The aim of TED’s Ads Worth Spreading is to encourage a shift away from “ambushing people’s attention by shoving videos down their throat, and instead to ask them to view by invitation.”

The snow industry has been doing this for decades with ski and snowboard movies. The ultimate branded content, shred films’ traditional MO of capitalizing on pre-season anticipation and hosting screenings and premieres, dialed the invite-and-engage model.

But in today’s SoMoLo world (social, mobile, local), an annual feature film is not enough of a content strategy. Demand for content is constant now, but budgets haven’t kept up.

The solution? Short of finding a formula or quick fix magic wand (send us the SKU and we’ll order one too,) there are some fundamentals to laying down a smart digital marketing strategy.

1. Wizard photography does not a filmmaker make. Just because your superstar staff photographer has a digital SLR, doesn’t mean he can capture a story arc, or single-handedly creative direct a video while simultaneously shooting your catalogue. When you ask her to shoot video and photography at the same time, your most likely deliverable is disappointment, in the shape of sub-standard versions of both.

Video and photography are different mediums: a photographer is more likely to compose a still shot, whereas, someone trained in film looks for movement. Video is about a sequence of events – traditionally with a beginning, a middle and an end. A photo captures a moment. Photography is powerful because it’s stripped bare. Video is powerful because it’s layered: Music. Action. Script.

Doing things well means choosing what not to do, choosing what to leave out. That’s why marketing briefs are always trying to distill things down to “The Point”. What’s your point? What’s the single most important deliverable from a shoot? Pick the medium that will serve it best.

2. Be clear on whether a video is tactical or inspirational. The Content Marketing Institute suggests segmenting your video needs into three tiers, to help allocate your budget.

Inspirational or showpiece videos need to be more timeless and warrant higher production budgets. Tactical pieces will have a shorter shelf-life and warrant a different treatment.

Mike Douglas of Switchback Entertainment talks of hot, warm and cold content.

“Events become dated very quickly. You can tell something was done three years ago because the tricks are all different. Events are what we call hot content. Most ski stuff that came out at the end of January was all around the X Games. There were masses of it. So anything real-time, you’ve got to get up fast. That’s why with Salomon Freeski TV we don’t cover events. We don’t want to be a hot content provider. At Switchback, we’re trying to build things, like XXS or First Timers, that will stand the test of time.”

Do You Remember Your First Time? from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

3. Have a story. Let it out to breathe. For a more enduring video, have a story. Behind the scenes with the bros, shot fast and loose, with the videographer cueing “hey, say something to the camera, man”, is not a story. It’s popcorn. It’s fast food with a short shelf life.

Last year, Whistler Blackcomb Bike Park did a great job of creating videos that aligned with the story of their print marketing campaign.

Elements of Perfection – Pt3 – Air from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

Why did the videos work so well they generated 30,000+ views each?

1. Whistler Blackcomb had the confidence to relinquish a marketer’s traditional death grip on “key messaging.”
2. In part, this was because the videos totally integrated with the entire campaign, so tactical pieces could cover off key messaging, and let the inspirational pieces breathe. Video is a show as opposed to a tell medium. It works best when you trust your audience to “get” what you’re showing them… (Mountain biking is fun and freshly raked dirt makes my knees go wobbly. Yep. Got it. See you at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.)
3. The music choices were killer.

Which brings us to:
4. Don’t chintz on the music.

When the first comment from the community is “what song is that please?” you know you’ve aced it.

5. Embrace friends in high places and frictionless sharing.

In the social world, sharing happens on two levels: the instant share (“I just saw the most hilarious/brilliant/inspiring thing, you’ve got to see it”), and the more calculated share (this content will show people who I am and what I’m about, “I want you to know this about me”.) Those two blur… but what isn’t fuzzy is this: no one is going to share a hardcore infomercial (unless it’s a spoof, that person is getting into a pyramid selling themselves and on the fast-track to alienating all their friends, or it features Zac Galifianakis (see spoof.))

