I remember in my junior year marketing class at Utah State, Dr Bartkus, a passionately disorganized man, lectured on the arguments for and against the use of billboards in an advertising campaign. Honestly, I don’t remember what he said, but since then I have used long drives to analyze and study billboards and brainstorm ideas on what I would do differently it that were my piece of interstate-side real estate and create my own arguments for and against.

Yesterday was one of those long drives. I decided to start adding up in my head how much cash I’d need to act on every one of the billboards I saw. Less than 15 minutes and $1+million later I was amazed by what I was seeing. I would own 7 houses, 8 cars, would have my house’s windows replaced 4 times, would take 14 days to arrive at my destination for all the hotels I’d stay at, and the list goes on.

And then, as if the heavens had parted, was a sign for Solitude Mountain Resort that read: “Kid’s ski free.” Talk about breaking through the clutter.

MONARCH MOUNTAIN
Earlier this week, Monarch posted a few pictures of their new Billboards on their Facebook page:
 
Colorful and simple, I happen to like these Billboards quite a bit. They draw attention, get one simple point across, and call it good. One of my favorite billboards on the New York Thruway during a long, city-less stretch between Syracuse and Albany. High on a hilltop reads “Wendys. Exit 36A.” That’s it. I have a sneaking suspicion they did it so drivers could actually read the words from the road, but can I really remember any more than that while I drive?

With all the clutter of homes, cars, hotels, gas stations, etc. that take up most of the Billboard scene (at least in Utah), seems like ski resorts might have a chance to really break through the clutter with a simple, visual, to the point message.

Thoughts?

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.