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conclusion of NSAA’s Forging a Positive Future report: “All
growth is local, and we must leverage our existing customers
to build participation.”
As BAF addresses long-term sustainability of a ski area
customer base, it has immediate value too. BAF can be an
important marketing tool for participating ski areas during the
2015-16 season. Last year, LSS/BAF generated more than 520
million media impressions for learning how to ski or snowboard.
This visibility helped create awareness for the learning
programs—and skiing and snowboarding in general.
The World is Watching
This coming January, participating ski areas will have an added
marketing opportunity with the attempt to achieve a Guinness
Book of World Records entry for the largest ski and snowboard
lesson on January 8, 2016 (see “Having a ‘Guinness’? Industry
to Host World’s Largest Ski/Snowboard Lesson,” Summer
2015). The event is being positioned as the “unofficial kick-off” BAF, so use the following hastags when posting and encourage
of the 2016 Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month.
All LSS/BAF partners can participate in an attempt to set
the multi-venue ski lesson and snowboard lesson record and
also break the current single-venue ski lesson record and single-
venue snowboard lesson records. Plans call for all lessons to
take place at participating venues on January 8 at 10 a.m. in
each local time zone.
The LSS/BAF online “Partners’ ToolKit” contains details
and guidelines on how to participate in the Guinness project
and all aspects of the program’s initiatives. The toolkit also
includes “10 Reasons Why LSS/BAF Can Help You Increase
Sales,” and it offers the official logos and banners. The toolkit
is intended to help consumers identify ‘learn to’ programs that
are tied in with the national promotion efforts, said LSSM/
BAF’s Tarallo. “Consumers will recognize these logos when
they come to a resort’s website,” she added.
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
STAND BEHIND LSS(M)/BAF
LEARN TO SKI/SNOWBOARD(MONTH) AND BRING A
FRIEND ARE INDUSTRY INITIATIVES ORGANIZED BY THE
NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION, SNOWSPORTS
INDUSTRIES AMERICA, NEARLY ALL REGIONAL AND
STATE RESORT ASSOCIATIONS, THE PROFESSIONAL SKI
INSTRUCTORS OF AMERICA-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF
SNOWBOARD INSTRUCTORS, AND SNOCOUNTRY. ALSO
SUPPORTING THE INITIATIVE ARE THE NATIONAL SKI
PATROL, U.S. SKI AND SNOWBOARD ASSOCIATION, MANY
INDUSTRY BUSINESSES, AND THE SNOWSPORTS MEDIA.
56 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2015
Photo by John McColly/Mountain High Resort
Getting Started is Easy
What are the fundamentals for organizing a BAF program?
One key element is defining your program as early as you can to
maximize PR exposure via local, regional, and national efforts.
Send details of your program to Tarallo and they will be posted
on the January Specials page at learntoskiandsnowboard.org,
and included in the LSS(M)/BAF national PR effort. MJT@
Learntoskiandsnowboard.org for login info.
The toolkit also recommends having online registration
for BAF on your learning program page. “Make your ‘Learn
To’ information easy to find on your website starting with your
home page with a link to your learning page,” Tarallo added.
“If it isn’t easy, new customers are likely to go elsewhere.”
Social media channels of course play a big role in LSS(M)/
your guests to do the same: #bringafriend, #firstdayfaces,
#worldslargestskilesson, #worldslargestsnowboardlesson,
#learntoski, #learntosnowboard (it’s all in the toolkit).
By the way, First Day Faces continues from last season. It
is simply a social media campaign that encourages newcomers
to post photos of themselves and/or friends having fun on
their first day of learning with the hashtag #firstdayfaces. A
prize is awarded for the winning photo. Last year’s winner was
Jackie Engvaldsen, who sent in a photo of her 16-month-old
daughter Ashley at Ski Big Bear in Pennsylvania. The contest
is run online and is free for LSS(M)/BAF partners to use. All
resorts need to do is promote it. Details are in the toolkit.
Tarallo reccomends that ski areas follow the lead of
Warren Miller Entertainment, as noted, and at the begining
of their events—summer, pre-season, opening day, etc.—
promote their ski area’s LSS(M)/BAF offers. This is where
season passholders and other core ski area patrons will be
present, ripe for educating. They will be sharing a chairlift
with someone during winter 2015-16—that’s a sure thing.
SnowSports PR founder John Brice planned and executed the
LSS(M) lodging package PR program and has been honored by the
states of Utah and California with “Best PR Campaign” awards.
Contact John at John@SnowSportsPR.com with any questions.