Tom Wallisch Center of Excellence Video

With the birth of the U.S. Freeskiing brand (part of U.S. Ski and Snowboard), U.S. Ski and Snowboard sought an opportunity to promote the brand through the well-established fan base of the freeskiing athletes. The Center of Excellence, U.S. Freeskiing’s “home base” in Park City, Utah, needed a boost in reputation and awareness within the freeskiing community.

Tom Wallisch, the sport’s top slopestyle skiing athlete at the time, agreed to produce a video endemic to his style while granting exclusive first-release rights to U.S. Ski and Snowboard for distribution across their social media channels. He then amplified the content to his personal fan base, intentionally driving traffic back to U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s platforms.

In 2013, when most athlete content lived primarily on personal channels, this rights-first distribution model was strategically ahead of common sports marketing practice, prioritizing U.S. Ski and Snowborad-owned platforms while leveraging the athlete’s audience to build the brand’s owned social equity. The video became the most-viewed piece of content on the USSA Network for over a year, instantly elevating the credibility of the new U.S. Freeskiing identity and positioning U.S. Freeskiing as a cultural force within the freeskiing community.