• Wilkins Media, headquartered in Atlanta, specializes in putting together media packages.
• Sky View, in Tucson, Ariz., maintains ad displays at 165 resorts, positioned to reach skiers standing in lift lines as well as riding chairlifts and skier transit systems, purchasing lift tickets, and using ski racks and food service facilities.
• Kingston, N.Y.-based Sitour offers advertising on outdoor-posted ski trail maps, in lodges, and on racks, lifts and in-house television at 150 resorts.

How it works
    Displays are found on lift towers, on hillsides near lifts, on trailside maps, on ski racks and in lodges.
    At some resorts they are also available on clock towers and inside skier transit systems. 
    Ads can be placed on electronic information systems that feature trail map displays, wireless message boards, updates on weather, lift closings, and avalanche conditions. 
    “Resorts used to use hodgepodge signage for these messages. We’ve organized the information into one large sign around a piece of advertising,” says Monte Rios, Sitour president. “It’s similar to the scoreboard at Yankee Stadium.”
    LapMaps--trail guides encased in a plastic tube and mounted on the chairlift’s safety bar--have ad space on both sides of the map.
    Sampling can be done onsite at the ski resorts or a sample can be mailed out when people purchase lift tickets through a web site.
    SkiView conducts a turnkey sampling tour that’s held on weekends at resorts. Typically an emcee coordinates contests and provides entertainment. 
    Three promotional event tours are offered by Sitour, including Winterfest, Chevy Suburban Familyfest and Vibe SnoJam. 
    Events can be custom designed to draw advertisers’ target audiences, using sampling, contests and games.
    Resort network television ads are interspersed with weather and road reports, resort event announcements, information on services, and other programming. 
    Ad placement is tied to the targeted demographic. For example, signage for packaged goods is often displayed on chairlift towers for the beginning and intermediate runs to reach young families that may be shopping for cookies or sodas after an afternoon on the slopes.
    Creative is typically provided by the advertiser.
    “Simple is good,” says Kim Bernard, advertising specialist with Atlanta-based Wilkins Media. “A logo with a quick message works. It’s a younger crowd so we try to be cutting edge. Different and exciting.”
    If the signage is on a ski lift, brevity is especially important. “They’re jumping on and off, so you just need to catch their eyes,” Bernard says.
    Ski images are often tied into advertising. “Rembrandt toothpaste uses ‘Ski Bright,’” says Bill Hussey, SkiView vice president of sales.
    Safety messages on ads in ski areas are mandatory in several states. Consequently, rather than produce different creative regionally or state by state, safety messages are designed to appear on ads in most states.
    “You must let skiers know what the difficulty of the run is coming off each chairlift,” Rios says. “You don’t want beginners on a lift that only travels to expert terrain.”
    Safety messages can be incorporated into ad copy. For instance, Reebok has used the tagline, “A secure fit is a safe fit,” in its ski-resort ad copy, says Hussey.
    Service is typically turnkey with the advertising company handling production, installation, maintenance and removal of ad copy. 
    Lift tower displays are typically 24 inches high by 48 inches wide. Lift and clock ads run 18 inches high by 39 inches wide. Poster ads are 45 inches high by 32 inches wide. Panorama ads run 15 inches high by a range of 98 inches to 246 inches wide. Transit system ads run nine inches wide by 21 inches high.
    Many resorts offer “board rooms” for snowboarders, with seating, stereo and video entertainment, and food service. Advertising is tailored to 10- to 23-year-olds at these locations.
    Ski resort ads are used for stand-alone campaigns as well as in mixed media packages.
    Resort advertising is most often part of a media mix that also includes radio, television and print, Hussey says.
    National advertisers typically use ski resort signage, though regional and local franchises like car dealerships often sponsor events. 
    About five percent of resort advertising is from local businesses, Hussey says.
    Product exclusivity is often available. Restrictions occur when exclusivity already exists through marketing agreements. “There are Coca-Cola mountains and Pepsi mountains so we work around that,” Hussey says. 
    Line-of-sight setbacks are also offered. “That’s standard. We wouldn’t put Power Bar and Balance Bar on consecutive points,” Hussey says. 
    Though national brand products predominate in ski resort advertising, there are often local tie-ins. For example, a local car dealership could sponsor a promotion that included a lift ticket giveaway.

Markets
    Ski resorts in California, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Colorado, Utah, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New York, Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, Wyoming, Missouri, New Jersey, Washington, Georgia, South Dakota, Oregon and Maryland. 
    “We don’t rank these ski markets like we typically rank markets,” Bernard says. “We look at the radius from major cities. Ski resort companies can tell you who is going to which ski resorts.”

