When it comes to content marketing in the ski industry, I think we sometimes miss a really important concept that other industries tend to embrace more easily.

Sometimes, I think, we worry too much about making our resort the star of the content instead of allowing something else be that star – something with a more authentic, flexible narrative – and using the resort as the setting or a just a character in the story.

The “Challenges” concept is a perfect example. In each of these cases, the resort is the setting, not the star.

Why…
As a marketer, we know our goal is to elevate and promote the resort. But modern-day consumers are also very savvy and they can easily tune out content that smells a little too self-serving. So we’re constantly trying to find that balance between about us and TOO about us.

But what happens when you make someone else the star?

Well, the resort still plays a really important role. But because we’re shining the spotlight on someone or something else, we can suddenly tell stories that are much more engaging, interesting, and fun.

Monday.com Cookie Machine
Here’s a perfect example.

Notice that this video is about Monday.com. But also notice that Monday.com is NOT the star. Instead, the cookie machine is. Monday.com’s automations and API are characters in the story, but because they’re not the star the tone and narrative is 100x more engaging that it could have been.

Think of it this way.

Normal
Normally, a company would want to highlight a new feature by creating a video about that feature. Maybe it’s be a cute animated video or something more personal with the team that built it. But as long as the feature is the star, there are only so many ways you can tell that story. And even then, it’s content that we’re all really good at tuning out.

It’s probably why video like this commonly average 100-200 views (which I know from experience, sadly).

After
But simply by letting the feature be a character in the story instead of the star, the possibilities become nearly endless and the interest folks will take in that content skyrockets.

That cookie machine video? Yes, a video about APIs, integrations, and automations? It just passed 33,000 views.

The Gist
The next time you want to highlight some aspect of your resort, ask yourself a simple question:

What kind of fun, unique stories could we tell with this things as the setting instead of the star?

It’s not always easy to come up with home run ideas, but practicing this kind of thinking is the first step. Keep trying and I think you’ll find some really powerful ideas before too long.

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.