Consider your portals. Viewers have a huge selection of content available and they are increasingly choosy – they’ll trust a portal, a curator, an athlete. Align your brand with brands that also serve your niche – you’ll all enjoy a broadened reach.

So how to you get it out there? We’ll post our top 5 tactics on the blog next week.

As for all your other questions and conundrums like: Is “intern cam” ever okay? What’s the contemporary version of a Video News Release and when should I use it? How do I make my CEO not sound like a robot in his next state of the union address? Did anyone actually think that Twitter Recruiting spoof video was funny? And Cats? Seriously? Do I need to get an office cat for our promo series? tune into our blog for Film Club Fridays, where our resident expert weighs in.

La demande pour les vidéos est à la hausse auprès des consommateurs, des marques, des départements marketing et des chefs des entreprises, mais la création d’un bon clip ou contenu numérique exige beaucoup de ressources. À quoi devez-vous penser avant d’appuyer sur le bouton d’enregistrement pour être sûr et certain de maximiser votre RCI (rendement du capital investi)?

L’objectif des Ads Worth Spreading par TED (Technology Entertainement Design) est de ne plus « gaver les gens de publicité/clip mais bien de les inviter à regarder les vidéos ».

L’industrie des sports d’hiver fait cela depuis des décennies avec des films de ski et de snowboard, jouant des extraits de clip, misant sur l’anticipation de la pré-saison, lançant des premières et des projections spéciales, toutes des stratégies qui entraînent un climat d’invitation.

Mais dans le monde SoMoLo (social, mobile, local) actuel, un long-métrage annuel ne suffit pas. Si la demande en contenu numérique est stable, les budgets n’ont pas suivi.

Même s’il n’existe pas de solution miracle ou de formule magique (si vous en trouvez une, partagez-la avec nous svp), il y a tout de même certains principes de base pour établir une stratégie de marketing numérique intelligente.

1. Une photographe hallucinant ne fait pas un cinéaste. Ce n’est pas parce que votre photographe vedette a un appareil photo SLR qu’il peut capturer l’angle narratif, ou encore tourner d’une main un clip vidéo tout en prenant des photos pour votre catalogue de l’autre. Lorsque vous lui demandez de tourner une vidéo et de photographier en même temps, vous risquez fort d’être déçu, car dans les deux cas le résultat sera sous les standards.

Le vidéo et la photographie sont deux médias différents : un photographe compose des scènes immobiles, alors qu’un vidéaste recherche le mouvement. La vidéo vise la séquence d’événements – habituellement avec un début, un milieu et une fin – tandis qu’une photo capture le moment. La photographie est puissante parce que minimaliste. La vidéo est forte parce qu’elle est complexe : la musique, les péripéties et le scénario.

Bien faire les choses signifie choisir ce qu’on ne fera pas, ce que l’on laissera de côté. C’est pourquoi nos briefs de marketing visent toujours à saisir l’essentiel du « Message ». Quel est votre message? Quelle est la chose la plus importante qui doit être retenue de la séance de photo ou du tournage? Choisissez le média qui le rendra le mieux.

2. Déterminez si le clip doit être source d’information ou d’inspiration. Le Content Marketing Institue suggère la segmentation de votre vidéo en trois parties, pour mieux répartir votre budget.

Les clips plus inspirants doivent être intemporels ce qui justifie un plus gros budget de production. Pour ce qui est des vidéos plus informatifs, ils n’auront pas une longue durée de vie et ne nécessitent pas le même budget.

Mike Douglas de Switchback Entertainement parle de contenus brûlant, chaud et froid.

