Snowsports Industries America (SIA) announced that it has named Brian Stephenson as the Director of Snowbound Festival, a leading winter outdoor consumer festival.
Stephenson will be tasked with developing the long-term vision and strategy for the Festival’s online and in-person initiatives. Central to his work will be developing a comprehensive plan to engage current and aspiring winter outdoor enthusiasts and leverage their engagement to generate consumer insights, build loyalty, grow participation, drive attendance, create marketplaces for product sales, and deliver a winter outdoor experience for consumers of all ages and experience levels.
Stephenson takes the reins after most recently working for ReedPOP, a global events services company best known for events including New York Comic-Con, Star Wars Celebration, and more. Stephenson served as the company’s brand director and led direct-to-consumer marketing for the company’s pop culture events as well as merchandising, web design, event production, and consumer experience.
“My whole career has been built on communicating passion and building online and offline communities of highly engaged consumers,” Stephenson said. “Targeting audiences then finding ways to get them excited – be it about comic books, an energy drink or a new snowboard or pair of skis – and then keeping them authentically engaged all year long. We see this as a real opportunity to expand the audience, get more people to attend our events, purchase new products, and then get them outside to enjoy winter.”
Prior to joining ReedPOP, Stephenson spent more than two decades working in lifestyle, sports, culture, and experiential marketing with such clients as Disney, Microsoft, PepsiCo, DC Entertainment, Marvel, Airwalk, and Lucasfilm.
“I’ve known Brian and followed his career for a long time, and I’m thrilled to have him leading the way for Snowbound Festival,” said Nick Sargent, President of SIA. “By creating a compelling, multi-platform destination, our goal is to celebrate the entire winter outdoor culture and lifestyle in a way that is inspirational and accessible to all, and Brian is the ideal person to help Snowbound Festival inspire a larger audience to join us outside once the snow starts to fall.”
SIA announced in January 2020 that it had acquired the Denver and Boston Ski and Snowboard Expos from BEWI Productions, Inc. and launched the re-branded events as Snowbound Festival.
Photos courtesy SIA
