Under new ownership, the Summit at Snoqualmie ski resort was in the process of a business turn-around in a static industry. Their biggest advantage in the market was their location: less than an hour away from an urban location via a major interstate highway. There was a new and relatively untouched market of young male snowboarders, 13-35 years old, with an income level significantly lower than traditional resort customers.
Solution
It was decided to dramatically change season pass purchasing habits in the Pacific Northwest by significantly lowering prices and reaching out to a new customer base.
The Big S Pass was born. With a talented team, Todd created an edgy, multi- media and electronic-heavy campaign that appealed to younger, male snowboarders and the current customer base of traditional pass holders. As part of the sales kick-off and announcement, the team designed and established the first e-commerce site for the resort to facilitate the purchase of passes and eventually other products from the resort. To add to the “excitement” this new site went “live” on day 1 of pass sales.
Results
Season pass holders went from 7,000 annually to 23,000+ in the first four months of sales, permanently changing the ski and snowboard resort scene in the Pacific Northwest.
Capturing customer email addresses at every point of sale enabled the team to build a target customer base that was accessed throughout that season and subsequent seasons for marketing purposes.
The original radio campaign, “The Henderson’s” was awarded a 2000 Summit “Soundie” Award from the media.
Annual skier visits at the resort increased from 310,000 to a record-breaking 550,000 in the first year.