« Un évènement n’a pas une longue durée de vie. Il est facile de voir que quelque chose a été fait il y a trois ans parce que les acrobaties sont maintenant différentes. Les événements peuvent être qualifiés de contenus brûlants. La plupart des produits médiatiques reliés au ski sortis fin janvier tournent autour des X Games et il y en a eu des tonnes. Donc, si vous voulez quelque chose en temps réel, il faut agir rapidement. C’est pourquoi avec Salomon Freeski TV nous ne couvrons pas les événements. Nous ne voulons pas être un fournisseur de contenu brûlant. Chez Switchback, nous essayons de bâtir des choses, comme XXS ou First Timers, qui résisteront à l’épreuve du temps. »

Do You Remember Your First Time? from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.
3. Trouvez une histoire. Laissez respirer. Pour une vidéo qui dure, vous devez trouver une histoire. Le fait de filmer rapidement et négligemment les coulisses avec les chums avec en trame le vidéographe qui dit « Hey! Un mot pour la caméra! » n’est pas une histoire. C’est comme du pop-corn : léger et sans contenu. C’est de la restauration rapide avec une courte durée de vie.

L’an dernier, le Whistler Blackomb Bike Park a réussi à créer des vidéos qui s’harmonisaient avec l’histoire sur les pièces publicitaires imprimés.

Elements of Perfection – Pt3 – Air from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

Qu’est-ce qui fait que les vidéos ont si bien fonctionné qu’elles ont généré plus de 30 000 visites?

1. Whistler Blackcomb a eu l’assurance nécessaire pour renoncer à l’emprise traditionnelle du pro du marketing sur les « messages clé »
2. Parce qu’en partie, les vidéos s’harmonisaient avec la campagne, permettant aux pièces informatives de livrer les messages clé et laissant les pièces inspirantes vivre. Les clips sont un spectacle, pas un morceau d’information. Il est préférable de faire confiance à vos auditeurs et de les laisser comprendre le message… (du vélo de montagne, c’est cool, et de la terre fraîchement ratissée, ça me donne le goût. OK. J’ai compris. Rendez-vous à Whistler Mountain Bike Park.)
3. Les choix musicaux étaient top.

Ce qui nous amène à :
4. Ne sous-estimez pas le pouvoir de la musique.

Lorsque le premier commentaire de la communauté est « De qui est cette chanson ? », vous savez que vous avez réussi.

5. Pensez aux amis bien placés et partagez avec transparence.

Dans le monde social, le partage se passe sur deux niveaux : le partage immédiat (« Je viens de voir la chose la plus hilarante/brillante/inspirante, tu dois voir ça! »), et le partage plus réfléchi (ceci va montrer aux gens qui je suis et ce que j’aime : « Je veux que vous sachiez cela à propos de moi »). Ces deux types de partage peuvent s’entremêler… mais ce qui est sûr et certain c’est que personne ne va partager une infopub abrutissante (sauf s’il s’agit d’une parodie, ou que la personne ne veuille se vendre et est sur le point d’aliéner tous ses amis, ou encore que le vidéo met en vedette Zac Galifianakis [voir parodie]).

Pensez à vos portails. Les spectateurs ont un choix énorme de contenus et ils sont de plus en plus exigeants – ils font confiance aux portails, aux conservateurs et aux athlètes. Alignez votre marque avec des marques qui visent le même créneau – vous bénéficierez d’une plus grande portée.

Alors, comment allez-vous vous afficher? Nous publierons nos 5 meilleures tactiques sur le blogue la semaine prochaine.

Pour toutes vos autres questions comme : Est-ce qu’une « intern cam » est correcte? Quelle est la version contemporaine d’un Video News Release et quand dois-je l’utiliser? Comment éviter que mon PDG ne parle pas comme un robot à son assemblée annuelle? Est-ce que la parodie du recrutement chez Twitter était drôle? Et les chats? Dois-je me procurer un chat pour faire notre série promotionnelle? visitez notre blogue Film Club Fridays, où nos experts se mouillent.

The best marketing opportunities might be the scariest.

If you want to know what a commercial photographer can offer you, why not see what they can do in 72 hours of sub-optimal conditions with the pressure of a competitive screening at the end.

