Looking through a recent survey from Le Ski, I was struck by one stat in particular. While it was encouraging to read that the number of UK skiers and snowboarders is predicted to grow by 14% in winter 2023/24, the fact that only 13% stay in catered chalets highlighted how...
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing fast. A few years ago, it was just the name of one of Steven Spielberg’s less good movies, but in 2023 AI has moved from the world of ‘futurologists’ into the mainstream. The chances are that even if you haven’t tried ChatGPT (or Google’s ‘Bard’),...
Iain’s article ‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines‘ has now been published in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine. It’s also now available as a special episode of The Ski Podcast My first experience of working in the ski industry came 35 years ago when I went to Chatel...
Iain from Skipedia recently went ski touring in Morocco. Flying into Marrakech, and then travelling to Imlil (1740m), Iain then spent three nights at the Refuge des Mouflons (3207m), ski touring to different 4000m peaks. Ski hire was from Braemar Mountain Sports, guiding and logistics were organised by Toubkal Guide. You...
These are difficult days for the ESF in the UK. The current legal cases against Simon Butler and Le Ski have stirred up plenty of negative sentiment within the British market against the ESF. Both cases – which deal with different aspects of the law – are currently at different...
Okay, not strictly anything to do with marketing, but just for fun… So why do chalet girls bake a cake every day? As far as I know chalets have always left out a cake for their guests to tuck into for ‘afternoon tea’. After a long day on the slopes,...
Last month I read an excellent article in The Times about ‘Peer pressure for grown ups’. The recognition that peer pressure is not the preserve of teenagers anymore is something all companies must be mindful of. Friend endorsement is everything. Almost every choice we make is a function of peer pressure to some degree. You...
Everyone travelling to La Plagne, Les Arcs, Vallandry, La Rosiere, Tignes, Val d’Isere and all the smaller stations has to travel through Moutiers to reach their destination. And that means they have to pass some great guerrilla marketing from Ski Republic, who have invested in a fleet of American-style bullet caravans. These have been branded...
I’ve been working in the ski industry since 1988, but it was only this year that I went on my first skiing holiday as a ‘punter’. Sadly, I ended up being the complaining guest After the initial shock at how expensive ski holidays are for a family, the disappointment was that on my first skiing...
I’ll be honest with you, I still don’t really know what Omni-Heat is (although you can find out here). But this ad made me want to have it. Like everyone I have a limited amount of time to consume an ever increasing amount of media. But when I was flicking through the ‘Daily Mail Ski...
Although nothing to do with snowsports, this recent campaign by Brighton running technique company, Stride UK, impressed me. I run along the front in Brighton on a regular basis and had noticed a number of stencils on the pavement asking ‘How’s my running?‘ Hundreds of people run along this strip every day, so it was...
Out in Val Thorens earlier this season, I found myself admiring the resort logo. Introduced in 2009, it strikes a strong impression. It says – Val Thorens is contemporary; find us on the Internet; we have great facilities; we are a modern resort. Val Thorens is one of the newest resorts in Europe and an...
