An Investigation into customers' perception on a French Ski Resorts advertisement campaign

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Health - Sport - Sport Economics, Sport Management, grade: 66 %, Northumbria University (School of Psychology and Sports Sciences), language: English, abstract: Prior to World War I, skiing had already established itself as a leisure activity and as an integral part of winter sports tourism (www.kokotele.com). In Scandinavia and the central European alpine states, skiing evolved as an industry around 1890. The first exhibition of winter sports equipment was held in Muerzzuschlag in Austria in 1894, two German and 14 Austrian manufacturers put their products on display (www.land.heim.at). Also around this time the first international skiing, crosscountry and ski jumping championships took place. The winter sport industry in particular the skiing industry obtained a tremendous boost through the first winter Olympics, held in Chamonix in 1924 (www.olympic.org/uk). With growing prosperity of European countries in the late fifties, the skiing industry developed into an important part of the leisure and tourism sector. These days whole regions are dependent on ski tourism and it provides many jobs for people in mountainous areas (www.skimuseum.net). These days Europeans go for vacation rather than recreation, and skiing is as much a social as a sporting activity (Lennon, 1997). The recent emergence of snowboarding has contributed to the ski tourism industry, attracting many youngsters to ski resorts (Marzella, 2001). Snowboarding as a sport was invented through surfers in the 1960`s who fixed bindings on to modified surfboards. As the yuppie age ended and the 'Generation X'ers' began to get into skateboarding, BMX bikes, bungee jumping, and roller blading., snowboarding took off (Reichenfeld & Bruechert, 1995). By the late 1980`s, rapid growth in the sport had been tipped into motion by a number of important catalysts. Effective technical innovations and the formation of a world professional tour (backed by enthusiastic media) were the main factors in widening the sports commercial market and creating what is now an established and vibrant industry. However, many ski resorts still treat snowboarding as a secondary market, although it must be added, that by 1996 97% of all ski resorts 'welcomed' snowboarders (Marzella, 2001). Through the increased popularity of snowboarding over the last 10 years, it is inevitable that some resorts would develop a strong attraction for boarders (Lennon, 1997). [...]