Visit Big Sky Turned the Off-Season into a Shop-Local Event
Visit Big Sky and the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce launched the GO Big Sky Community Coupons Pass, a digital savings pass connecting Big Sky, Montana residents and visitors to exclusive local deals each fall. Built on Seeker XP, the pass gave local businesses a direct line to 2,000+ subscribers during the shoulder season, turning October and November into a community shopping moment before ski season kicks off.
Overview
Businesses registered through the Chamber, submitted a logo, photo, and deal description, and went live with a co-branded deal listing on GO Big Sky. Any offer structure qualified: straight discounts, complimentary items, or simply being featured. Residents and visitors browsed the directory online, then visited participating businesses in person to claim their deal. The pass runs each fall on the same structure, which means it compounds: returning businesses bring an established audience, and new businesses expand the reach.
At a Glance
- Activation: GO Big Sky Community Coupons
- Location: Big Sky, Montana
- Timeline: October-November 2024 (annual fall activation)
- Audience: Big Sky residents, locals, and early-season visitors
- Use Cases: Shop Local, Community Engagement
- Experience Type: Savings Pass
- Industry: Destination Marketing, Associations & Communities
- Key Features: QR Codes
- Platform: Seeker XP
About Visit Big Sky
Visit Big Sky is the official destination marketing organization for Big Sky, Montana, operating as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit funded through the Big Sky Resort Area District. Working in close partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, Visit Big Sky leads tourism promotion, community engagement, and sustainable destination development for one of the Mountain West’s most celebrated resort communities. Big Sky sits 45 miles south of Bozeman at the edge of the Greater Yellowstone region, with Big Sky Resort anchoring a world-class outdoor recreation economy.
Big Sky’s tourism year divides into two peaks: winter ski season (roughly November through April) and summer (hiking, mountain biking, and Yellowstone gateway traffic). The stretch between them, October and November in particular, is genuine off-season. Visitor counts drop, workforce hours contract, and local businesses face cash flow pressure right before the holiday stretch. Visit Big Sky and the Chamber have made shortening that gap a strategic priority, building year-round engagement tools that keep the local economy active when the crowds clear out.
GO Big Sky Community Coupons Pass, powered by Seeker XP, is the platform they built for exactly this. Spanning check-in challenges, guides, and savings passes across the calendar year, GO Big Sky gives Visit Big Sky and the Chamber a turnkey way to drive community participation in local businesses at any point in the year. The Community Coupons Pass is their fall off-season anchor: a low-barrier, no-prize-budget activation that connects residents and early-season visitors to local deals while giving businesses digital visibility and co-marketing support they can actually use.
How It Worked
Participants joined the GO Big Sky Community Coupons Pass at go.visitbigsky.com. No app download was required. The pass was promoted through an event-specific email blast to 2,000+ subscribers, Visit Big Sky and Big Sky Chamber social channels, and a flyers-and-toolkit package delivered directly to every participating business so they could promote their own listing to their customers.
Once on the pass, participants browsed a curated directory of participating local businesses, each featured with their logo, a photo, and a specific deal or discount. Redemption was straightforward: visit the business in person, show the listing on your phone, and claim the offer with a QR code. Each business controlled its own deal terms and could feature anything from percentage discounts to complimentary items.
Participating businesses spanned Big Sky’s local business ecosystem, including:
- Dining and restaurants
- Boutique retail and shopping
- Wellness, fitness, and spa services
- Outdoor outfitters and gear shops
- Local hospitality and services
Businesses that joined received more than a listing. The Chamber supplied flyers and a pre-built social media toolkit so even smaller businesses without dedicated marketing staff could promote their participation. That co-marketing structure meant the pass’s promotional reach extended well beyond the Chamber’s own email list through each participating business’s channels.
Activities
Browse Local Deals
Residents and visitors browsed a curated directory of participating Big Sky businesses, each listed with their specific discount, deal, or special offer.
Discover Something New
The pass directory surfaces Big Sky businesses you might not have visited yet: dining, retail, wellness, and outdoor services, all in one place before ski season starts.
Redeem In Person
Participants visited participating businesses and claimed their offer on the spot by showing their digital pass listing at the point of sale.
Rewards
The Community Coupons Pass was a prize-free activation: the rewards were the deals. Participating businesses offered savings across dining, retail, wellness, outdoor services, and more, with each business setting their own terms. Residents and visitors browsed available offers on the pass and redeemed them in person throughout October and November.