Jackson Hole has been telling some phenomenal stories lately.

And I won’t say that this one is better than the rest, but man, it beautifully walks the line between promotion and storytelling in ways I rarely see with resort videos.

Take a quick watch, then let’s break this down.

First, it starts with a person.
It doesn’t start by talking about Jackson Hole, it starts with a person chasing a dream but the odds are stacked against them. This feels impossible, but she’s willing to try.

Second, it makes Jackson Hole the sidekick.
Just this one line “with the goals that I had, Jackson was really an amazing training ground” sets that up perfectly. It beautifully both supports and provides proof for Jackson’s brand without having to

Third, it keeps going back to people.
Every time they could have done a promo for the Mountain Sports School, they pulled back and focused on people. More people, more people, more dreams, more odds stacked against them.

Finally, they only promoted what was relevant to the story.
Not only did do their promo through the voice of the stars of the show, they did it in a way that was perfectly aligned with the story. It was an extension of the story, not a pivot away from it. This line is a great example of how they did that:

“Having three people on the national team. I think it really highlights there’s something special happening in Jackson…”

It takes the story, the goal, and their triumph over that goal and gives new meaning to their ski school. So that when those same voices explain the joy of helping people, especially advanced skiers, get better? Yes, it’s promotional, but it’s an beautiful extension of the story.

Amazing storytelling alone, but especially amazing marketing storytelling.

Great stuff.

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.