Crystal Ski Holidays - 2013/14 marketing campaign

Crystal have long been the market leaders when it comes to ski holidays in the UK. They're a tour operator, so they organise the whole holiday - flights, transfers to the resort and accommodation as standard. Extras like lift passes, equipment hire etc are available on top.

Marketing campaigns among ski tour operators were typically commercially led - "Go skiing for [insert cheapest possible price]".

In 2013 we worked with SomeOne to rebrand Crystal with a clear focus on the emotive elements of a ski holiday.

My job was to come up with a strapline to hang the new marketing campaign from. Skiers are a passionate bunch and we were aiming squarely at them - here it is in action online, on the tube, on envelopes - everywhere.

Crystal Ski Holidays - Guide To The Mountain

In 2014 I was a key part of Crystal's redeveloped brochure - the Guide To The Mountain. I was responsible for setting the tone of the cover and opening features, writing or editing the vast majority of the copy.

GUIDE TO THE MOUNTAIN - (PDF)

Crystal Ski Holidays - brand proposition

Working closely with the brand manager, and following significant market research, we defined a new brand proposition for Crystal Ski Holidays. It addressed the lack of differentiation in a ski holiday market where most brands don't stand out from each other, and where most brands focus on price rather than the holiday experience. It was clear from the market research that customers identify far more with the latter.

Here's the copy I put together to sum up our new approach:

Tone of voice

I defined Crystal's tone of voice, again working closely with the brand manager. Off the back of this I wrote training presentations and PDFs covering tone of voice, consistency and copywriting. I championed tone of voice in the company and gave regular training sessions to staff at all levels.

CRYSTAL'S TONE OF VOICE (PDF)

2012/13 campaign

The 'Feel Free' concept came from an external agency, but I supplied all the supporting copy for the campaign which appeared extensively in national newspapers, online and on the London Underground.

The 'You don't have to climb a mountain' artwork was one of my early concepts for the campaign.

Voiceover script

I came up with the narrative concept and then produced the script for this video which explains how customers can speak directly to Crystal's staff in-resort, and how they help improve the customer journey. I also advised on tone of voice during the recording.