I’ve seen and written a bout a lot of attempts from resorts to activate a specific segment of their customers. Maybe that’s season passholders, maybe that’s folks with unused days on a multi-day pass. These are powerful, but they also miss to things:

• They are typically targeted only at segments instead of the entire skier base
• They are typically every-skier-for-themselves instead of a collective effort

Sugarbush is trying to solve both with one clever campaign they’re calling The Descent to Rise Above.

The idea here is pretty simple: if all of their skiers collectively can ski 1,000,000,000 vertical feet, the resort will donate $50,000 toward a partnership between Sugarbush’s Be Better Here Fund and NFI, a New England nonprofit that specializes in helping people heal from mental and emotional trauma.

They’ve also added some individual goals – the top 3 skiers from each state will each perks like a free season pass and gift cards – but the primary goal is the collective effort toward the big donation.

I love this idea so much. It gives everyone a reason to ski a little bit more this year and, even more, that reason always exists no matter how many days any one individual has skied this year. It gives every run just a sliver more meaning which can quickly add up. Updating skiers on their collective progress toward the goal makes for a perfect content play throughout the season. And while I love campaigns that are more about the individual earning a tangible reward, I love the fact that all of this is for the greater good.

In the same way a big seasonal branding campaign may become the theme for content throughout the year, this can do the same. In that sense, it’s an extremely creative way to build brand around something more than clever copy.

The more I think about this concept, the more I like it. I’ll definitely revisit this as the season progresses.

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.