Broomfield, CO – If you’re seeing more photos of smiling faces from the slopes of Vail, Northstar and Breckenridge on your Facebook account or in your Twitter stream, you’re not alone.
The addition of on-mountain photos to Vail Resorts’ EpicMix online site and mobile app is already revolutionizing how skiers take and share photos. Just a month into the season, the second generation of EpicMix has already resulted in more than 280,000 posts on Facebook and Twitter, exceeding the total number of social posts from all of last season with more than half of this year’s posts including photos. Based on Facebook’s estimate of 130 friends per account holder, EpicMix has already generated more than 36 million social impressions this season. Additionally, guest activations are already up by just under 40 percent, only five percent of the way through the season.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by our guests’ enthusiasm and engagement with EpicMix so far this season. We knew that photos were one of the most powerful ways that people remember and share their special moments and vacations and we’re seeing that translated into our guests’ adoption rate and engagement with EpicMix Photo. We’re giving people a way to tell their own story in their own words, with their own stats and now with their own professional photos,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. “EpicMix isn’t just another ski or travel app, it’s become an integration of your ski day and vacation experience that enhances your on-mountain enjoyment by providing an additional digital layer that’s easy, convenient and fun.”
EpicMix photographers capture action photos of guests at select locations on the slopes at all six of the company’s mountains – Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, as well as Heavenly and Northstar in California. Guests ski or ride in marked areas to an EpicMix photographer, who captures the action and then scan the guests’ RF-enabled lift ticket or pass. The photos are then automatically delivered to their EpicMix account to share with friends and family or can be incorporated into a Remix collage along with their stats, such as days skied and vertical feet with their favorite digital pins they’ve earned, along with other selected information like snow totals, into a single picture file or “jpeg” that guests can then share on Facebook and Twitter with friends and family. Guests can also purchase a high-resolution image for download for $19.95.
EpicMix is available to all Vail Resorts guests who purchase any lift ticket or season pass this year. Almost every ticket and pass will be enabled with RF technology and allow guests to participate in EpicMix and the new photo functionality. Once guests get their RF-enabled pass or lift ticket, they can simply log on to www.epicmixphoto.com and activate their EpicMix accounts. They can then download the free EpicMix mobile app for the iPhone, Android or other smart phone. Company officials say that no information collected through EpicMix will be shared unless a guest “opts in” and specifically chooses to share their information. Guests can choose to disable the RF chip in their pass to prevent any scanning. Children under 13 participating in EpicMix will have limited features and a connection only to their parents’ account.