How measured?
    Lift ticket sales and resort guest data are the two basic measurements. 
    “Most ski advertising companies measure impressions by the number of lift tickets sold,” Rios says. “It’s controlled. You know exactly how many skiers visit an area.”

Research
    Ski industry growth was 9.8 percent in the U.S. in 2001. Specifically, large destination trips increased by 8.6 percent, overnight and day visits to large resorts increased 13.5 percent, day trips to medium-sized resorts increased 18.2 percent, and day trips to small resorts increased 19 percent. Source: National Ski Areas Association
    Nationally, 59 percent of skiers make day trips to local resorts while the remaining 41 percent travel to destination facilities. There are five major ski regions in the U.S.
    In the Rockies, 80 percent of skiers stick to nearby resorts while 20 percent travel to destination resorts, with 78 percent of people skiing and 22 percent snowboarding. In the Northeast 67 percent of ski outings are to local hills and 33 percent to destination resorts, with 77 percent skiing and 24 percent snowboarding.
    In the West, 78 percent of visits are local and 22 destination, with 56 percent skiing and 44 percent snowboarding. In the Midwest 60 percent of visits are local and 40 percent destination, with 70 percent skiing and 30 percent snowboarding.
    Finally, in the Southeast 12 percent stick to local resorts with 88 percent traveling to destination resorts; of those, 73 percent ski and the remaining 27 percent snowboard. Source: NSAA

What product categories do well?
    Packaged goods; health and beauty aids; coffee and other beverages like cocoa, soft drinks and bottled water; travel services; technology; financial services; cars, trucks and SUVs; entertainment, including music, movies and electronic games; software; lip gloss; and yogurt. 
    Ski equipment and clothing, as well as other point-of-purchase ski-related items like food and beverages, are effective. 
    “Things that can be sampled, like candy, gum and mints do well,” Wilkins’ Bernard says.
    Beer, wine and spirits, which are pitched to adults on the slopes and in lodge restaurants and bars, are good choices. However, restrictions must be considered on a state-by-state basis.

Demographics
    There were 57,300,000 visits to ski sites during the 2001 winter season. Source: Simmons Market Research 
    Last year visits to the Rockies numbered 19.2 million, or 34 percent of the national share, with a 5.7 percent rate of growth. Visits to resorts in the Northeast numbered 13.9 million, or 24 percent of the national pie, with a growth rate of 15.7 percent.
    The West had 11.1 million visits, which is 19 percent of the nationwide total, with a 6.7 percent increase. The Midwest had 7.6 million visits, or 13 percent of the total, with a growth rate of 18.5 percent. The Southeast had 5.5 million visits, for 10 percent of the total, with a growth rate of 5.7 percent. 
    Annual consumer equipment purchases were $649,000,000, and consumer lift ticket purchases were $2,064,089,250 for the 2001 winter season. Source: Simmons Market Research
   The average skier is 38 years old, while the average snowboarder is 24. Gender breakdown is 58 percent male to 42 percent female. Source: Simmons Market Research
    Nearly 71 percent of snowboarders are male. Female participation is highest in the category of alpine skiing, at 43.10 percent, while 29.2 percent of girls and women are involved in snowboarding. Overall, 63.3 percent of men participate in both compared to 36.7 percent of women. Source: National Skier Opinion Survey 
    Working with travel agencies and resort operators, SkiView has identified three characteristics of resorts that attract the wealthiest and most active clients: These resorts offer upscale shopping and dining in addition to skiing, they are located near major airports, and skiers from cosmopolitan areas like San Francisco and New York already frequent these resorts. 
   Annually 9.1 million skiers and 3.6 million snowboarders visit ski resorts. Snowboarders account for an increasing percentage of resort visitors each year, as high as 35 percent at some resorts. Snowboarders typically make an average of 21 runs per day on the slopes. Source: NSAA
    Upper income skiers typically visit a destination resort once annually, but frequent their local ski areas all season long. Source: NSAA
    Event marketing can be targeted for a specific demographic. Sitour’s Winterfest attendance includes 67 percent adults, ages 18 to 49, who are college graduates earning $30,000 to $200,000 annually.
    Chevy Suburban’s Familyfest draws adults ages 35 to 54 ,who are married, have children, and work in professional and managerial positions. Their Vibe SnoJam tour caters to adults 18 to 34 who are single and students. Source: Simmons Market Research
    The demographic target for resort network television is adults with children and a high disposable income. Specifically, they range in age from 25 through 54, have a college education, and have an average annual income of $85,785. Over half are classified as skiers with intermediate ability. Source: Discovery Research 

