While big conglomerates grabbed the headlines this past season, two experiments in small-group synergy have been quietly taking place off the front pages. On the east coast, eight small-to-medium-sized ski areas—Jiminy Peak and Wachusett Mountain, Mass., Okemo Mountain Resort, Vt., Ski Windham and Holiday Valley, N.Y., and Ski Liberty, Ski Roundtop and Seven Springs Resort, Penn.—completed their first year as the Mountains of Distinction (MOD). In Colorado, eight areas—Eldora, Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Sunlight, Monarch, Powderhorn, Silver Creek and Ski Cooper—are in their eighth year as the Gems of the Rockies.
Mountains of Distinction was created in an effort to gain a level of critical mass in marketing and purchasing similar to that of larger conglomerates. According to MOD president Brian Fairbank of Jiminy Peak, the first problems the group faced were inefficient communication and difficulty in finding common ground, although the areas involved all have similar profiles.
A significant step was taken towards overcoming these problems with the hiring of Käthe Dillmann as executive director last September. She now acts as a liaison both among member areas and between the group and suppliers, and is responsible for developing cooperative purchasing and promotional opportunities. Looking back on the first year, Fairbank said, “I would be remiss not to say that I wish we had more success stories, but we are marching forward with a new executive director, some good programs and a tie-in with Vail.”
The relationship with Vail Associates is still being ironed out after the recent merger activity, said Dillmann. This past year, approximately 200 season-ticket holders at MOD member areas took advantage of a tie-in with the Vail Valley Card program, which offers several perks including special charge capabilities at Vail. One hope for the future is that, together, the entities will land a national non-ski sponsor—for example, a bottler or car manufacturer.
On the promotional side, Tom Meyers of Wachusett described a program the group implemented with Gulf Oil as an example of the types of marketing partnership opportunities that exist. Three fill-ups (minimum eight gallons) earned the buyer a coupon valid at any MOD area for $10 off a learn-to-ski package or $10 off a weekday lift ticket.
Ingrid Emerton, marketing director at Ski Windham, described the program as “mildly successful,” and said she expects it to be more successful with some adjustments for next season, such as adding Sundays to the offer. But Meyers pointed out, “You have to gauge the program in terms of exposure as well; not just the number of redemptions.”
Both MOD and the Gems have a marketing emphasis, but MOD—which brings half a million skier visits to the table—has also made the development of group purchasing strategies a primary goal. Scott Bender, president of Seven Springs, Penn., explained, “There are a lot of benefits, especially with the mergers and buyouts, in having stronger buying power. MOD allows us to keep our own identities, yet reap the benefits of being a part of a group.” The group’s major purchasing coup so far has been an agreement with TotalTel, a New Jersey-based telecommunications group, which has resulted in savings of 15 to 20 percent for participating areas.
Setting up purchasing programs for the group is not simply buying in bulk, however, according to Dillmann. “One of the primary difficulties was recognizing that it was unlikely that all eight areas would jump on board,” she said, pointing out that different areas may have different operating philosophies as well as previously existing sponsor or manufacturer relationships. For this reason, snowguns and grooming vehicles may be out of consideration for now, but Fairbank listed other items that are likely to be considered for cost-saving benefits—in particular, commodities such as office supplies, brochure paper and market research.
Public relations, rather than purchasing strategies, is the purpose of Gems of the Rockies, an offshoot created by Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) in 1989 to provide marketing clout for smaller member areas. Marketing efforts are coordinated and implemented by CSCUSA staff with input and approval from member areas, and funding—approximately $20,000—is allocated to the Gems out of the CSCUSA budget.
The program’s original centerpiece was an interchangeable discount card, which was dropped last year after several of the areas decided to offer their own cards. For last season, CSCUSA bought a block of space in the Denver Post, in which each area had space to run an ad. Such efforts, said Eldora’s GM, Tom Spangler, are “very effective in getting our names out in front of the skiers and making sure they know we’re here.”
The Gems project an image of their members as intimate, friendly and local. To boost this image of local and regional support, they recently partnered with Colorado-based ski manufacturer Volant in sponsoring a media event to promote local business. Member areas are currently discussing the idea of a festival-like learn-to-ski promotion traveling from Gem to Gem that would call attention to the more intimate atmosphere and learning terrain at the smaller resorts. CSCUSA spokesperson Lynn Bronikowski described the Gems as a means by which the organization can make a greater public relations effort for the smaller areas to the benefit of the Colorado market as a whole. “The whole industry stays healthy if we nurture the feeder areas,” she said, characterizing the Gems as “a great farm team for the major leagues.”
Following the announcement of the Vail-Keystone-Breckenridge merger, the position of small areas like the members of the Gems or MOD was highlighted by a comment overheard at a CSCUSA meeting: in the face of Vail’s $20 million marketing budget, an attendee joked, “We’re all Gems now.”
