One of the bigger questions I’ve had recently is if and how a giant resort like Canyons (largest in Utah) as well as a 110 acre operation like Wolf Mountain (smallest in Utah, by far) can both benefit from giving away free ski passes at ski movies. I hear this is extremely popular in Colorado as well, but my question is why.

Visibility? Check. Skiers not only hear about your resort but have an excuse to visit.
Movie Attendance? Check. I know kids that hate Warren Miller films but go for the free pass each year.
What other factors might play into this decision?

To find out I got in contact with Wolf Mountain’s acting marketing director, Jeremy Maughan. And asked him a few questions. Before I get to his answers thought let me give a snippet of background on this tiny Utah resort:

• Skiable Acres: 110
• Snowmaking: almost 100% (only resort in Utah)
• Base Elevation :5400′ (lowest in Utah)
• Lifts: 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 magic carpet
• Vertical Drop: 1000′
• Minutes Driving to Salt Lake Intl: 51
• Night Skiing: 100% of terrain

So, there ski is, Wolf Mountain. Here’s what Jeremy had to say about why they chose to sponsor the showing of TGR’s new film, Light the Wick:

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“We were approached to sponsor “Light the Wick” by a USU student named Patrick Romero. Patrick was looking for a resort to help sponsor the event and we have been looking for opportunities to tap into the Cache Valley market. Our hope is by getting our name out there during the two movie showings at USU we will get some people from Cache Valley to come see our fantastic little resort. We also believe we can spread the word about Wolf Mountain to the college students from around the state. Wolf Mountain is only a 50 min drive from Logan over the North Odgen Divide or up Ogden Canyon.

“Everyone that visits Wolf Mountain is blown away by how affordable and family friendly the resort is. We may be the smallest ski resort in the state but we make up for it with an incredible price point on our daily lift tickets and season passes ($29/day $17/night). Our entire mountain is lit up at night for skiing, we have snow making capabilities over most of the 100+ skiable acres, we have an incredibly popular terrain park and we boast one of the best ski schools in the state (http://www.wolfcreekutah.com/the-mountain/lift_tickets.php).

The past and current marketing budgets for the ski resort have been very limited and we have been looking for opportunities to promote the resort via alternative methods. The value and fun of the mountain sells itself via guest’s word of mouth. We are also spending some marketing money on the Weber/Davis County area this winter. We have never sponsored a movie before and will again depending on the success of this first attempt.”

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I guess it’s about time to talk to The Canyons about their lift ticket giveaway at the Warren Miller film. Before I do, though, anyone else know of resorts that give away free passes at ski movies?

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.