Making the buy
    Wilkins specializes in helping advertisers identify markets and venues to reach their demographic targets and then packaging a corresponding media mix. Contact Wilkins for specific rate information.
    SkiView offers lift tower and loading area displays, lodge displays, board room, ski rack and transit displays, sampling and LapMaps. 
    Most advertisers purchase a number of ad options packaged together to target a specific audience. For example, an advertiser can purchase 200 displays at 91 resorts, providing 157,575,600 impressions, for $293,750 or $1.57 per CPM. The package includes 25 displays in premium locations, a sampling program and 100 lift tickets that may be used at any U.S. ski resort by employees or clients.
    Premium displays are placed in and around lift-loading areas where skiers and snowboarders wait to ride to the top of ski runs. Other displays are positioned for viewing while skiers and snowboarders are on the moving chairlifts.
   Product exclusivity for the sampling tours can be purchased.
   Resorts can be purchased regionally and by state, Hussey says. “Companies have certain markets that they’re keyed into so we determine those during the planning process.”
   Creative must be provided no later than Sept. 30. The only exception is that creative material for banners and tents for the sampling program are due Nov. 15.
   The display advertising deadline is Aug. 31. 
    Renewing clients who want to secure rates and inventory have a June 30 deadline; the deadline for securing position and exclusivity is July 31.
    Sitour offers a variety of signage, event marketing and ads on resort television. Most buys include event marketing as well as media, Rios says. 
    Panoramas, with advertising bordering both electronic and standard trail maps, weather updates and other displays, are priced at $4,210 for 12 months. All panorama contracts run 12 months. Impressions number 1,552,500 per unit with a CPM of $2.71.
    Ads on ski lifts and in waiting or “corral” spaces run $2,010 per corral, with 1,552,500 impressions per corral and a CPM of $1.29. Contracts run the length of the ski season.
    In-lodge poster displays cost $1,200 per poster, with 1,035,000 impressions per poster and a CPM of $1.16. Contracts run the length of the ski season.
    Ski and snowboard rack displays run $1,290 per rack, with 2,070,000 impressions per rack and a CPM of 62 cents. Contracts run the length of the ski season.
    Production charges are additional. 
    Event marketing programs are offered on entry and advanced levels. Both include branded tents, banners, live announcements, lift tickets, hotel rooms, and the company logo on all event media. At the advanced level advertisers receive more of most components, as well as onsite product sampling and onsite customized activities.
    Advertisers can purchase the network or customize a buy within a region, but resorts can’t be individually bought.

Who’s already on signage at ski resorts?
    AT&T, Alamo, Alpine Spiced Cider, Amstel Light, Butterfinger, Carnation, Chevrolet, Continental Airlines, Coors, Kodak, Mobil, Nature Valley, Nescafé, Nike, Power Bar, Snickers, Sony, Sprint, Reebok, United Airlines, Weather.com, General Mills, GM, Honda, Jack Daniel's, Kraft General Foods, Nestlé, ChapStick, Bank of America and Honda. 

What they’re saying
    “You catch people when their guard is down. You catch them in an uncluttered, relaxing setting, say at a lift tower with nothing else around. That’s why a number of advertisers love it. There’s no more beautiful backdrop than a mountain. Some hand-pick particular lifts where skiers rise to the ridge top with only the sky and mountains…and their ad.”–Bill Hussey, vice president of sales for SkiView.

Web site info
  Wilkins Media at www.wilkins-media.com
  Ski View at www.skiview.com
  Sitour USA at www.sitourusa.com
  Ripple Resort Media at www.ripplemedia.com

Etc.
    SkiView USA has some signage still available at Utah’s Park City Mountain Park, where some Olympic downhill skiing and snowboarding events will take place. The ads are not tied into Olympic sponsorship. 
    For example, says Hussey, SkiView places ads inside buses that ferry skiers from parking to resorts, while an Olympic sponsor has wrapped the exteriors. Olympic rules ban advertisers from bringing logo-laden banners or products into the staging areas. Ads are on resort property but not in the specific Olympic viewing areas. 

January 7, 2002 © 2002 Media Life

-Kathy Prentice writes about out-of-home advertising  for Media Life, penning her stories from the resort town of Traverse City, in the upper reaches of Michigan.

Send to a Friend| Printer-Friendly Version
Cover Page | Contact Us