Media Releases

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Whistler from Behind the Lens: Images tell the Whistler story

Tourism Whistler media release
For immediate release - October 1, 2013

Suggested Tweet: #Whistler Behind the Lens; Experience #Whistler, document and share your images and enter to win #WhistlerUnfiltered http://bit.ly/GzLSaE

Whistler, B.C. – As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and with an endless scrapbook of Whistler images fuelling its story, the Whistler conversation has never been better.

From the people’s lens to the pro’s lens, Whistler offers a spectacular backdrop for imagery and Tourism Whistler, in launching its winter campaign and associated contests this month, continues to maximize on the social media phenomenon of image sharing to capitalize on the power of photography in telling the ultimate story.

Last winter, the marketing organization launched the highly successful #WhistlerUnfiltered campaign, encouraging the sharing of Whistler images with the hashtag #WhistlerUnfiltered. More than 25,000 images were tagged and shared by Whistler guests, creating a perspective on Whistler through the people’s lens. This year, while expanding upon the #WhistlerUnfiltered concept, Tourism Whistler invited some of the world’s top professional action sports and lifestyle photographers who’ve also documented Whistler to participate. Evolving for winter 2013/ 14, the #WhistlerUnfiltered campaign introduces the Pro’s Lens as well as the People’s Lens.

“The #WhistlerUnfiltered campaign was developed to showcase genuine Whistler experiences as portrayed through the images of our guests,” explains Louise Walker, Tourism Whistler’s Vice President of Marketing Strategy.

“Our research shows us that 86 per cent of our guests share images and content about their Whistler vacations while in- resort,” Walker said. “These guests, who are sharing their Whistler images with their own audiences, become our ambassadors, telling the story of Whistler and promoting the resort to essentially millions of potential visitors.”

Through the Pro’s Lens, an exhibit by nine professional photographers, has been created, along with their stories and videos, in Behind The Lens.

Led by the award-winning Blake Jorgenson, the team of esteemed photographers also includes Mattias Fredriksson, Robin O’Neill, Paul Morrison, David McColm, Mike Helfrich, Jussi Grznar, Jordan Manley and Steve Simon. Find their images, stories and videos at Behind The Lens. Selected to act as curator for the project, Jorgenson, who owns the Blake Jorgenson Gallery in Whistler, worked with Tourism Whistler’s advertising agency, Origin Design + Communications, to identify, shortlist and assemble the collection of work from participating photographers while also providing guidance and art direction in the curation of the exhibit.

As he describes in an interview for the Whistler Insider, Jorgenson explains the significance of the Behind The Lens project.

“It’s progressive. The way people communicate with each other is changing and this project acknowledges that. My job was to find photos that would interlink together as an exhibit or presentation and still tell the full Whistler story,” he said. “The cool thing was none of the photographers got sent out with a marketing department brief or shot-list. All of these photos existed beforehand because the photographers wanted to capture that exact moment of life. These images are truthful and together they take a different approach, one of real connection. They say - come to Whistler because we have awesome people and awesome experiences.”

Enter for a chance to win
In support of the winter campaign, Tourism Whistler also launched its winter signature contest: Picture Perfect at Whistler is a simple enter-to-win contest with one grand prize, valued at approximately $13,000+ CDN with a trip for two to Whistler, including:

• round-trip airfare
• ground transfers, courtesy of Pacific Coach Lines
• seven nights’ accommodation, courtesy of the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa
• winter gear (including ski or board package – skis/ board, boots, bindings, poles and travel bag) from K2
• outerwear (jackets, pants, base layers, toques and gloves) from Columbia Sportswear
• DSLR camera
• Whistler Blackcomb lift tickets
• A 16x20 canvass print of choice courtesy of Whistler’s Foto Source

Also included in the prize are a number of Whistler signature activities, including:

• Canadian Wilderness Adventure snowmobile excursion
• Superfly Zipline experience
• Whistler Bungee Jump
• Ayurvedic massages courtesy of Vida Spa
• Scandinave Spa Serenity package
• Yogacara gift certificate
• Show tickets and bar tab at the Garibaldi Lift Co.
• Dinner for two at the Longhorn Saloon and VIP experience at Buffalo Bill’s
• Guided tour of the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
• Brewery tour at the Whistler Brewery

The contest runs from October 1 – March 31, 2014 with the winner announced in April, 2014.

Tourism Whistler a finalist for awards
Tourism Whistler, as the official destination marketing organization for Whistler, has been recognized as a finalist in two categories for the Canadian Tourism Awards, presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

Tourism Whistler is a finalist in the Marketing Campaign of the Year category for the Whistler Sabbatical Project and in the Social Media Initiative of the Year category for its #WhistlerUnfiltered campaign.

The Canadian Tourism Awards are presented annually by TIAC “to recognize success, leadership and innovation in Canada's tourism industry, and to reward those people, places, organizations and events that have gone above and beyond to offer travellers superior tourism experiences in Canada.”

The awards will be presented at the gala dinner ceremony at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa on Tuesday, December 3,

Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER and whistler.com - Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

Broadcasters: Whistler now has the capability to take you live with our enhanced fibre network. The significantly expanded network of more than 200 kilometres of fibre optic cabling throughout the resort allows instant transmission of HD signals to any location at any time. Details on how to access, and book the fibre are available on our media site. http://media.whistler.com/contact-us/filming-in-whistler/

Media can visit whistler.com/media for Whistler facts, media releases, story starters, local personality profiles and access to images and B-roll.

Media Contact
Patricia Westerholm
Manager, Corporate Communications
T: 604.938.2748
E: pwesterholm@tourismwhistler.com

W: www.whistler.com/media
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