Lake Morey Resort
We Brought Curling to the Masses with the First Annual “Ice Sports University."
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It all started last summer when client Lake Morey Resort in Vermont said to us, “hey, we’re thinking of inviting the local curling club in this winter to show guests how to curl on the frozen lake in our backyard…can you guys do anything with that?” Were they joking? We couldn’t WAIT to wrap that quirky idea up with a big ol’ PR bow…and thus was born the first annual Ice Sports University.
Timed to capture news media interest just before the 2014 Winter Olympics, we created a themed weekend at the resort during which guests could learn to curl, play pond hockey, Nordic skate, and more. Drawing on the resort’s numerous unique amenities and offerings, we assembled an itinerary that made this a true “only at Lake Morey” experience…from the showing of classic Winter Olympic-themed movies in the resort’s 120-seat indoor movie theater to Nordic skating lessons on the 4.5 mile skate trail around Lake Morey, which is the longest maintained outdoor skate trail in the country. The resort embraced the joyful spirit of this event instantly, getting “professors” to teach each sport, creating a fun “university” atmosphere complete with graduation ceremony, and a host of other memorable activities and events.
Results brought home the gold. News media coverage – which included The New York Times, The Boston Globe (twice!), Toronto Globe & Mail, and dozens of other newspapers, blogs, radio and TV segments – not only sold out the weekend event (on a historically dead weekend), but also filled the resort’s icy playground with guests the following weekend as well. Want to see how much fun it was? Check out the coveted “Stuck in VT” segment that ran in Vermont’s leading media outlet Seven Days.