A few weeks ago I made a call for swag and you guys delivered. I’ve got a stack of koozies, stickers, and other gear that I’ll be featuring, two at a time, on the blog. Hopefully, with my super-scientific analysis, we’ll spark some ideas for sweet swag to line-up for next season.

The Criteria
I’m going to judge the swag on four areas and give a score for each to determine a winner:

• Cool – would I actually want to use it?
• Useful – is it something I could use on a regular basis?
• Branding – do I know it’s tied to a certain resort?
• Unique – how common is this sort of swag?

With a score of 1-10 on each, we’ll end up with a score out of 40. Onward.

Contestant #1 – Copper Mountain
Hot Chocolate Air-Freshener

When I first opened the box I got from Copper, I knew something good was inside from the smell alone. This hot chocolate scented car freshener is pretty dang sweet. Here’s how I graded it:

• Cool: 9 – when next winter arrives, this WILL be in my car.
• Useful: 7 – not a daily need, but can definitely accomplish a purpose
• Branding: 9 – the retro Copper style is easy to remember
• Unique: 10 – I can honestly say I’ve never seen something like this before
• TOTAL: 35

Contestant #2 – Liftopia
Camouflage Koozie

It’s hard to do something new with a koozie, but I really like what Liftopia did with a classic camo print.

• Cool: 9 – even if I don’t have a 30-30 across my lap when i use it, still dig the camo
• Useful: 6 – I rarely use koozies, but I’ve seen enough in weekend Facebook pics to know they do come in handy
• Branding: 9 – the logo is ginormous and hard to miss
• Unique: 6 – lots of koozies floating around these days, the camo is unique but it’s still a koozie
• TOTAL: 30

Winner: Copper Mountain
While I do love the camo, the hot-cocoa scent is hard to ignore. It’s unique, useful, and fits skiing / cold weather. Love it. Great work, Copper.

Want your resort’s swag included in the next round? Either email a picture to me at contact@slopefillers.com or, if you have some to share, mail those goodies to:

Gregg Blanchard
506 Crazy Horse Circle
Edwards, CO 81632

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.