The Lesson of the Alpine Slide

By Glen Gardner/ Z102.9, 1600 ESPN Marketing Consultant
The changing seasons are really one of the best events to market around.
It gives people a reason to shift focus and start thinking about new
products and services that the change helps usher in. It's always a good
idea to think about how your product or service can benefit from the
change in behavior.
Sometimes the benefits and course is obvious. If you own a shop that
sells ski equipment, the summer might not be the best time to sink a lot
of marketing dollars into getting people to buy ski gear, but it doesn't
mean there is no opportunity.
One of the best examples I can remember brought me back to my New
England roots about 30 years ago. There were several ski areas in
western Massachusetts and Vermont that were trying to figure out ways to
use their facilities in the summer months. They had the real estate, a
lot of vertical drop, ski lifts and ticketing facilities. It all sat
idle and rusting all summer long because there's no snow.
Then one of the areas had the bright idea to install something called an
alpine slide. The alpine slide was a removable track that could be
installed over the ski runs down the mountain. People would slide down
those tracks on a sled that had wheels, a brake and looked a lot like a
bobsled.
These things became a huge hit and allowed these ski areas to turn a
huge seasonal negative into a huge positive. People were waiting on line
to slide down the runs on what used to be deserted slopes in the summer.
Soon many ski areas featured alpine slides and a new revenue source was
born!
As the summer approaches are there ways you can reinvent and re-market
your business or service to use what Mother nature is handing us? Think
about it, the right answer could be as fun as a thrill ride!