That’s how Robin O’Neill saw the Deep Winter opportunity, when she “manned” up to compete in the Whistler Blackcomb-produced photo challenge last year, as the first female photographer invited to take part.

“It’s a great marketing opportunity if you take it as that and you’re willing to put a lot of work into it and can take the pressure to shoot in three days. Commercial clients want some guarantee if they pay you a day rate that you can deliver, so it’s a hard and fast way of showing you can execute what is demanded of you, in a way that a portfolio can’t necessarily prove.

“The format really allows a client to see what you can do. No one is telling you what to do, so you end up better positioned to get work that’s more about your approach and your unique style. People can see where you shine.”

Have confidence to own your own style.

Of course, that all depends on having the confidence to tell your story, your way. O’Neill placed second last year with a fresh and bold show, that was not only more documentary-esque than is usually seen, but was the first ever to feature dedicated mountain women. She followed that standing ovation with a winning mountain bike show to take top prize in Deep Summer, and not willing to rest on her laurels, returned for Deep Winter 2012 with her sights set on winning.

“It was good, this time, to be a competitor, and not just a chick. But I needed to win.

“The risk definitely scared the crap out of me and the shows are huge undertakings. Three in a row demands a lot of energy and lot of energy from the people around me. I was nervous for sure, but I’m always nervous. That just makes me reach more.”

Do your homework.
Preparation didn’t just mean storyboarding out a show in advance, thinking up outside-the-box angles and perspectives or scouting locations. For O’Neill’s winning show, the preparation phase involved drinking a lot of tea.

“I do prepare and storyboard, but I always find the characters to be the most important. A lot of the pre-show work for this piece went into researching and finding longtime Whistler locals and mountaineers who have character and have contributed to the soul of winter. I wasn’t scouting for locations. There’s not much point in winter. I was looking for interesting characters. And yes, that included lots of chats over tea and biscuits. A lot of them had to be talked in to doing it. But that’s what I enjoy – that connection I can get through photography.”

The connection between photographer and subject translated to the audience experience.

“I thought it was cool, with such a young crowd, that that documentary-esque style I have seemed to work.”

Great content practically shares itself.

Despite it’s slightly unusual take on Deep Winter action (O’Neill gave 70+ year old Whistler Lifers equal billing as action sports athletes Matty Richard, James Heim and Eric Hjorleifson), Robin’s slideshow received 25,000 views on vimeo in the 2 weeks following its upload. “Isn’t that crazy?” she says.

“Since the only place I put it is on facebook and I only have 300 friends. Other people must be passing it along.”

It’s unlikely that many of the images from Robin’s show will see a second life.

“A lot of the photos simply aren’t marketable because of the weather conditions. No one would shoot in a lot of the conditions we’re dealing with. It’s really the process and learning how to perform and the relationships that I’ve built that have been really rewarding.”

That’s the ROI. And the fact that her phone hasn’t stopped ringing with new assignments and clients.

Watch Robin’s show, here.

Robin O’Neill – Deep Winter 2012 Winning Slideshow from Robin O’Neill on Vimeo.

La plus belle opportunité peut aussi être la plus effrayante.

Si vous désirez savoir ce qu’un photographe commercial a dans le ventre, pourquoi ne l’inviter à vous montrer ce qu’il peut faire en 72 heures dans des conditions moins qu’optimales avec à la clé une présentation compétitive.

C’est de cette façon que Robin O’Neill entrevoyait le défi Deep Winter avant qu’elle ne fasse « un homme d’elle-même » en participant à la compétition photographique de Whistler Blackcomb l’an dernier, en tant que première femme artiste de l’événement.

« C’est une superbe vitrine de marketing si vous le prenez comme tel et que vous êtes prêt à investir beaucoup d’efforts et à subir trois jours de photo sous pression. Les clients commerciaux veulent des garanties que vous êtes capables de livrer quand ils vous paient un tarif journalier, c’est donc une façon rapide et exigeante de montrer que vous êtes capable de réaliser ce qu’on vous demande, d’une façon que votre portfolio ne peut pas nécessairement faire.

