Breckenridge, CO, Launches New “Kingdom” Campaign Inspired by a Forgotten Piece of History

Just over a week ago, I was driving up the I-70 for a day of downhill biking at Keystone, when I passed a large billboard near the exit to Berthoud Pass depicting a ski-bum-esk Ullr, the Norse god of snow, holding a cardboard sign saying, “They left us off the map.” Intrigued yet confused, I saw the small Breckenridge logo in the bottom left-hand corner of the billboard, just before it flew out of sight.

What I wasn’t aware of at the time was that this billboard was a part of a significantly larger marketing activation Colorado’s Breckenridge Ski Resort was about to embark on, and that this billboard I spotted out of the corner of my eye was simply a small hint at it. 

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Over the past several weekends, the ski resort had been teasing at something. Sharing photos on social media, putting billboards up, sending vague Press Releases about “Ullr being back.” It certainly piqued people’s interest, gaining traction online. Today, SnowBrains received a Press Release from Breckenridge that allowed us to finally put the pieces together.

They Left Us Off The Map

At the heart of the new campaign is a little-known story from Breckenridge’s past. In 1936, near the end of Breckenridge’s time as a gold mining town, a group of local women discovered an 1880 U.S. census map that completely omitted the town of Breckenridge. Instead of being offended by this error, the group embraced it, coining the area of Breckenridge “No Man’s Land” and later evolving the saying into “The Kingdom of Breckenridge.”

From the booming mining town of decades before, to the destination ski icon it has evolved into today, one thing has stayed true throughout Breckenridge’s entire history – a playful, rebellious spirit defines this place. Breckenridge Ski Resort clearly wants to reignite that light that many not from the area may not be aware of.

A Branding & Marketing Pivot to Reflect Its Unique Identity 

With this pivot, Breckenridge Ski Resort wants to better reflect its story in its branding. As one of Vail’s flagship resorts, it could be rather easy to look at Breckenridge’s longstanding logo and branding and associate it with just feeling rather corporate – pretty dry. Not that it is bad by any means, but it just doesn’t stand out in any industry where the logos behind iconic ski resorts represent so much. It didn’t reflect the long, storied, unapologetic history that Breckenridge is really all about once you get to know the place.

So when the resort unveiled its new branding this week, I was glad to see that it felt refreshingly historical. It feels storied, like the branding of so many ski resorts right out of the Swiss Alps. And it plays into the nostalgia, history, and passion that is central to ski culture as a whole. It lends itself very nicely to Ullr, the Norse god of snow, who is celebrated across skiing, but even more so specifically at Breckenridge.

The new branding comes alongside new investments in experiences at Breckenridge itself, including live music pop-up activations across both the ski resort and town, fun experiences including the Ullr Time Mega Shotski, hot dog towers at a unique on-mountain dining dish, and the creation of Founders Day to celebrate and honor the people who were instrumental in creating the resort. Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts, talked about some of these new experiences in detail on a recent Epic By Nature podcast episode, and you can see how all of this is working towards a company-wide push to bring more individuality back to Vail’s ski resorts by focusing on what makes each resort special, while showcasing experiences that you can get nowhere else on earth.

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