Winning at Altitude: Driving Peak Performance &
Record-Breaking Revenue
How SkiBig3 unified their digital ecosystem, scaled performance across channels, and turned paid media into a revenue engine.
“We had a tough year. War Room was nimble, and very responsive.”
— SARAH PEARSON, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, SKIBIG3
SkiBig3 is the official marketing organization for three world-class ski resorts in Banff National Park: Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, and Mount Norquay. Offering access to all three mountains, along with lodging, rentals, transportation, and ancillary experiences, SkiBig3 delivers a complete winter vacation ecosystem.
Historically, international travelers — particularly from the United States — represented their primary growth market. The objective was clear: drive overnight winter visitation and increase vacation package bookings.
Then Winter 2020 changed everything.
With international travel halted due to COVID-19, SkiBig3 needed to pivot immediately. The focus shifted from global demand to domestic opportunity — while still proving that digital media was directly driving measurable revenue.
30%
Above Return on
Ad Spend (ROAS) Goal
The campaign surpassed its ambitious ROAS benchmark by 30%.
1 mil+
Revenue Generated
in the First 3 Months
Campaign execution drove over one million dollars in revenue shortly after launch.
80%
YoY Increase in
Sales & Business
Even amid pandemic restrictions, SkiBig3 exceeded expectations compared to the previous year.
Here’s how we did it
Objectives:
Putting the win in winter
The US market is their primary target market, but travelers from all across the world come to enjoy the beautiful, fresh powder on the great mountains in the Rockies. SkiBig3 welcomes skiers from all ages and levels, as this winter wonderland is packed with fresh pow and adventures for everyone.
SkiBig3’s primary ad objective is to target travelers and increase overnight vacation bookings.
Challenges:
Navigating
uncertain times
SkiBig3’s core business depended heavily on international travelers. When COVID-19 brought global travel to a standstill, the 2020 winter season faced significant uncertainty. Travel restrictions shifted constantly, demand patterns changed overnight, and traditional feeder markets disappeared entirely.
Beyond driving bookings, SkiBig3 also needed to retain confidence within its partner network. Reporting clicks and conversions was no longer enough — stakeholders needed to see direct revenue impact. Proving that ad investment translated into “money in the bank” became critical. In one of the most volatile seasons in tourism history, sustainability wasn’t the goal. Survival and ideally growth were.
Strategy: Sleigh the day
We needed to help SkiBig3 get to a point past sustainability and actually thrive in an incredibly challenging year.
Here’s how we did it:
Rapid
Strategic Pivot
War Room moved quickly to pivot SkiBig3’s entire winter approach toward the Canadian market. The campaign focused on promoting lift tickets, lodging packages, rentals, and ancillary experiences such as snow school.
Agile
Optimization
Throughout the season, travel restrictions were repeatedly introduced, lifted, and reinstated. War Room remained agile, continuously reallocating budget toward the highest-performing markets and audience segments to protect and improve ROAS.
Real-Time
Optimizations
In a season defined by uncertainty, static strategy wasn’t an option.
Travel restrictions, capacity limits, and consumer confidence shifted week to week. We continuously monitored performance signals across every channel in real time to stay aligned with demand.
First-Party Data Expansion
Using SkiBig3’s existing first-party audience data, we built high-performing Lookalike segments and applied behavioral targeting to a powerful Retargeting audience. This allowed us to capitalize on engaged domestic users while simultaneously expanding first-party data assets for future campaigns, a critical advantage as privacy standards evolve.
Full-Funnel Channel Activation
We deployed a coordinated, programmatic strategy across Search, Video, Audio, Facebook, Instagram, Connected TV, and Programmatic Display. Every channel worked together with unified messaging, centralized optimization, and cross-channel performance insights guiding budget allocation in real time.
“We’ve been able to be incredibly connected with our team and they’re very responsive to our requests.”
— SARAH PEARSON, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, SKIBIG3
WHAT WE LEARNED
Ski lifts
& revenue lifts
Winter 2020 tested the global travel industry.
SkiBig3 didn’t just weather the storm — they delivered growth.
By pivoting strategically to domestic audiences, leveraging first-party data, and maintaining real-time agility across channels, War Room helped generate over $1M in revenue in just three months, exceed ROAS targets by 30%, and achieve an 80% year-over-year increase in sales.
When conditions changed overnight, the strategy adapted just as fast.
Because in tourism — especially during uncertainty — winners don’t wait for stability.
They compete anyway.