« Ce format permet vraiment à un client de voir ce que vous savez faire. Comme personne ne vous dit quoi faire, vous êtes mieux positionné pour montrer quelle et votre approche et votre style. Les gens peuvent voir vos forces ».

Ayez confiance en votre style.

Évidemment, tout dépend de votre niveau de confiance à exprimer votre histoire, de votre façon. Robin a fini deuxième l’an passé avec une présentation rafraichissante et audacieuse, qui non seulement était plus « documentariste » que ce qu’on voit habituellement, c’était aussi la première à être entièrement dédiée aux femmes des montagnes. Après cette ovation debout, elle a remporté le grand prix de la présentation vélo de montagne du Deep Summer, et ne voulant pas se reposer sur ses lauriers, elle a décidé de se lancer dans Deep Winter 2012 avec la ferme intention de gagner.

« J’ai apprécié cette fois être une compétitrice et pas juste une fille. Mais je devais aussi absolument gagner. Le risque me donnait la trouille et les présentations sont aussi de grosses commandes. Trois à la file demande beaucoup d’énergie de moi et de mon entourage. J’étais très nerveuse, mais je suis toujours nerveuse. Ça m’oblige à me dépasser ».

Soyez préparé.
Une bonne préparation ne s’est pas limitée à faire un découpage technique, pensez à des angles innovateurs ou faire de la recherche d’emplacements. Pour sa présentation gagnante, Robin s’est préparée en buvant beaucoup de thé.

« Je suis toujours bien armée et je pense à mon découpage technique, mais le plus important est de définir les personnages. Une grande partie du travail préparatoire a consisté à trouver des locaux et des gens de montagne de longue date qui ont façonné l’esprit hivernal de Whistler. Je n’ai pas cherché des lieux. Ça ne vaut pas la peine en hiver. Je recherchais des personnalités intéressantes, ce qui veut dire beaucoup de conversations en buvant une tasse de thé et en grignotant des biscuits. Il m’a fallu en convaincre plusieurs. Mais c’est ce que j’aime faire : établir un contact à travers la photo ».

Cette relation entre la photographe et ses sujets a touché l’auditoire.

« J’ai trouvé ça cool qu’avec des spectateurs aussi jeunes, mon style quasi documentaire a réussi à fonctionner ».

Un bon contenu se partage presque tout seul.

Malgré son angle un peu différent au Deep Winter (elle a accordé autant d’importance à des natifs de Whistler de plus de 70 ans qu’aux athlètes de sports d’action Matty Richard, James Heim et Eric Hjorleifson), la présentation photo de Robin a été visionnée 25 000 fois sur vimeo lors de 2 semaines qui ont suivi sont téléchargement.

« C’est un peu fou, dit-elle, surtout que Facebook est le seul endroit où je l’ai diffusé et que je n’ai que 300 amis. Les gens doivent se l’échanger ».

Il est peu probable que les photos de Robin aient une seconde vie.

« Une grande majorité des images ne sont pas utilisables à cause des conditions météo. Personne ne ferait un shoot dans les conditions qu’on se retrouve. Mais c’est le processus, apprendre à performer et établir des rapports que je trouve le plus gratifiant ».

Voilà le vrai retour sur l’investissement. En plus du fait que son téléphone n’a pas arrêté de sonné pour de nouveaux contrats avec de nouveaux clients.

Pour voir la présentation de Robin :

Robin O’Neill – Deep Winter 2012 Winning Slideshow from Robin O’Neill on Vimeo.

And while some sports clearly fall in to one category or the other – eg skateboarding is clearly established as an action sport, trail running and road cycling fall under the outdoor sport umbrella – there are a number of activities that blur the line.

Take skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and mountain biking. These specific activities are enjoyed by a variety of age groups, with varying levels of “extreme-ness” to define them as one or the other.

