Variety is a funny thing.
With more options it’s easier to cast a wider net, but with more options it’s harder to become known for one thing which, as ski resorts know, is a pretty powerful ally in the wintertime.
Put another way, you know those calls asking if you have this or that during summer? Ever get a call in January asking if you have skiing?
Okay, during a normal winter. 😉
All Together
I think the challenge quickly becomes finding a unique brand or device to bring all those different possibilities into one, succinct message.
A few resorts have done this successfully and I think you can add Ski Apache to the list as well with their new “Find Your Element” campaign.
Right off the bat, notice three things:
1. The use of colors
2. The use of numbers
3. The use of an existing concept (periodic table)
All of these pieces help group all of these activities under a unified idea. But they also simultaneously help keep them separate and make them easier to remember and identify.
After I had seen the “hiking” color/number/element combination a couple times, I recognized it at a glance before I ever read the copy.
Zip tours are one that haven’t stuck yet, but using the same pattern it’s just a matter of me bumping into that piece of content a few more times which, more than likely, I would have already done if I were actually in their market.
Speaking of which, notice how these elements work together in a simple, 15-second TV spot like this one.
Even though it’s short, the colors, numbers, and abbreviations make it easier to pick out and remember the unique activities they mention.
It was a little tough to find what elements #3 and #5 were (I found them eventually at the top of their Instagram profile – #3 is play and #5 is ski)…
…but the fact that I was curious enough to fill in the gaps is an interesting lesson in itself.
Multiple Angles
So, yeah, I really like what Apache has done.
And even more, I love that they give the reader multiple ways to remember and stick each activity if their brain. Not just a clever shape, but colors and numbers and photos as well.
