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. If you missed the first few battles, check it them out round 1 here, round 2 here and round 3 here.

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 – Attitash / Wildcat
The Black Grocery Bag

It may not look like much, but this bag sends a solid message especially with many skiers taking an environmentally sensitive point of view on the world.

• Cool: 8 – Why is a bag cool? Because you don’t have to waste 3 plastic bags at the store.
• Useful: 10 – I have, along with many others, been using reusable grocery bags for a few years and love them.
• Branding: 8 – Two logos and a value proposition prominently displayed.
• Unique: 9 – This is the first, resort-branded reusable bag I’ve ever seen but I doubt it will be the last.
• TOTAL: 35

Contestant #2 – Sunshine Village
“Sunnies” Sun Glasses

Some snazzy sunglasses, along with some moists, that help me save my retinas for later in life and make me feel the strange need to ride a single speed bike and skinny jeans.

• Cool: 9 – I think these are pretty cool. Not sure how this style of sunglasses made a comeback, but they did.
• Useful: 9 – Shields your eyes from the sun’s rays which, last time I checked, shine more often than then don’t.
• Branding: 6 – They are glasses, so there’s only so much real estate, but one logo on one side is hard for most people to notice.
• Unique: 7 – I’ve seen resort sunglasses around and I probably have other glasses. Unfortunately, I can only wear one pair at a time.
• TOTAL: 31

Winner: Attitash/Wildcat
Sunshine sent it some cool swag, so they’ll have more chances to win a round, but this week the nod goes to the Attitash/Wildcat for their bag. True, it’s not the coolest looking piece of swag, but I love how it is not only useful but matches the ski industry brand. Skiers are aware of their environment. A shopping bag may not make you look like a hipster, but it tells the checker, the bagger, and anyone else at the store that sees that your brand cares about Mother Earth. It’s a piece of swag I never would have thought of, but the more I think about it the more I like it.

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.