iCrossing Connects Skiers with Vail Resorts' Properties

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- iCrossing, a global digital marketing agency (http://news.icrossing.com) announced today the launch of destination Web sites for Vail Resorts' properties including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, and Heavenly in California and Nevada.

Last year, iCrossing launched www.snow.com, an entry point for all five of the Vail Resorts mountain resorts. The site won the OMMA Award for "Best Travel Web Site."

Like snow.com, each individual Vail Resorts site was built from the ground up for search visibility and usability based on extensive research into the online behavior and needs of Vail Resorts' customers.

The creative design and copy, developed by iCrossing, reflects the uniqueness of each resort brand through tone and style, and helps the user book a ski vacation that is just right for them, whether they are looking for a resort with the most family-friendly activities or the best apres ski spots.

A large part of the project was the development by iCrossing of a planning and buying process that now enables users to research and customize individual vacation purchases, like lift tickets, or put together customized vacation packages according to their specific criteria, such as price range, number of children, etc. As vacation planning is rarely an impulse purchase, users can save their settings and revisit at a later time.

Although each site's look and feel is unique, they all include common tools to make exploring each site more efficient for users. All of the sites feature simple navigation to videos, current ski conditions and live Web cams. The site architectures were designed to be built on a common platform to greatly increase efficiency in maintaining and updating the sites and eliminate redundancies in vendor contracts for data feeds.

"All of the Vail Resorts sites demonstrate how research and search insights inform creative and technology to drive experiences that are useful, usable and desirable and help build truly connected brands," said Stephen Thompson, executive vice president/executive creative director, iCrossing. "By listening to your audience and understanding how they think, speak, seek, and behave, you can create online experiences that connect on a more personal level."

"Different skiers want different adventures," said Matthew Windt, senior manager, online marketing & E-Commerce, Vail Resorts. "Our goal with each site is to match travelers to their ideal getaway with a fun, interactive online experience."

About iCrossing

iCrossing is a global digital marketing agency that combines talent and technology to help world-class brands find and connect with their customers. The company blends best-in-class digital marketing services — including paid search, search engine optimization, Web development, social media, mobile, research and analytics — to create integrated digital marketing programs that engage consumers and drive ROI. iCrossing's client base includes such recognized brands as Epson America, Toyota, Travelocity and 40 Fortune 500 companies, including The Coca-Cola Company and Office Depot. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company has 550 employees in 12 offices in the U.S. and Europe.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc. is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resort properties at the Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone mountain resorts in Colorado, the Heavenly Ski Resort in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The Company's subsidiary RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages properties across the United States and the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.

SOURCE iCrossing