So what is it that defines a sport or activity as outdoor vs. action? How do companies and brands define themselves as one or the other? Could it be that the two terms are really just a way of marketing an activity to different demo/psychographic segments in the same way that Toyota markets a Corolla to a suburban mom, then turns around and markets the same car as a Scion to an urban teenager?

Case in Point 1: Patagonia vs. Billabong

Patagonia. A prominent, established company with a history of building quality products for the great outdoors.

Billabong. A young, fresh and vibrant brand with a strong grip on youth culture and action sports.

Both companies have a long history in building products for surfing, and when you compare the product lines you’ll see essentially the same items: wetsuits, board shorts and lifestyle apparel. The products provide the same function, no matter the brand.

But Patagonia has historically shied away from marketing their products to the youthful, action-sports-oriented readers of Transworld Surf, choosing to focus on the more matured “outdoor” audience of publications like The Surfer’s Journal. On the other hand, Billabong continues to drive the viewpoint of surfing as an action sport by sponsoring competitive events like the Billabong Pro Tahiti.

Key takeaway? Both brands sell the same product for the same use, yet one is an “outdoor sports” brand while the other is an “action sports” brand. The only differentiating factor is the audience they are marketing to.

Case in Point 2: Outdoor Brands Venturing in to the World of Action Sports

As highlighted in a recent article about Amer Sports (parent company of outdoor brands including Salomon, Arc’teryx and Atomic), many outdoor sports brands are looking to opportunities in the growing youth market segment, either through acquisitions of action sports brands, or by redefining their own brands to be more applicable to the younger audience by addressing factors like price point, fit of their products, team athletes, and the marketing vehicles they use.

Action sports is a large and dynamic market driven by young people who skate, surf and snowboard, or who are inspired by these activities and by the lifestyle. This market is becoming one of the key focus areas for us.”  Heikki Takala, Amer CEO

It will be interesting to follow these brands as they continue to evolve in an effort to become more relevant to a younger, more “action sports” oriented audience. I’ll be paying particularly close attention to three factors of interest:

1. Will the “core” action sports demographic warm to these brands, or see them as latecomers to the party?
2. How will companies like Arc’teryx become relevant to a youth audience without turning off their core audience?
3. Will action sports brands seek to enter the “outdoor sports” market segment?  Brands like Quiksilver, with their Quiksilver Edition, and Waterman lines, have had mixed success with this in the past.

The line between action sports and outdoors sports gets more blurry as brands continue to seek growth in new market segment. But if people are getting off the couch, maybe it doesn’t really matter.

The Challenge:
With the start of each winter season Whistler Blackcomb faces the challenge of maintaining its leadership position, promoting opening day, raising awareness for (usually awesome) early season conditions, stimulate visitation and generating general stoke and buzz among snow-lovers. For the start of the winter 2011.12 season, Origin was challenged to create a campaign that would

• Increase brand awareness and brand engagement for Whistler Blackcomb
• Entertain, inform and inspire with a story that would incite trial and increase loyalty
• Showcase Whistler Blackcomb’s unique assets and communicate early snow and opening day messaging
• Create and distribute quality, compelling video, text and photo content
• Drive traffic to whistlerblackcomb.com and the Whistler Blackcomb social channels
• Engage both the mainstream skier and the core skier and snowboarder, without alienating either

Within the changing marketing landscape, it was clear that a fresh approach to this challenge was required and the traditional print, tv and radio campaigns wouldn’t make the grade.

The Approach:
Building upon the central insight that while storytelling is enduring as a marketing tool, today’s stories need to be a conversation rather than a lecture. They require a “hole” in the story into which customers can insert themselves and connect with the brand. With this in mind, Origin proposed a “blogger-in-residence” strategy that would provide a unique platform on which Whistler Blackcomb could communicate its key messages in an engaging, genuine and transparent way, without alienating the core ski and snowboard audience who see straight through and dismiss and traditional ‘sales’ efforts. The result was “Embedded – Inside the Story”, a collaboration with pro skier and award-winning filmmaker Mike Douglas (and his company Switchback Entertainment) aimed at kicking the season off with a bang. A new media concept with PR and social applications, the campaign embedded Mike at the peak of Whistler Mountain in a Patrol Shack for 6 days and nights with nothing but a sleeping bag and his camera, to create behind the scenes video reports of a mountain preparing for Opening Day.

