I’ve talked in and around a topic lately that I finally feel like I have some decent words for.

It’s in the headline above, but let’s say it again for good measure:

The marketing needs to be part of the investment.

Resorts spend a lot of money on a lot of things. Some of those are big things – new lifts, snowmaking, hotels, reservoirs, restaurants – some of them don’t require as deep of pockets – a new bike trail, grab and go food trucks, disc golf, parking spaces.

I think it’s easier to see that marketing should be part of the investment with the big stuff. We’ve seen some great video series about new lifts and new snowmaking ponds, for example. That may be harder to see when it comes to the smaller stuff. The stuff that maybe doesn’t take the long, drawn out process that gives you plenty of time to plan and prepare.

The example I’ll use to illustrate is these photos from Woodward Park City.

Cooler days and prime bike conditions are here! Stoked to announce that lift-served mountain biking will continue into October. Keep your eyes peeled for our latest trail additions coming online in the next few weeks! #welivethis #woodwardparkcity pic.twitter.com/YDZRlPjF4V

— Woodward Park City (@woodwardpc) September 21, 2021

Just like that new lift could have been covered with a simple blog post instead of an in-depth video series, these new trails could have been covered with a quick trip up the hill once the crews gave the thumbs up they were finished.

But that’s not what happened.

They rounded up some talent, they waiting for awesome lighting, they took a lot of photos, and they ended up with three, beautiful images that tell a story worthy of the trails.

Again, resorts invest in a lot of things. They do so because they believe these things will help guests have a better, safer, smoother time. Those are stories worth telling. Just be sure the investment the resort makes includes the marketing, or you may end up with a great new feature that people don’t realize is as cool as it is.

Or, worse, don’t even know about at all.

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.