At the core of my efforts to improve my (lacking) branding prowess is always an interesting balance between variety and consistency.

By holding some things contant to anchor the brand (logo, colors, name) and keeping another group fluid (tagline, voice, design style) you can not just monotonously plunk away at middle C, but play a catchy tune tailored to your target market. While some aspects of photography certainly need to be fluid, one area has begun to make a case for consistency.

Take Jackson Hole, for example.

When you look at a resort like Jackson Hole and what content consistently rises to the top in terms of total engagement, this is what you see:

A photo posted by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (@jacksonhole) on Feb 22, 2016 at 4:57pm PST

A photo posted by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (@jacksonhole) on Feb 9, 2016 at 4:34pm PST

A photo posted by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (@jacksonhole) on Jan 28, 2016 at 7:32pm PST

A photo posted by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (@jacksonhole) on Jan 28, 2016 at 9:11am PST

A photo posted by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (@jacksonhole) on Jan 4, 2016 at 9:37am PST

The Tetons.

Change the angle, change the light, change the time of day, and you can use pictures of the same thing over and over and over. Suddenly, that consistency makes the Tetons part of Jackson Hole’s brand. That view becomes part of the core message.

This sort of view is what the guys at Prism refer to as a “Signature Shot.”

“We call it dynamic “Place Branding”. Every travel experience has a signature shot that over time will tell an incredible content story. We do a significant amount of research and spent a lot of time ensuring we get that shot.”

And here’s the thing about these shots. Once you find them, you find yourself at a near-perfect branding intersection of the challenges I mentioned earlier. Consistency because it’s the same shot over and over. Variety because it’s nature.

It’s why Heavenly’s prism cam can be shared over and over without panning or tilting.

The mirrored surface of the lake reflected yesterday’s sunset beautifully. #HeavenlyOrBust #TahoeSouth pic.twitter.com/jutlQpdq9T

— SkiHeavenly (@skiheavenly) February 11, 2016

A brilliant moon over #LakeTahoe last night just before dawn. #TahoeSouth pic.twitter.com/UGSW0JKcUZ

— SkiHeavenly (@skiheavenly) January 24, 2016

4-6" of fresh #HeavenlySnow this morning! Looks like clouds are clearing for blue bird skies this afternoon! pic.twitter.com/vaauk7RZf1

— SkiHeavenly (@skiheavenly) January 18, 2016

Just like Arapahoe Basin’s.

Talking about the wind, weather and what's good today: https://t.co/Rtw3GLs1Ps pic.twitter.com/8knI4p0zZr

— Arapahoe Basin (@Arapahoe_Basin) February 23, 2016

The #sunset at 5:45pm. What a beautiful end to this Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/u3qetzWxoq

— Arapahoe Basin (@Arapahoe_Basin) February 11, 2016

Suddenly you start to see something you can add to your core list of brand anchors.

• The Name
• The Logo/Mark
• The Colors
• The View

Will this work for every ski area in the world? Of course not. But, then again, not every ski area is looking to build a brand anywhere near as deep as a Colorado or Lake Tahoe resort.

That said, I hope smaller areas don’t brush this off. Every ski area I’ve ever visited has had a photo-worthy view. Sometimes it really is a breathtaking vista, but other times it’s simple a new angle on something I thought I had an accurate mental map of.

However you capture it, resorts are starting to brand themselves not just with “the views”, but THE view. And that’s a pretty cool direction.

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.