The Outcomes:
A campaign teaser was concepted by Origin and Switchback Entertainment, with a call to action to sign up for the notification when Mike’s adventure would begin. A campaign web page (whistlerblackcomb.com/embedded), designed by Origin and developed by the Whistler Blackcomb team operated as a central hub where Mike’s posts, a Flickr gallery featuring still photo documentation by ski photographer extraordinaire Paul Morrison, and a live Twitter feed provided even more content from life at the top of the mountain. An online advertising campaign in vertical media drove traffic to the site. And of course the main event —six beautiful, inspiring and entertaining webisodes were created by Switchback Entertainment and loaded nightly to recap the prior day’s events.

While the campaign is still in circulation, the result is a project that truly captured the hearts and minds of mountain lovers and was shared widely through social channels. The campaign has netted over 200,000 video views since the campaign began just days before opening day. Spikes have also been tracked in web traffic, social media engagement, sharing and interaction.

http://embedded.whistlerblackcomb.com/

The City of Trail is getting buzz, not because it’s home to the largest zinc smelter in the world and prices are up, but because of a new ski movie that’s going viral.

JP Auclair’s urban skiing segment was posted 2 weeks ago on several ski mag forums, and the contagion factor was as rapid an Ebola fever pandemic. The fact that the segment has generated more than half a million hits on vimeo was enough to make it prime-time newsworthy, especially given the eagerness of Trail’s mayor to claim it as a local success story. (The story runs at 11:43.)

Our takeaway from this well-deserved success for the hard-working crew and athletes behind All.I.Can?

JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.

1. 90 awesome seconds of a ski film will do more for the image of a town than a city-convened Image Committee will achieve in three years.

2. Social success is now driving mainstream media headlines.

3. Dave Mossop’s mustache WON Movember.

But seriously, we’ve seen evidence of this appetite for authentic story, character and playfulness, (as distinct from contrived and highly managed messaging), with several of our winter campaigns, from the Tourism Whistler Sabbatical Project, to Whistler Blackcomb’s Embedded, to Jay Peak’s winter launch of the Pump House.

The campaigns, anchored in digital storytelling and playful experience, have generated massive uptake in consumer engagement, and spilled over into headlines in the New York Times and widespread online sharing. (All we were missing were the mustaches.)

Would you ski a run called DOA? from Tourism Whistler on Vimeo.

Bottom line on how to make prime time headlines? Do good work, that speaks truly to your core constituents. Hit share.

Here’s a gallery featuring some of the top hits, including the weather shock of Mike’s feet leaving Hawaii to crunch across the snow in ski boots, the patrol shack’s resident rodents, the pure stoke of everyone running from the gondola into Opening Day, and the final starry time-lapse.

But, as amazing a job that Mike Douglas and the team at Switchback Entertainment (supported by quite a few superstars behind the scenes at Whistler Blackcomb) did, we venture to say the real star of the show was La Niña. After all, that pounding snow storm that nearly shook the shack down sure delivered paydirt for the opening day, and kicked off this season with pure stoke. The fact that La Niña seems to have embedded herself at Whistler is the best part of all.

One long-time local later told Mike Douglas: “THAT is why I moved to Whistler.” Which tells you that this marketing campaign was no snow-job.

For insight into the campaign, and whether you can expect Embedded II: With a Vengeance, to come soon to a theatre near you, check out this interview with our Creative Director, live on Slopefillers today.

What a fresh way to use their bench of elite athletes. We’re thinking it’s a hit. What about you?