There’s no Ed McMahon behind the wheel, but Bristol Mountain’s prize patrol may be just as exciting for snow lovers in Central New York. The message is simple: “we’ve got snow”. Here’s what Bristol said about the truck on their Facebook wall:

“Keep an eye out for the Bristol Mountain “We’ve Got Snow Prize Patrol” truck and street team this weekend! On Saturday, the team will be handing out vouchers for prizes and giveaways at Kids Fest 2012, Total Sports Experience (10am-4pm), L.L. Bean/Eastview Mall (2 – 4pm), and downtown at the corner of East Ave. and Alexander St. (11pm – 1am). Can’t make it? Open and print this voucher and bring it down to Bristol to be entered to win daily prizes (including an iPad2)!”

Find the truck, get a voucher, win free swag. Pretty simple. Already, the prize patrol has made stops all over CNY:

Simple, Fun, Effective
There are three things I really like about this promotion:

1) It’s Simple
Nothing fancy, just a truck, a sign, and some free stuff. The message is clear and unmistakable: we have snow. Ignore what your front yard looks like and remember that our snowmakers have been working hard to create great skiing conditions.

2) It’s Fun
The truck is one of those things that is fun to not only participate with, but see. It gets local businesses involved when you stop by their stores and reminds me of the ski industry version of the Wienermobile. Seems like something a local news station would love to cover.

3) It’s Effective
One thing I really like about this idea is the fact that the only way to enter a voucher into the drawing is to bring it to the ticket window. Tossing free swag from a truck would be awesome, but why not make entry dependent upon someone coming to the resort. Almost guarantees that every entry will be accompanied with the purchase of a lift ticket. If not, at least they’ll see the snow. Smart move.

One Thought
I remember vividly where I was when I saw my first snowmaking machine. Just as clearly, I can name the turn in Parley’s Canyon in Utah where I saw a snowmaking machine (two actually) on the back of a truck. I’d love to see them add some proof about snowmaking by towing around a fan gun (all of theirs are tower mounted but I’m sure SMI would be willing to lend one out) that shows the public “this is how we make the snow” and maybe opens the door for some public education about why they can make snow even in tough winters.

As is, though, I love it. It fits Bristol’s local brand, brings the snow to the people, and accomplish that all important goal of reminding skiers that there’s snow in them hills.

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.