Summer
L’Oiseau Mécanique is a perfect example of caring what the resort experience looks like.
BLANCHARD
Over the last number of years there has been a consistent theme in my writing, my conversations, and my own experiences at resorts. I first mentioned this in December 2018 when I wrote:
What they’re saying is sharing photos is NOT just something people do along the way, sharing photos is the REASON people are doing things. The HOPE of being able to share a cool photo is the REASON they got off the couch and pulled out their credit card in the first place…
I truly believe that one of the most important things we’ve haven’t yet designed for with the beginner experience is how it looks. We haven’t yet given non-skiers a compelling visual strong enough to get off the couch so they could share that image with their friends.
Since then there have been a few situations where resorts have embraced these motivations and improved how their experiences look, but that number is small. Mont Tremblant’s Tonga Lumina was one of my favorites and, now, you can add Massif to the list.
Mechanical Bird
Massif’s effort along this idea is called The Mechanical Bird – or L’Oiseau Mécanique in French – starts with a very normal things that hundreds of resorts offer; a summer chairlift ride. The difference, however, is that Massif upgraded how that experience looks. Here’s the description from their website.
An animated carousel ride on Le Massif’s chairlifts that offers a luminous, sensory and emotional experience with passengers flying over the mountain for nearly 4 km under the moonlit sky. A unique way to admire the splendours of the landscape, between sky, land and sea.
Watch that short video above and you’ll realize that even a short walk across a bridge or through a trail features the same care and attention to not just how the experience feels, but how it looks.
Do they share?
Again, the premise of this whole concept is that people will do things because they want the photo. And why do they want the photo? To share. And are people sharing photos of their experiences at Massif? Yes, yes they are.
I would argue that the sign of a well-designed visual experience, especially in the era of Instagram, is one that looks great in a photo or video no matter how much skill is in the hands of the person holding the camera. Those photos, in my book, show just how successful Massif was at exactly that.
Incredible experiences have always come with the benefit of word of mouth marketing, but optimizing for that in 2024 takes thinking about the visual side of that experience as much as anything else.
Great work, Massif.
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.
Get the weekly digest.
New stories, ideas, and jobs delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.