Mind Body Spirit videos anchor Aspen Skiing Co. marketing campaign

A video series that anchored Aspen Skiing Co.’s marketing campaign last winter was so successful that the company is featuring four new clips for this ski season.

Skico Vice President of Marketing Christian Knapp said the company’s plan is to drive consumers to its website, which was redesigned this summer to more prominently feature the videos.

Skico’s prior website used to be tough to navigate. It wasn’t always apparent where to go to find information. It was redesigned after 3½ years.

Knapp said the new website was designed to be more accessible for consumers. A quick glance shows a “Four Mountain Report” widget placed in prime position on the upper right of the home page. It lets local skiers and snowboarders as well as tourists in town quickly gauge snow conditions at the four ski areas, and it features a mountain-cam panorama of each ski area.

For people planning a trip, links for lift tickets, lessons, rentals, lodging and events are displayed front and center.

“We feel it’s a real step forward for our locals and guests,” Knapp said.

The main Web page also promotes the video series by prominently displaying the title “Rejuvenate: Mind Body Spirit.” A link will get viewers to the videos.

So far, only a trailer that teases the campaign has been released. More than 20,000 viewers checked out the trailer in the first 24 hours after its release Tuesday, Knapp said. All four videos, which are shorter than 2½ minutes each, will be released Oct. 6, though each one in sequence will be featured every two weeks.

The series relies on well-known local residents Pete McBride, Amanda Boxtel, Chris Klug and Skico employee Mark Pinter to showcase the four ski areas. Instead of short bursts of video ski porn — with skiers and snowboarders hucking off cliffs and bombing through thigh-high powder — the four video stars are used to highlight the “mind, spirit, body” theme that’s been central to Aspen since its rebirth after World War II.

“We’ve chose to take less of a hard sell,” Knapp said. “We wanted to really tug at people’s emotions with the campaign.”

Boxtel, who suffered a spinal-cord injury at age 24 and is unable to walk, talks about the grace and freedom of skiing the Aspen and Snowmass ski areas in “Wander Your Realm.”

Former snowboard Olympian and liver-transplant survivor Klug shows how the mountains continue to be a big part of his post-competition life in “Claim Your Moment.”

Conservationist and National Geographic magazine photographer McBride talks about efforts to preserve vital resources in “Own Your Path.”

Pinter, a terrain-park builder, shows how the terrain-park crews are pushing mountain sports to a new level with the X Games and facilities offered to skiers and snowboarders in “Sharpen Your Senses.”

But the videos and accompanying print ads also feature plenty of imagery of Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk that will capture the attention of potential customers and leave them licking their chops to come to the slopes. “Sharpen Your Senses” has shots of a snowboarder catching big air off the lip of the Buttermilk superpipe at dusk. “Own Your Path” has shots of skiers trudging up to Highland Bowl.

Skico hasn’t given up on print advertising. Images from the videos will be featured in ads in Ski, Powder, Outside, Freeskier and Transworld Snowboarding magazines. The ads will refer viewers to the website.

Skico also will utilize social media, such as Facebook, Twitter Instagram and, for the first time, Snapchat, to attract interest in its video campaign.

“It’s really intertwined,” Knapp said. “Everything drives you to the website.”

As the season progresses, Skico will complement its marketing campaign by using its website to promote specials and, it’s hoped, long stretches of snow.

“(When) there’s a powder message, that’s what we’ll push out,” Knapp said.

scondon@aspentimes.com