Page 14 - 70843_NSAA_SummerJournal2016
P. 14
Growing the Sport
LSSM 101: MAKING THE MOST OF THE
PROGRAM & TOOLS
BY MARY JO TARALLO, LSSM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
EIGHT YEARS AGO, a group of resort association professionals by resorts and to provide beginners with basic, practical
were looking for a way to focus more attention on beginner information that will help ensure a “quality first-time
learning programs. They wanted to capitalize on the experience.” To this day, learntoskiandsnowboard.org is the
information provided by NSAA’s Model for Growth, attract only industry website that is dedicated entirely to providing
beginners, and simplify for newcomers the reasons why information to beginners.
learning how to ski or snowboard from professionals could
be fun and rewarding. The Learn to Ski and Snowboard/ Resorts throughout the country may use the site as
Bring a Friend initiative was born. a core resource for connecting the general public with
their beginner “learn to” and “bring a friend” programs,
The premise was simple: Proclaim January as Learn to particularly those in January. The site is intended to
Ski and Snowboard Month and position it as a “hook” that connect consumers with ski areas, retailers, and other
would generate media attention. Except for Martin Luther groups that support the beginner learning process. Here’s
King weekend, January is considered a slow business month. a refresher on how it works and what it provides ski areas
Promoting learning programs early in the winter could boost regardless of their size or location.
business and draw attention to taking lessons taught by
trained instructors. The Bring a Friend element manifested No Need to Reinvent the Wheel
the fact that most newcomers are exposed to skiing/riding
through a friend or family member. For resorts, LSS(M)/BAF was, and still is, intended to bridge
the gap between consumers who want to learn the sport
The LSS(M)/BAF initiative is a nonprofit program and the businesses that can provide them with lessons. It is
created by industry colleagues and partners for industry a bottom-up, grass-roots approach to attracting newcomers
colleagues and partners. All partner fees are used to through a consistent, collaborative industry effort.
strengthen the program with an eye toward creating new
skiers and snowboarders for partners. From the start, resorts were encouraged to offer their
“best deal” during January but they were not expected to
If you haven’t taken full advantage of LSSM/BAF and develop new or additional learning programs nor were they
its various resources, you are missing out on invaluable expected to make anything “free.” Most package an existing
ideas and tools for attracting customers to your resort and program and brand it as their LSS(M) offer at a price that
helping them become committed skiers and snowboarders. is perceived as a good value. Offers typically consist of a
In addition to the consumer-oriented tools—such as the lift ticket, lesson, and rentals. In January 2009, partners
learntoskiandsnowboard.org website, an active social media reported about 20,000 beginner lessons. In year two, the
presence, and strong PR outreach—the initiative also offers initiative exploded partially due to an appearance on The
partners the use of many industry tools such as logos, banner Today Show by our first industry ambassador, Glen Plake.
ads, suggested PR messaging for beginners, and much more.
Indsutry tools are available through the Partner Toolkit. Since its inception, resort partners have provided
more than 750,000 beginner lessons during January.
The Industry’s Only Website Solely And, despite a challenging season in the East, the 2015-
for Beginners 16 season turned out to be the best ever for people across
the country learning to ski and ride: LSS(M) January
The initiative’s website—learntoskiandsnowboard.org— beginner lessons totaled 166,000 according to results
was set up to serve as a conduit to learning programs offered from the annual survey of participating locations.
12 | NSAA JOURNAL | SUMMER 2016
