Thoughts on Snowsports

Iain Martin, The Ski Podcast

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday
Ideas / Tour Operators

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday

by iain on Sep 25, 2023 • 8 Comments
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...
Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?  
Ideas

Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?  

by iain on May 11, 2023 • No Comments
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’),...
'Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines' - article in 'Ski+Board' magazine
Iain / Ideas / Tour Operators

‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines’ – article in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine

by iain on Mar 8, 2023 • 3 Comments
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...
Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay
Iain / Resorts

Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay

by iain on Feb 8, 2019 • No Comments
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...
'I'm a modern-day Batman' says anti-ESF campaigner
Resorts / Tour Operators

‘I’m a modern-day Batman’ says anti-ESF campaigner

by iain on Nov 2, 2014 • No Comments
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...
Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?
Tour Operators

Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?

by iain on Aug 13, 2011 • 2 Comments
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,...
Latest entries
Marketing we liked at the London 2012 Olympics
Marketing

Marketing we liked at the London 2012 Olympics

by iain on Aug 12, 2012 • No Comments
 British Airways Did British Airways take a risk when they told the public ‘Don’t Fly’?  That’s what BBH would have you think. But given that it was only launched in June it wasn’t much of a gamble: more like preaching to the converted. What was inspired was their online campaign that enabled you to see...
Is Twitter the most powerful social network?
Social Media

Is Twitter the most powerful social network?

by iain on Aug 1, 2012 • No Comments
There have been many successful campaigns on Facebook, but once Twitter gets some momentum it’s very hard to stop.  Let’s look at three fairly different examples from the last week. Tom Daley As most UK readers will know, Tom Daley is a GB diver currently taking part in the Olympics. After he finished out of the...
I want to tell you a story...on Facebook
Social Media

I want to tell you a story…on Facebook

by iain on Jul 26, 2012 • 1 Comment
Facebook used to be philosophical, encourage us to share our innermost thoughts, explore the workings of the mind.   Do you remember? Back in the old days, we were asked ‘What’s on your mind?’ I want to tell you a story But nothing (on Facebook) stays the same for long.  Now we are being asked...
London 2012 Opening Ceremony use Twitter hashtag to stop social sharing
Social Media

London 2012 Opening Ceremony use Twitter hashtag to stop social sharing

by iain on Jul 24, 2012 • No Comments
Last night I was lucky enough to attend the Technical Rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games. I would love to tell you about the marvellous spectacle that awaits, but it was made very clear early on that no-one should be sharing this info. #savethesurprise Each of the large video screens in...
Survey shows social signals correlate 'very strongly' with good Google rankings
Marketing / Social Media

Survey shows social signals correlate ‘very strongly’ with good Google rankings

by iain on Jul 20, 2012 • No Comments
The increasing influence of social signals on search engine rankings was the key takeaway from Searchmetrics 2012 survey on UK SEO Ranking Factors. The survey looked at 10,000 selected top-keywords, 300,000 websites and millions of links, shares and tweets, and compared potential ranking factors with their Google rankings. The key findings It’s important to note that a correlation...
BBC establish that poorly targeted marketing on Facebook doesn't work
Advertising / Social Media

BBC establish that poorly targeted marketing on Facebook doesn’t work

by iain on Jul 16, 2012 • 2 Comments
Last week the BBC got very excited about an investigation into Facebook by Rory Cellan-Jones, a Technology correspondent. The article claimed that some companies are ‘wasting large sums of money’ trying to win ‘Likes’ on Facebook.  This appears to be because when a campaign was run for a British-based business, the company ended up winning...

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The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. Please feel free to support or disagree with me in the comments section of each blog entry.