| Winner | NZSki |
| Marketing initiative | NZSki – Spring Shred Challenge |
| Marketing partners | Braze, DataStory |
| Finalists | Hastings District Council, Movember |
| Judges’ comments | “The judges felt the Spring Shred Challenge was a winner because it delivered a commercial return on budget, demonstrating creative use of owned media and smart use of data. It delivered on clear objectives, and was well backed by favourable seasonal conditions.” |
Skiing, gamified
NZSki found a playful solution to revive the patchy spring skiing season – on a tiny budget.
While most welcome the arrival of spring, it is a challenging time for ski area management companies like NZSki, which typically see a drop-off in visitors to the mountains.
NZSki data from 2023 shows season pass holders significantly reduced their skiing from early September until the end of the season in early October – averaging just 2.6 days on the slopes.
It didn’t have much of a budget to play with, but NZSki set out to increase spring skiing frequency and boost spring pass sales. Connecting these challenges led to a creative solution: turn spring skiing into a fun, rewarding experience. In its sights were guests at its three ski fields – Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mt Hutt.
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A playful solution
The idea was simple: if guests felt like they were playing a game with real rewards, they’d be motivated to fit in extra ski days. And so the Spring Shred Challenge was born – a campaign that turned guest loyalty into free hot drinks, redeemable credit for NZSki retail stores or even a two-hour private lesson. It supported retention goals by engaging both season pass holders and other guests, incentivising more frequent visits.
In 2024, NZSki adopted Braze as its customer engagement platform, enabling personalisation at scale and targeted communication through owned channels.
Personalised touches such as “John, only one more ski day until your free coffee!” helped maintain momentum, while timely SMS nudges over peak weekends further encouraged participation.
By employing a mix of high-impact owned channels and selective paid advertising, NZSki transformed a seasonal challenge into an engaging, easy-to-join campaign that kept skiers coming back.
And all despite working with a limited $10,000 budget.
Gamification was a hit: spring visitor numbers jumped by nearly 25% year on year and spring pass sales rose about 9%. More than 3000 skiers earned rewards, with 338 loyalists hitting 12 days or more on the slopes in the final weeks of the season.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 84, Sept-Nov 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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