Denver, CO – One of the world’s leading ski brands, Head, was honored Thursday as the eighth recipient of the Doc DesRoches Award for its integration of U.S. Ski Team athletes in its global “Speedoholics” marketing campaign. The award is presented annually by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) and the U.S. Ski Team to recognize an SIA member and Team supplier for its promotion of the Team’s brand and athletes.nHead is a leading U.S. Ski Team supplier, providing support to a range of athletes including Olympic champions Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, and Ted Ligety.
Head’s “Speedoholics” campaign was built around some of the biggest names in ski racing worldwide, including segments with both Miller and Vonn. The superstars bare their souls about their dependency on speed, allowing fans to build a sense of oneness with their heroes by admitting their own addiction to speed at www.head-helps.com.
The campaign featured mini-movies, print ads, and web content driving fans to head-helps.com. Mini-movies of the two superstars were utilized both as commercials and featured videos for social media distribution. Head kicked off the season with a huge media event at the World Cup opener last October in Soelden, Austria with each of the Speedoholics athletes showcased in front of hundreds of writers and photographers.
“Suppliers like Head are important to the U.S. Ski Team athletically but also for their ability to market an exciting image of our athletes and our sport,” said the Team’s Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Andrew Judelson. “The Speedoholics campaign was a fun and impactful way for our athletes to showcase their sport and connect with fans.”
“The campaign has been very successful for our brand worldwide,” said Head’s Director of Sales and Marketing Jon Rucker. “It has allowed athletes to have fun talking about what drives them as ski racers and to create an interactive platform for fans worldwide through use of modern media components.”
Head’s U.S. Ski Team athletes have become big fans of the company, both for its product support and racer service, and its ability to build excitement for their sport.
“Head has done a great job integrating U.S. athletes into its marketing and media strategies. The commercials are really cool, fun and fresh,” said Vonn. “Head not only has the best skis but is a company really based around the athletes.”
“It’s cool working with a group like Head that understands the sport of ski racing,” added Ligety, an Olympic champion and two-time Audi FIS World Cup giant slalom champ.
The award was presented on opening day of the SIA Snow Show in Denver.
DesRoches, who died in 2003, had an impactful industry career forming SIA and leading it for nearly two decades. He was also instrumental in developing the U.S. Ski Team’s early fundraising efforts, including the New York Ski and Snowboard Ball. DesRoches was recognized as one the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s most notable leaders of the past century with a tribute outside the USSA’s new Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah.
“Doc was the real spirit of our industry for many decades,” said SIA President and CEO David Ingemie. “He would be proud to honor a company like Head that has such a rich heritage in our sport.”
The award has been presented annually since 2004 in recognition of marketing efforts by a supplier around the U.S. Ski Team brand and athletes.
Doc DesRoches Award Winners
- 2004 – Rossignol
- 2005 – Atomic
- 2006 – All U.S. Ski Team suppliers
- 2007- Spyder Active Sports
- 2008 – Volkl, Marker, Tecnica
- 2009 – SmartWool
- 2010 – Under Armour
- 2011 – Head Skis