One of the things I ascribe some of my best marketing ideas to is a simple skill I’ve tried hard to foster: When I realize marketing has influenced me, I stop, backtrack, and try to figure out why.

That just happened with this tweet.

https://twitter.com/VIVisitorCentre/status/1365381823812038660

I was browsing me feed, saw this video, and the best way I can describe the words that went through my head are these:

“Oh man, that looks awesome. That’s so different than the fat-biking I’m used to seeing on bumpy singletrack. I guess that’s from more hard-core cyclists that try to keep their legs over the winter. I never even thought of doing it on nordic trails, but that mellow pace and view? I’d be game to try…”

And that’s when I realized what had happened. So being, let me try to unpack that a little bit.

Other Images

At the core, it comes down to what I thought fat biking was like. Everything I remembered seeing and had stored in my brain was hard core cyclists freezing their rear-ends of so they can crank out some watts without having to spend 4 months on a trainer in the garage. Stuff I had remembered was:

• Crazy gear I didn’t seem to own to keep hands/etc warm
• Bumpy single track shared with snowshoers
• Tight trails that forced you into deep powder if you tried to pass someone

So seeing a normal person, riding on perfectly smooth trails with normal ski-like gear and enjoying quiet, space, and amazing views? In an instant, my feelings about fat biking all changed for me.

The Key Piece?

I wanted to see how many other similar images I may have seen or missed, so I did a quick search. Yes, I found a few that aligned with my old image of fat biking – racers in fancy gear, downhill biking, etc. – but interestingly, I found a few that were pretty close to this new image.

The Purity Spring Resort XC & Snowshoe Reserve trail network conditions are firm, variable, even icy, but great for Fat Biking as seen in photos from photographer Joe Vigor. Today's conditions: https://t.co/DGoMTVqpVQ #getoutside #winterfun #fatbiking #humanpower pic.twitter.com/TuQM12USTx

— King Pine Ski Area (@KingPineSkiArea) January 20, 2021

The weather is creating PERFECT conditions to get on a Fat Bike and explore 6.5 km of blissful nature.
•Please ensure you stay on designated trails and obey all posted signs.
•Fat Bike rentals available if needed from @kelownaeride
➡️ https://t.co/KnqgOcNJ45 pic.twitter.com/Q3amhI02Sr

— Big White Ski Resort (@BigWhite) February 13, 2021

If you can ride a bike, you're ready to try this fun, new way to enjoy winter. We have a fat bike ready for you and a route planned! Plus, there is post-ride poutine calling your name!

***Rentals must be booked online***https://t.co/aKjPebyZ9q pic.twitter.com/KaWCXsAqik

— Horseshoe Resort (@HorseshoeResort) January 30, 2021

Do you know what I didn’t find, though? Other videos.

As best I can tell, the fact this was a short, to-the-point, beautiful video combined with the fact it addressed my concerns that were the things that influenced me the most. The video got my attention and the relevant message did the rest.

Now what?

I didn’t buy fat biking for a reason and the people in your database aren’t buying certain products at your resort for a reason. It wasn’t until I saw marketing that addresses those reasons that I was convinced it’d be worth at try.

So if I were you, I’d start to do a few small surveys. But instead of your usual survey, I want you to target folks who haven’t bought a certain product, and ask them why. Try to tease out the 3 or 4 objections folks have to buying or trying something, especially if it’s new.

You don’t have to do anything more than keep those lessons in mind the next time your write copy or design a campaign, but those tiny bits of insights? Well, they could make all the difference.

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.