To say that Vail Resorts has embraced the word “Epic” would be like saying I’ve embraced oatmeal as my breakfast of choice.

As the stack of 12 empty oatmeal cans on my desk will attest, I eat the stuff every weekday morning without fail. As nearly every piece of marketing communication from VR will attest, Epic is the core word their brand has chosen.

Afton Alps and Mt Brighton are no different.

One need only look at their new tagline to see this in action: “Where EPIC begins.”

Not Casually Chosen
Lest you think this was a fun thing to toss below these logos, I found a few records that the trademarketing process is already in the works.

The use of “begins” seems to indicate that Vail Resorts recognizes two things:

• First, the role of these small resorts as feeder areas to their key properties.
• Second, that there may be value if helping their customers understand this as well.

In other words, Vail isn’t just telling their staff that these are feeder areas to the big mountains, they are telling their customers as well: sketching out the route they want their skiers to follow.

In a way it’s like calling lessons “season pass practice” instead of “ski school”.

Smart
Honestly, I really like it. I have no idea how Midwest skiers will respond, but on paper it makes sense to me.

These resorts, that may not share much in other ways, are joined in the brand which turns mountains divided by distances and stature into a somewhat unified group with relationships to one another. We all know Afton Alps will never be Vail, but this tagline seems to embrace the role they play which gives it a bit more meaning and value.

The only question I have now is if Afton Alps is where Epic beings, where does Epic end?

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.