AWARD WINNING BRANDING CAMPAIGN

AWARD-WINNING BRANDING CAMPAIGN HELPS JAY PEAK TO GROW ITS SKIER VISITS BY 20% IN JUST THREE SEASONS

As Jay Peak readies to launch year three of a branding campaign that has helped to increase skier visits 20 percent, it is clear that the resort’s identity is solidly grounded in its appeal to corps skiers and riders; those that place a premium on the skiing and snowboarding experience and less value on the ski vacation periphery.

“We have positioned ourselves as a leader in natural snow, the home to hard corps skiers and riders here in the East, and continue to beg the question, ‘why are you really going on a ski vacation?’” said Steve Wright, vice president of sales and marketing who was the catalyst for the Resort’s new marketing campaign – a campaign that, in its first year, won the National Ski Area Association’s Ski Area Sales and Marketing Award.

In the campaign’s inaugural year, the repetitive question through its marketing and advertising - “Would you know a great skier if you saw one?” - suggested that while one may not know what great skiers and riders look like off the slopes, one would be able to identify them by where they chose to spend their time in the winter. Jay courted the more advanced skiers and riders with this campaign, suggesting that if one wants to run with the hard corps pack, then Jay Peak was the place to be. This hard corps focus also appealed to the beginner and intermediate skiers and riders, who put Jay Peak on their list of mountains to conquer someday.

Year two of the campaign expanded into the psychological decisions skiers and riders employ when choosing where to ski or ride. The suggestion here was that along with great skiing, riding and snow, Jay Peak offers a sense of status to those that call the mountain home.

“Year three sort of simultaneously pokes fun at resorts where skiing and riding comes in second and also suggests again that Jay Peak is a place for those that value the skiing, riding and mountain experience above other peripheral vacation elements,” said Wright. “This isn’t to say we don’t have buffets; they just pale in comparison to nearly 400 inches of snow each season.”

In an industry climate where weather plays a key issue and skiers and riders are more selective about their vacation choices, Jay Peak continues to reap the benefits of its abundance of natural snow and aggressive terrain. While skier visits have been on the decline across New England recently, Jay Peak’s visits continue to grow, as it blends the essence of real skiing and riding by gently probing questions that force skiers and riders to take a look at what is important in their winter vacation experience.