CHALLENGE
On March 13, 2020, right in the middle of a very successful and snowy ski season, the Governor of Colorado shut down all the ski resorts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anger and frustration ensued. Many people had barely used their Epic Pass, or had literally flown in for spring break that day eager to use their seasonal pass. 

Even though it wasn’t the fault of Vail Resorts or the governor, or anybody really, people were understandably upset, especially on social media. And the worst part for Vail on a business level was that they had no revenue coming in: no ski lessons, no lodging, no après ski. Selling passes for the upcoming season was more crucial—and difficult—than ever before.

SOLUTION
Create an emotional appeal to give Vail a little breathing room while they worked through this unprecedented situation in real-time, as well as give some optimism about next year. Most importantly, make people realize that we were all in this together and better times were ahead.

EXECUTION
The work had to do two things: reassure people Vail would make things right, and get them open to buying Epic Passes for the following season. We came up with a unifying theme #EpicTogether which promised a return to the slopes we all loved. It was used across all Epic Pass communications and a video highlighting new insurance measures such as Epic Coverage, which made 2021 a safer bet for everyone.