“Every time I see an ad on a chairlift I can’t help but read it. I actually find myself wondering what’s going to be on the next lift I take!” – Jay Hamilton, Snowboarder, Vancouver, BC “Seriously brilliant advertising concept! I love the ads!” – Ashley Riske, Skier, Toronto, ON “I was sitting on the chairlift and decided to text in my number to the Sony Vaio Contest on the Adbloc. Two months later I find out I won! My new computer looks fantastic, I love it! Once again thank you so much, this helps a billion! And say thank you to Sony for me if that’s possible lol : ) Sincerely, Melanie Michener proud owner of a new Vaio computer : )” – Melanie Michener, Snowboarder, Barrie, ON “These guys are smart – let’s face it, they have the best audience and arguably the best way to reach that audience. I’m sitting on the chairlift bored as hell and I have an advertiser’s message right under my nose. I have no where to go and lots of time to kill – of course I’m interested in the ad!”
– Brad Perron, Skier, Calgary, AB “My friends started chatting about Scandinave Spa when we saw the ads on the chairlift and how nice it would be to get a massage after the ski day. We did our last run after that lift ride and decided to go straight to the spa.” – Elisa Marshall, Skier, Montreal, QC “Real good way to get your message across… the Honda ads revealed some of the features available in the new Odyssey – may be a good time to buy… my lease is coming up.” – Bob Hull, Skier, Toronto, ON “No cost and no work for us – Adbloc Media did everything. We made extra revenue and got a chance to advertise all our internal profit centers; from Crazy Horse Restaurant, to our Ski School to our Adventure Park. Adbloc is a great product and very beneficial to the ski area.” – Jonathan Reid, Director of Recreation, Horseshoe Resort, ON “Adbloc Media was very conscious of regular ski area operations and seamlessly integrated the device with Mont Tremblant’s operations, without interfering or making it difficult for us.
Adblocs have been installed on all chairlifts at Mont Tremblant since 2009 and the units have performed very well.” – Francois Lavallee, Chef de Service, Mont Tremblant, QC “The product is great – it’s simple, it works well and it looks good on our lifts. For a device that is installed on the retention bar and integrated with ski area operations, it has performed extremely well and has not interfered with chairlift operations in any way. I would have no problem recommending Adbloc to be used at other ski areas.” – George Duncan, Mountain Operations Manager, Panorama Mountain Village, BC “We all need to respect the alpine environment; it has been an ever present factor in the evolution and design process of our product. Our Adblocs are extremely effective as an advertising medium, yet have no impact at all on the surrounding alpine environment, that’s an achievement that we’re very proud of.” – Grant Metson, Managing Director – Alpine Media
“Adbloc Media delivered a turn-key solution that ensured our client reaches their customers multiple times, with various messages throughout the ski season. They had a strong understanding of the unique environment in which our client’s ads would be present and were able to recommend a campaign that was well aligned with our goals.” – Samantha Kelley, Media Planner, Touché! PHD for Casino Tremblant “We have used the Adbloc advertising system for two seasons now and Adbloc Media is an absolute pleasure to work with – they understand our marketing strategy and have made excellent recommendations to get our message across to our clients in an efficient and effective manner.” – Michele Cantin, Directrice Marketing, Scandinave SpaTarget this affluent group with a wide range of advertising optionsNovember 18, 2013The weather is turning colder and ski season will soon be in full swing, giving out-of-home advertisers a chance to reach skiers on the slopes.
They are an affluent, highly desirable target audience. More than half of regular skiers make at least $100,000 a year, and 20 percent make more than $200,000 annually. There are two main crowds at ski areas: Out-of-towners who head to ski resorts for multi-day vacations, and locals who visit the slopes on a regular basis throughout the season. Advertising options at ski areas include ads on ski area maps, ski racks and chairlifts, signage that is visible from lifts on the way up the mountain, and sampling in resorts. This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. Advertising in front of skiers hitting the slopes. There are three national companies that specialize in ski area campaigns. Some ski resorts handle a portion of advertising themselves. The most common form of advertising at ski areas is signage on and around the grounds. This could include signs on large maps of the ski facility, typically near the areas where people board ski lifts.
Some areas also have digital screens, which run a mix of informational content related to the resort or the weather along with short ads. The screens don’t use sound. The ads are typically static or animated. Ads can also be placed on racks where people store their skis at the lodge or on the safety bars that run across ski lift chairs. Billboard-sized signage can be used in areas visible to skiers riding up the mountain on lifts. The availability varies depending on whether the grounds are publicly or privately owned. Most public grounds don’t permit billboards. Sampling is also a popular option at ski areas. It could be as simple as distributing snack samples in the lines where skiers buy lift passes, or placing hair or beauty product samples in ski resort restrooms. Advertisers can also get more creative. The electronics company LG recently ran a unique campaign in which it set up a branded chalet at a ski resort where skiers could dry and warm their gloves.
While they waited for their gloves to dry, people could test LG products such as TVs or mobile devices, and learn more from street team members on site. During the 2012-‘13 ski season there were operational ski areas in 37 states, led by New York with 50. Other states with at least 20 ski areas were California (28), Colorado (30), Michigan (42), New Hampshire (26), Pennsylvania (28), Vermont (24) and Wisconsin (32). Last year there were 477 ski areas in operation, according to the National Ski Areas Association, up slightly from 475 the previous year. The group says there were 9.67 million active skiers and snowboarders during the 2012-‘13 season, up from 8.83 million in 2011-‘12. Also, last year there were 56.90 million total ski area visits, up from 50.97 million the year before. Ski area traffic data is used to estimate impressions, and campaigns with a mobile component can also track things such as how many scanned a QR code or visited a branded mobile site.
What product categories work well Recent or current ski area advertisers include auto, consumer packaged goods, snack foods, credit cards, financial, soft drinks and electronics. Fifty-eight percent of skiers and snowboarders are male, according to the National Ski Areas Association, while 42 percent are female. Ten percent of skiers/snowboarders are under age 18, with 13 percent are 18-24, 20 percent are 25-34, 20 percent are 35-44, 20 percent are 45-54, 12 percent are 55-64 and 5 percent are 65 or older. Twenty-one percent of skiers and snowboarders have an annual household income below $50,000, with 25 percent between $50,000 and $99,999, 33 percent between $100,000 and $199,999 and 21 percent at $200,000 or above. Larger advertisers typically set up campaigns at the end of the summer before ski season begins, although advertisers may come in on a few weeks’ notice if inventory is available. Pricing varies on a number of factors, including number of locations and media used.