KEY TO CREATING A SUCCESSFUL INHOUSE CAMPAIGN LIES IN CONNECTION SAYS NZSKI

Stopping people in their tracks isn’t something NZSKI usually wants to do, except when it comes to making a unique marketing campaign – and it was all done in-house.

The organisation is known for its attentiongrabbing campaigns created by its in-house marketing team. In fact NZSKI won best in-house marketing at the 2018 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards.

Having just run a quirky marketing campaign that referenced popular reality TV show Shark Tank, and with Aotearoa’s first open-border ski season since 2019 coming up, the marketing team were keen to showcase a different side of its three mountains.

Mel Tweedie, Nzski’s Marketing Communications Manager, says although it’s too early to report on sales results she has already seen the highest reach, views and engagement out of any early bird campaign or any campaign her team have run before.

“We have also seen over 30 percent more traffic to our website,” she says. “We had an opportunity to do something a bit different that it would stop people in their tracks and get them to engage with our content. Ultimately that 30 percent increase in website traffic tells me that it works.”

Mel puts this previous and current success down to the in-house team being “connected to the product and the brand”.

“To be able to resonate with, and understand how our guests feel about our mountains and their experiences, takes time and understanding.

“One of our core advantages is that we have a group of people that really live and breathe [skiing]. It’s one of those products where we are selling memories, fun and happiness. People buy a ski trip to have a great time so I think that passion and love for what we do is so important.”

Of course, creating an entire campaign in-house does come with its challenges and Mel says this is mostly due to the seasonal nature of the ski industry.

“We have these two to four months where it’s pedal to the metal and the lead up to that, in April/may, is chaotic. The challenges when you are fully in-house as we are, is that it can become challenging just from the volume of work.”

In terms of filming the creative, NZSKI works with Jeremy Black of Blackbird Productions. Despite being technically outsourced, Mel says Jeremy is heavily involved in the planning process and feels more like “an extension of the team”.

“He joins our team brainstorm sessions for the campaign ideas,” she adds.

Nzski’s CEO Paul Anderson says the team wanted to “think outside the box, capture the imagination and highlight the passion and personalities of the people in the ski industry”.

“Our mountain brands stem from our people and this is a fun way to showcase those personalities. It’s no secret our ski areas have got amazing facilities and terrain – but this campaign shows an emotional connection that skiers and riders will truly connect with.”

Mel is looking forward to seeing the results from this campaign and says she believes that “authentic, real content” resonates better with today’s audience.

“I think we are kind of stepping away from those times of perfectly polished beautiful content. There is a time and a place for that. We are seeing that people connect and engage with something that’s a bit more personable, or real, or funny. That’s probably one of the key learnings for us and something we would like to continue with in terms of the style and how we market our products.”