SQUAMISH, British Columbia (BRAIN) — The first Whistler Bike conference, planned for May 31-June 2 this year, is an event being planned for bike industry marketing and PR professionals interested in sharpening their digital media skills.
The event is being produced by PinkBike.com and Whistler Mountain Bike Park. It will feature speakers from digital experts from a variety of industries — but not from inside the bike industry, said Darren Kinnaird, the general manager of Whistler's Crankworx event.
"A problem with a lot of other bike conferences is that the bike industry is pretty secretive and they don't want to share what they are thinking and doing ... so we had the concept of bringing in outside experts and it seemed really appealing to the people we spoke to early on," Kinnaird said.
"We are trying to get speakers who can talk about cases and examples of various ways they've been able to bring products to consumers, through digital content and social media."
Four speakers are confirmed already; the organizers expect to have a total of 12 speakers at the event, which will also include riding opportunities at the bike park and other nearby trails.
Alan Golds, PinkBike's advertising and event marketing manager, said they are hoping to have 40-50 participants.
"Early response has been really strong," said Golds.
The event is being held at the beginning of Whistler's riding season. The bike park will have just opened a couple weeks before, and people will all be just recovered from the Sea Otter, Golds said.
Golds said the event will help industry managers learn how to use PinkBike.com and other sites to their full advantage.
"We are constantly being asked what's the best way to use PinkBike to talk to consumers. The goal here is to educate people not only in content creation but on analytics, so that people can better measure what they are accomplishing."
Event pricing starts at $799; packages that include lodging and airport transportation are $1,399, or $1,199 if booked by May 1.
Confirmed speakers so far include: Amy Bao, the lead project manager at Sheng Li Digital, who will talk about marketing to Chinese-speaking market; Dennis Kim, a sports marketing executive and consultant for the Vancouver Olympics, the Canucks and Aritzia, a women's fashion retailer; and Danielle Kristmanson, the founding partner of Origin Design + Communications, which has worked with clients including Salomon Sports, The North Face and Rocky Mountain Bicycles; and Bill Hussey of the branded content and digital video production company Bell Media.
More information: pinkbike.com/whistlerbike
