This is definitely one of those campaigns that you simply need to see – me droning on about it won’t add meaningfully to the marketing inspiration of just knowing it exists – but let’s at least set the stage.

So, in case you weren’t aware, blackout days are a thing for some passes. Shocking…I know. But the reason people choose a pass with blackout days are varied. They could be like me and just not like dealing with the crowds, they may have a more flexible schedule, they may be buying multiple passes and don’t need unlimited on each, it may simply be about cost, or one of a dozen other factors.

Which means that tucked away within that group are people who have a blacked out pass but wish they didn’t. In other words, the blackout was a tradeoff that they wish they didn’t have to make.

Ikon Blackout Perks

So Sugarbush did something pretty simple. For all the people with this sort of buyers remorse that are wrapping up a busy stretch at work, maybe, and could really use some skiing this weekend after all?

They came up with this.

Is your Ikon Base Pass blacked out over the holiday weekend? Well we’ve got a deal for you! If you book a three-night stay over MLK Weekend, your Ikon Base Pass will be valid every day of your stay! https://t.co/34L60HTTuA @IkonPass pic.twitter.com/itz2pVLChi

— Sugarbush, Vermont (@Sugarbush_VT) January 9, 2023

This campaign is a clever combination of recognizing patterns in skier behavior, spotting an opportunity within that behavior, and coming up with a campaign to take advantage.

Other Ikon resorts could certainly be inspired by this, but so too could smaller mountains competing against Ikon resorts who want to help the Base Pass crowd get some unique value when their pass isn’t designed to give them any.

Good stuff, Sugarbush.

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.