Today Snowboarding and the U.S. Snowboarding riders are seen throughout all types of media and news of the team is communicated in many different forms. Snowboarding has been a quickly growing sport including a growing sport in the Olympics and the team and its members are constantly under the spotlight. However the question some are asking is when did snowboarding become cool? And how did it become cool and increase in popularity? The answer to these questions is found in the part that the media has played in the Snowboarding subculture.
For the most part snowboarding went unnoticed back in the 80’s when snowboarding was about duct-tape boards and neon sweat pants. The media however saw this a new business venture and media types such as Time magazine and local news channels were beginning to expose the sport. Suzuki ads were placed on the sides of a few half-pipes and the word snowboarding was appearing in magazines next to words such as “extreme” “action” and “lifestyle sport”. Snowboarding became attached to the media hype including other extreme sports such as surfing, skiing and skateboarding. Over all of those sports, Snowboarding was the sport that gained the most acceptance from the media.
Snowboarding was soon seen in magazines ads, TV commercials for products anywhere from soda to cold medicine. Snowboarding in the media was portrayed as a young sport, new and refreshing. Snowboarding became cool. The sport was on a rise and exploded around 1997; one year before Snowboarding became an Olympic Sport. The media helped create snowboarding as its own identity and differentiated itself from other extreme sports such as skateboarding. After the Olympics snowboarding competitions were seen on major channels such as NBC and major sponsors began to really spend money on the sport, sponsoring major competitions.
The mainstream media was soon seen as an effective marketing tool, especially for women snowboarders. Women snowboarders were portrayed more in fashion magazines in the start, “One shot in Seventeen Magazine could sell more snowboards than a six-page feature in a snowboarding magazine. Eventually woman snowboarders were taken more seriously and seen as professionals and were recognized in major snowboarding magazines.
Snowboarding magazines help promoting the sport; photo incentives are included into many professional riders’ sponsorship contracts that gives the riders publicity as well as a financial incentive to have their photo in a magazine. Examples of popular Magazines include Transworld Snowboarding, Snowboard Magazine USA and Method. Snowboard magazines have recently pushed their efforts into the online market with online only publications. It has become necessary for the team to use social media networks such as facebook and twitter to reach their audience.
In 1994 Mike Hatchett’s Totally Board came out which glamorized snowboarding and changed the way the public thought about snowboarding. Snowboarding films have played a major part in the progression in the sport. Films are released each season produced by snowboard specific video production companies as well as other companies that use these films as a form of advertising. Videos show professional riders sponsored by companies. An example of snowboarding for commercial use is, The White Album, a film with Shaun White, snowboarding hero that is sponsored by PlayStation, Mountain Dew and Burton Snowboards. Not only are these films used as a form of advertisement by as a way of showing the snowboarding style and new trends of the sport.
Large amounts of money were spent on promotion of the sport and sponsorship deals. Sponsorships of the team include Burton, Visa, Sprint and Putnam Investments, which have created all types of buzz for the team. Olympic Medalists Shaun White and Gretchen Bleiler are constantly in the news for their snowboarding accomplishments and are becoming very popular sports celebrities.
The US snowboarding team has been in the spotlight more than ever as they are doing increasingly better in the Winter Olympics and other international competitions. Many sponsors including Putnam Investments are choosing to join with the team because of the driven athletes and excellence that they stand for and that is what is portrayed to the public through the media.
Link to Sean White youtube video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1j63gt_uGE
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