We're excited to add AirFlare as a client!
the client
Bay Area technology startup Vector Flight LLC has focused its initial marketing efforts on building adoption for its innovative outdoors safety system, AirFlare — which includes an app that turns smartphones into outdoors rescue locators — among U.S. ski areas and their season passholders. It is COMMposition’s first client to span both of its biggest industry sectors — tourism and tech.
the challenge
Initially, COMMposition was tasked with garnering media coverage about AirFlare’s first documented lifesaving intervention, which took place at Soldier Mountain in Southern Idaho. The agency’s assignment has since grown to not only include publicizing noteworthy announcements for the brand, but also gathering success stories from patrol operations at partner mountains.
our approach
Leverage newsworthy milestones, such as the platform’s first documented lifesaving intervention. Employ local angles whenever possible. Work with ski patrollers to secure credible third-party testimonials since rescued skiers and snowboarders are usually too shaken up to comment on their rescues.
our results
Since our first announcement in October 2023, COMMposition has secured coverage for AirFlare in such noteworthy outlets as the Boston Globe, Frommer’s, GearJunkie, SnowBrains, and Yahoo! Finance, as well as key Idaho outlets like Boise ABC and CBS affiliates KIVI-TV and KBOI-TV, respectively.
In January 2024, AirFlare secured partnerships with the two remaining ski areas within a 2-hour drive of Spokane (there are five total, three of which are in North Idaho), so we developed a news release on the subject and secured coverage with NBC affiliate KHQ-TV, The Spokesman-Review (see the sidebar “Cell phones, new app have eased patrol operations”), and Out There Outdoors.
AirFlare’s joint press release with Ski Idaho announcing a partnership with the latter’s fifth- and sixth-grade passport program garnered coverage in Unofficial Network in addition to media outlets throughout the Gem State.
Collecting success stories from busy, understaffed patrol operations has proven extremely challenging, but COMMposition’s persistence has yielded an array of success stories this ski season, including in-depth interviews with patrol directors and assistant patrol directors at four mountains and testimonials from another half-dozen, with two more pending.