Elan is a traditional Slovenian brand, a part of Slovenian industrial culture and as such part of our society. But with time comes change and with change came a shift in their target group. Elan identified that youngsters are skiing less than former generations. There are many reasons for that, one of them is also that schools are no longer organising the so called “school in nature”, a project where pupils would visit ski slopes for a week each year and additionally schools do not have the equipment needed. 

We suggested that Elan begins embracing and emphasizing two new products and communication logics. First, to address the new generation through online activities and second to start enabling ski personalisation. We developed an online contest for personalised ski creation and invited schools to join and have the chance to win the first prize (15 pairs od skis). Even more, every design created was also available for purchase. Elan was the first brand in the industry with the ability to create personalised skis online.

The results were outstanding. More than 90 percent of Slovenian schools participated in the campaign, some even went so far to include the project in the school curriculum, while others encouraged youngsters from their community to vote for their schools. The positive movement went viral. Over 19.000 works were submitted and almost 70.000 unique users visited the page. Most importantly, Elan really created a buzz and highlighting their brand right before the ski opening season. 

Personalised products and options enable strong brand interaction fostering a new kind of relationship between brand and customer. Users become more then observers, they become the creators and that makes them part of the story which the brand is telling. The project potential  of personalised skis is about to become a special communication and production line of a globally renowned brand from a small Slovenian village Begunje.

AWARDS

- Silver Award at SOF 2013

- WEBSI 2013 winner in category "free time and sport"

- Sporto 2013 Finalist in best digital communication category