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| Me on Ski Utah fam trip skiing at Canyons Resort |
I met Susie English last February when she was hosting a group of journalists for a media jolly in Utah. She was great fun, really informative, genuinely hospitable, so accommodating to everyone's differing needs and, of course, such a brilliant skier! The trip - encompassing Salt Lake City, Canyons, Snowbasin and Alta for the whole group as well as Deer Valley and Sundance for greedy old me - was sensational. Great snow, really diverse, dramatic skiing and lovely resorts. And - contrary to many people's preconceptions - plenty of boozy beverages everywhere we après-ed. So, when I started planning the book on winter sports that I am writing with hubby, Dr Simon Hudson, I was keen to include Susie's experiences as a ski PR expert. Here's an excerpt:
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| Susie English/Ski Utah |
Skiing
is in the genes for Susie English who grew up in Park City, Utah, home of the US Ski and Snowboard Team. Her father, Chuck English is Director of Mountain Operations at Deer
Valley Resort
where he has been since 1985 when she was two years old. English has followed
in his footsteps and now works as Director of Communications for Ski
Utah, representing
and working with all 15 ski resorts in the state.
English
went to school and skied with many future Olympians including two-time gold
medalist, Ted Ligety. She was a soccer teammate of Julia
Mancuso, a
lifelong friend of Tanner Hall and ski buddies with silver
medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson. “It was an amazing place
to grow up and I've been so lucky to know a lot of amazing ski athletes because
of it,” she says. “It's pretty fun watching the Olympics when you know the
athletes personally.”
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| Susie English/Ski Utah |
After
majoring in Marketing and Finance at the University of Denver, she returned to
Utah to work as marketing manager for Rossignol
Ski Company
where she stayed for eight years before moving on to Ski Utah. “Working for
Rossignol was a great start to my career and I was able to learn so much, ski
all over the world and live back in Utah,” she says.
At
Ski Utah, her responsibilities include outbound media events, local media
relations, hosting inbound media trips and pitching media nationwide. “My job
is to create brand awareness and demand for the Utah wintersports product through
earned media placements,” she explains. “Being back on the tourism side of the
ski industry is great. I'm passionate about Utah skiing both personally and
professionally!”
The
job is a perfect fit, she says, and what better person to promote a ski area
than a bona fide local who has grown up skiing there with a family history on the
administrative side of the ski tourism industry. So what does the job of
Director of Communications entail? On a day-to-day basis English liaises with the
Utah
Office of Tourism, Visit Salt Lake, Park City Chamber and Visit
Ogden. “Ski
Utah is a membership organization so I also work with members that help me host
media including ski shops, restaurants and attractions,” she explains.
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| Susie English/Ski Utah |
Another
important facet of her job is working with international media interested in
writing about or filming in various Utah destinations. This can have its
challenges, particularly with tight deadlines and the increasing need for
journalists to do extreme activities in order to create headlines. “I've had
interesting requests from I don't eat anything that is red, to I don't ski (and
they are on a Ski Utah press trip). It's always exciting in PR and keeps you on
your toes,” says English. Ski Utah uses
Cision Point to monitor media coverage. “I also work closely with our public
relations firm (Mfa)
to pre-approve press trip attendees and then to monitor coverage after the
trip. We don't expect immediate coverage but hope to see something within two
years of the trip,” English explains.
Like
everything else in the ski industry, public relations has changed over the
years, particularly with the advent of social media. “PR professionals have had
to change their pitching methods from sending mass press releases to more
targeted, focused outreach,” English explains. “Many media members now get many
of their story ideas from social media, especially Twitter, so keeping up on
all of the trends is more and more important.” Out of a total of 10 employees,
Ski Utah has a team of three people managing online content and social media
channels.
Another
focus for a communications director is to keep abreast – and ahead – of the
competition. In Utah’s case this is Colorado, California and other areas
competing for out-of-state winter visitation. “We definitely watch what other
states and ski resorts are doing across the country for ideas and trends,” says
English. “We also work with other states on specific programs, including Learn to Ski and Snowbird Month and the Bring a Friend Initiative.”
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| Susie English/Ski Utah |
So,
what are pre-requisites for a career in winter sports PR? Firstly experience
and understanding of the tourism industry, English says. In order to gain
hands-on experience of the area, she recommends internships at resorts or with
ski companies or state tourism agencies. “Ski Utah has a
fabulous internship program and past interns have gone on to work at Visit Salt
Lake, US Ski Team, Petzl, Ski Utah and more,” she says.
And the perks of a PR ski job: plenty of skiing
and living in a beautiful mountain environment within a likeminded community. “I'll get 70-100 days on skis
each year, mostly for work,” says English. “The people I work with, at Ski Utah
and the resorts, are really amazingly, talented individuals. We are not just
coworkers but friends who ski, ride bikes and BBQ together.” She also travels
extensively throughout the USA meeting with intriguing, unique media, all snow
sports focused. “It is so much fun to create new relationships with media, hear
about all of their amazing travel adventures and ski with them in Utah,” she
concludes.
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| Red Tail Grille, Canyons Resort (courtesy Canyons Resort) |
When
it comes to the winter sports product, English thinks that family appeal is one
of the biggest factors that will ensure longevity for skiing. “Utah's
resorts, specifically Alta, see generation after generation coming out
for the same week every year for their annual family ski vacation,” she
explains. “It is pretty fun to see family grow up coming to Utah and introduce
the next generation to the tradition.” She also thinks that enjoyment at every
level – from beginner, through intermediate, to advanced – will ensure that
snow sports perpetuate as a way to have outdoor fun in a beautiful, wintry
setting.
One
of the things Ski Utah has been addressing recently has been flat skier days
and participation following the 2008 financial crisis. “Many of the participants are aging, so it is a big focus for Ski
Utah to introduce young skiers and snowboarders to the sports,” English says. “The
5th and 6th Grade Passport is a wonderful program that Ski Utah has been doing
for over 10 years to help make the sports more accessible for kids. We also
have a 4th grade program where a staff member educates the kids on health
benefits, costs and more related to skiing and riding and then takes them for a
lesson. All of Utah's resorts have school programs as well.”
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| Alta Lodge, Alta (courtesy Alta Lodge) |
Despite the fact that Utah encompasses two of
the three ski resorts which do not allow snowboarding, English thinks
snowboarding has been a plus for the industry: “It opened up the options
and brought more young people into the sport. Snowboarding numbers have been
decreasing in recent years, but a lot of those people are still on the
mountain, just on skis.” And she says that Alta and Deer
Valley
re-evaluate their anti-snowboarding policy on a yearly basis.
For
the future, English envisions an increase in joint, reciprocal or multi-resort
ski passes. “With Vail
Resorts Epic Pass program many other
resorts are now offering additional benefits for their pass holders,” she
explains. “It was been an interesting trend to watch and many of the Utah
resorts are following suite. Utah's resorts are part of passes like the Epic
Pass, Mountain
Collective, Powder Alliance and Wasatch
Benefit.”
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| Park City Waldorf Astoria: the only ski hill Waldorf (courtesy Park City Waldorf Astoria) |
