Here’s one such route.

Snowbasin Summer Mailer
My wife and I had been looking for things to do together now that we had family nearby who were all but begging us for chances to babysit the little one. Having only lived here a short while, we were also on the lookout for stuff that let us see more of our new surroundings.

Then we got this in the mail.

Soon after my wife saw it, she showed it to me, it sounded like a lot of fun at a price that fit, we made the decision to go, and we started to make our plans.

Again, that was one of those moments, so here are a few pieces I noticed right away.

#1) My Wife Found It
I don’t look through Money Mailer or ValPak envelopes, but my wife does. She’s not alone. I had a friend who, after delivering flyers for his refurbishing business, put some of his early revenue toward one such mailer. I can’t remember the exact number, but his phone rang with something like a dozen jobs (usually $500-1,000/each) the first time one went out.

While I don’t know how many people redeemed this coupon (I will of course ask, as I always do, when we go), I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a pretty solid list just as it was with my friend. And, again, even though everyone involved in the potential transaction didn’t see it, at least one of us did and that was enough.

#2) It’s a Package
I’m a big believer in packaging lots of options into few, and this was no exception. Snowbasin has a handful of summer activities and dining options, but this gave us a simple, single thing we could say “yes” or “no” to.

Because the price was right and it fit our goals, we chose the former.

#3) Glanceable
When my wife showed it to me, it took me less than 5 seconds to know exactly what the offer was. These envelopes are full of dozens of offers that, at least from observation, tend to be shuffled through pretty quickly.

Like a billboard or banner ad or tweet, Snowbasin only had a few seconds to get my attention and they did that with two large images, bright colors, and conveyed all the key information in fewer than 15-20 word.

#4) Lots of Options, Easy to Make Work
One things I noticed in my behavior pretty quickly was that I liked the fact that the range of dates was a span of almost four months. I think the thought in my head was something like:

“That’s a good deal and with, what’s that, a four month span…that shouldn’t be a problem to find a date that will work. Let’s do it.”

Notice my thought process. I voiced my agreement right after I realized how easy it would be to make it work.

Simple Process
So, let’s recap what I learned:

• A marketing message doesn’t have to reach everyone involved in a transaction.
• Packages make complex decisions easier to evaluate and process.
• Glanceable messages are more likely to get fully consumed when competing for attention.
• Easy things are easier to act on than hard things.

Fairly obvious, but an insightful reminder on each point. Well played, Snowbasin, see you soon.

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.