TOURISM BC REPORT: It’s All About the Snow!
by Chandel Diebold

Launched in early November, Tourism BC’s winter marketing campaign is aimed at connecting people with real time information on snow conditions and details on winter hot spots around the province. Critical elements of the campaign include easy access for consumers to up-to-date information (from a variety of online sources), and additional features that allow user interaction with other like-minded peers to share thoughts about and experiences in BC winters. 

Designed to emphasize the amazing snow conditions throughout the province, the campaign highlights skiing but doesn’t shy away from promoting the incredible diversity of winter experiences that exist throughout BC, whether it’s fine dining in a five-star restaurant, relaxing in a spa, or shopping in a resort village. In fact, resort communities play a vital role in BC’s winter season beyond housing visitors who come to town for the award-winning facilities. Within these communities lie exciting attractions and a plethora of winter events held throughout the season that draw attention from around the world.

This year’s campaign ventures further online to enhance the availability of information and connect with users. “It’s important to go where the consumers are, and consumers are online,” said Joel Tkach, Tourism BC’s Marketing Manager, Consumer Programs. “We want to participate in online culture and interact with people who are looking to share their BC winter experience.”

Further to Tkach’s comments, two components are new this year. A Facebook application titled “Gotta Ski BC”, downloadable from the Facebook website, provides people with an outlet to share thoughts on skiing in BC. There are daily snow updates, interactive resort information, and maps of BC winter destinations. As well, there is a customizable portion of the application where users can post information about themselves, such as their favourite type of winter sport, and destinations they have visited. They can add comments to their profile, comment on others, and most importantly, invite friends. This social networking aspect of the campaign allows Tourism BC to engage with people online beyond the usual Internet-based marketing initiatives and embrace information sharing in the online community.

The second new tactic is based on user-generated content, consisting of multiple webcasts intended to further engage winter sport lovers and allow them to participate by sending in pictures and videos. A webcast host will lead viewers through some of BC’s most popular ski destinations and encourage them to submit their pictures and videos featuring a BC ski resort. In addition, Tourism BC will be hosting a web page on YouTube, during the winter season, where people will be able to upload their submissions. These videos and photos will be incorporated into the webcasts and will also be available at HelloBC.com. 

Further tactics of the winter campaign include online display ads, direct mail, electronic direct mail, and 30-second television spots in BC, encouraging visitors and residents to take an overnight ski vacation to one of our province’s resorts. Also incorporated is key messaging that associates BC’s winter offerings with the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, reinforcing the quality of BC as a winter destination. Skiing may be the common thread of the campaign, but all the campaign elements allow the broader winter story to be told, including the BC Ski Guide. Available at www.skiBC08.com, the BC Ski Guide is filled with spectacular photos and comprehensive information about BC’s ski resorts. As well, the guide features “Beyond the Slopes”, a special section highlighting other snow related activities such as sleigh riding, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing.

So, it truly is all about the snow this year in BC. According to Tkach, winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, and nordic skiing are unique because those sports are reliant on conditions that can change at any time. Over the past two years, BC’s snowfall has exceeded expectations, positively impacting winter activities around the province. “We want to leverage the momentum that BC has experienced over the last two years with our record breaking snowfall and grow on the enthusiasm that already exists,” added Tkach. In fact, Tourism BC’s 2006/2007 campaign is an excellent base to build on. Over 36,000 people clicked through directly to resort websites from HelloBC.com. Over 6,000 people signed up for the RSS feed highlighting snow conditions, far exceeding expectations. In all, HelloBC.com/ski saw 257,000 visitors, a 25% increase over the previous year. Tourism BC expects all these numbers to grow again this year.

For more information, please visit HelloBC.com/ski.