The first new resort in Utah in over 30 years is opening this Fall just a stone’s throw from my old stomping grounds. I haven’t heard back from their Marketing team to get their take, but with a million thoughts about what they should do, this week I’m temporarily going back to my daily-posting ways to share five quick things I’d do first and foremost if I were in their shoes.

Looking at the Utah resort marketing landscape, it kills me that resorts aren’t talking more to the massive LDS community and the traditions that come along with it.

For every craft beer a Utah resort puts their logo on, there should be 10 initiatives to meet the two programs I’ll list below.

Youth
FIrst, it may be news to you outside of Utah, but every jr/high school age kid in the LDS church meets together for a group activity (usually about 5-10 in a group) one night a week. This happens every week from the time they are 12 until they graduate high school.

Cache Valley is predominantly LDS. Cherry Peak needs to talk to, cater to, and get these groups on the mountain even if it’s just a Boy Scout troop working on a merit badge in their lodge. And then they need to give each of these kids a reason to come back with their families on the weekend.

The partnerships I mentioned yesterday will be a huge help in this as many local business people are involved as leaders of youth and student groups.

Families
Sundays are out in the context of this post, an active member of the LDS church won’t ski on Sunday, but a big chunk of LDS families participate in a tradition called Family Home Evening which is nothing more than a night set aside for the family to do something together.

This happens on Monday. And not just any Monday, but every Monday of every week of every year. Cherry Peak needs to talk directly to the thousands of Cache Valley families who participate in this tradition and give them affordable ways to spend Monday nights together at the mountain.

Hold Onto Your Butt
Now, on that note, Cherry Peak has done something that is intriguing me out of my mind. See here:

Yes, in an industry that often lives and dies by weekends, Cherry Peak will not be open on Sunday. On this point they are talking loud and clear to these groups already.

Will it work? I have no idea, but if it will work anywhere it will be in Cache Valley, a place where a huge chunk of the population not only doesn’t ski on Sunday, but is known to support businesses who choose not to open on Sunday.

I can’t wait to see what happens with this little piece of the puzzle.

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.