Another Winter season is in full swing, which in the Helly Hansen PR world only means one thing – another International Ski Patrol Day and another press trip!
For those who have been living under a rock, the global ski brand, Helly Hansen launched an appreciation day for ski patrollers everywhere four years ago. Taking place on the 10th of February each year, the day aims to shine a light on the work of those who are the first on the mountains each day – grooming runs, responding to rescues, decimating avalanches, weather watchers, being slope safety advocates and so much more! The day is our opportunity to show thanks for their incredible work, which without, there would be no skiing, no powder days and no après!
Each year, we’re lucky enough to take select media to a partner resort where they get to witness their work first-hand. Over the years, we have taken media onto the mountain before anyone else, completing the opening sweeps, getting found by the avalanche doggies (always a crowd-pleaser), closing the mountain and generally having an incredible day with ski patrol. This year was no different, as we decided to crank it up a notch by taking a group of 25 from all corners of the world to Chamonix Mont Blanc – notoriously one of the most challenging places to ski, and therefore, patrol.
Whilst in Chamonix, we took the opportunity to partake in some of the other HH initiatives too – a free day skiing anyone? Yes, please!
Helly Hansen has a wonderful initiative called Ski Free which enables shoppers to get their hands on free lift passes at over 50 top-notch resorts across Europe and North America – Chamonix being one of them. So of course, we gave everyone an extra day on the slopes to spend however they wished. How on earth does this work, we hear you ask? Simply purchase an HH jacket or pant from the latest ski collection and redeem your code online.
Whilst in Chamonix, we were joined by some of Helly Hansen’s professionals and skiing royalty: Warren Smith and Marcus Caston. What do you get when you bring expert ski media together from across the globe to one of the best off-piste skiing locations going, and throw in a couple of professionals for good measure? A little healthy competition of course! We spent a morning testing and grading the media on their ski race and slalom technique, followed by a little free-ride challenge set by Warren and Marcus.
When you throw that all together, you end up with not only one of the most incredible experiences but also provide the media with an amazing opportunity to test the kit, create deeper connections to the brand and enable the perfect environment for storytelling.
The conclusion – Chamonix is always a good idea.
If you want to learn more about how we can create experiential and valuable campaigns for your brand, please get in touch via: hello@adpr.co.uk or check out some of our recent campaigns: www.adpr.co.uk/work.