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Marketing inspiration

Bend tourism agency launches new campaign

By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin

Published: October 31. 2007 4:00AM PST

Central Oregon’s winter recreation offerings will be on full display this weekend for some 25,000 avid skiers and snowboarders who are expected to descend upon the Portland Expo Center for the largest consumer ski show in the Northwest.

The Portland Ski Fever & Snowboard Show, which runs Friday through Sunday, will be the vehicle for Central Oregon’s tourism industry to unveil a new branding concept and promote itself to thousands of powder hounds and gear heads.

Tourism businesses also would like consumers at the show to book lodging, buy a ski pass or plan a vacation to the area. Skiing plays a big role in driving visitors to Central Oregon during winter and funneling business into the region’s $498 million-a-year tourism economy.

The trade show will draw 130 exhibitors from Canada to Southern California, including nine from Central Oregon.

It will be the launching point for a new marketing campaign captured on a sign that will greet visitors to the Central Oregon section of the expo center, said Doug LaPlaca, president and CEO of the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau. The sign — with the words, “Visit Bend, Be Inspired” — features prominent photos, including Mt. Bachelor ski area under a fresh blanket of snow and downtown Bend at night.

The visitor bureau will use the new representation of the Bend brand throughout the year in magazine, newspaper, television, radio and Web advertising spots, LaPlaca said.

“Regardless of whether tourists are visiting Bend for skiing, hiking, or fishing or enjoying the shops and restaurants, the common thread in the Bend tourist experience is that it’s an inspiring place to be,” he said.

The visitor bureau will share space at the show with the Bend Downtowners Association and The Shops at The Old Mill District, which are both attending the show this year for the first time, LaPlaca said.

In an effort not to overlap the two main marketing arms of the region, the Central Oregon Visitors Association will not attend the trade show this year. Instead, the tourism-promotion agency will launch a $250,000 winter print, newspaper, television and Web marketing campaign by mid-November, said Alana Audette, COVA’s president and CEO.

Other Central Oregon tourism companies attending the show include the Phoenix Inn Suites, Wanderlust Tours and The Riverhouse Hotel & Conference Center.

“Consumer ski shows are a great opportunity for us to communicate our offerings to a targeted audience of avid skiers,” LaPlaca said. “It’s not a major portion of our marketing strategy, but it’s an important piece.”

The show also could mean big business for Portland-area ski resorts that will sell a bulk of their season passes to locals who attend, according to Scott Kaden, president of the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association in Hood River.

“Some ski resorts use the Portland consumer expo as an opportunity to set up a Portland sales office for three days in November,” said Kaden, citing the three Mt. Hood ski resorts. “It’s their marketplace.”

Mt. Bachelor ski area will be selling directly to consumers, too, including five-day passes, but its main purpose for attending will be to meet face to face with the Portland audience, which is the company’s biggest market outside Central Oregon, said Matt Janney, Mt. Bachelor’s president and general manager.

“Part of the business is being seen, talking to people and answering questions,” Janney said. “We want to be in the front and the back of people’s minds as they make their travel decisions.”

Similarly, Hoodoo Mountain Resort on Santiam Pass will use the trade show to market itself to the Portland crowd, said Chuck Shepard, Hoodoo president.

Shepard wants to build on the momentum that he says the mountain has developed, adding, “People used to say, ‘Hoodoo, what’s that?’ Now they say ‘Hoodoo, cool.’”

Shepard expects to sell at least 20 Anycards, which enable individuals or groups to buy a group of five lift tickets for $30 each, Shepard said. Typically, individual lift tickets cost $39, Shepard said.

Jeff McDonald can be reached at 383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.

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