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,...
Pity those brand managers who spend hours developing marketing strategy. Puma showed this week just how simple this business is! Okay, not all of us can persuade a member of the British royal family to wear their brand, and not just wear it, but wear it while racing the world’s most famous athlete. But...
The launch of Facebook’s new Timeline for Pages has thrown up some interesting challenge for brands already. However, one change that was announced last week seems to have slipped under the radar – with Timeline it will be possible to look at any brand Page and review the success of their recent activity. Review your...
Despite delays in its release, SSX (2012) was widely welcomed when it hit the shops last week. The new release incorporates superb graphics and features, including ice axes to descend into a cave and a wingsuit section set in in Patagonia. It even features ‘Art of Flight‘ star Travis Rice. The game has its own Facebook and...
Okay, by now you know that yesterday Timeline for Facebook Pages went live. Currently it’s optional to ‘upgrade’, but all Pages will automatically be converted on 30 March 2012. So what do you need to know? Summary for the time-poor, cash-rich The Cover Image arrives Landing Pages are gone There are lots of customisable features...
The Arab Spring, Occupy and now the Les Menuires 7 – the Millennials are showing how natural they find it to use social media to fight injustice. The Les Menuires 7 In this latest case – the Les Menuires 7 – seven chalet hosts have barricaded themselves into their luxury chalet after apparently being dismissed...
We came across these two very interesting infographics this week, showing the phenonomal growth of tablet use across the world. Globally 67 million tablets were sold worldwide in 2011, up from 18.6 million a year. Sales of tablets will overtake sales of traditional desktops and laptops during this decade. Tablet stats: 10% of Britons...
