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Inspiration
Jackson Hole’s smart recognition that not everyone in a family skis.

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GREGG
BLANCHARD
   

When you like in a ski town and are surrounded by not just skiers, but skiing families, it’s easy to forget that hundreds of thousands of folks in our sport are the only ones in their family that love skiing.

Their kids don’t ski race, their partner/spouse dreads powder days, they learned on their own in college instead of from skiing parents.

When these folks go on a family ski trip, it’s not really a family ski trip. It’s a family vacation where one person will be skiing and the rest of the family will be…um…what will they be doing for all those hours and days you’re on the hill? Which may mean they almost never go on ski trips.

Selling to the Rest

Years ago I was driving down the road when I saw a billboard for a Harley Davidson that, of all things, was touting the gas mileage of a Harley. Confusion turned into a cheeky grin as I realized what they were trying to do. This billboard wasn’t to sell the biker, this billboard was to help sell the spouse.

This is often a gap that resorts miss when creating their marketing. They are really, really good at selling the skiers in a family on their destination, but not always on selling the rest of the family on their destination. Or, said another, way, giving skiers tools and talking points to sell the rest of the family on a destination. Jackson Hole does not have that gap.

This guide, available from a few places on their website including a first timers overview, does a great job of three things.

1) Stake a Claim

First, it tosses out a big, bold claim that they’re the best. It’s a great way to anchor this idea in the mind of both the skiers and non-skiers in a group.

2) Succinct Selling Points

Second, it does a great job of outlining the key selling points without getting too verbose. A few visuals, some links, and they’ve got a nice, tidy little package of information.

3) Not Afraid of Town

Third, they’re not constrained by resort boundaries and revenue streams. Sometimes to get the skier, you have to face the reality that you may not have enough value alone to sell everyone else.

It’s For Both

All of these pieces combine to form a guide that works great for both the non-skiers (to sell themselves) and skiers (to have to the tools to sell the non-skiers).

It’s not something I’ve seen a lot of resorts really lean into, but it’s an angle I think is probably worth a little more time. You may not have the indoor waterpark or expansive village, but if you can get the skiers in the family to put you on their bucket list you’re gonna also need to find a storyline that makes it worth it for the rest of the family to come too.


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.

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