For retailer Andrew Kondi, president of Rocky Mountain Pools & Spas Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, these cherubs capture the joy of wintertime hot-tubbing for his advertisements.

Customers gain a new appreciation for a snow bank when their spa is tucked into it, says retailer Gregg Norton, owner of Mammoth Pool & Spa in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Not only do retailers use images of a hot soak on a cold day to make sales, but resorts such as the Grand Targhee Ski & Summer Resort in Alta, Wyo., do it, too.

fter a busy day of skiing, snowshoeing or sledding — or an arduous drive home on snow-packed streets — most of Mountain Hot Tub’s clients head gratefully to the bubbling warmth of their spas.

“We are in such an outdoor recreation area,” says Molly Flament, sales and marketing coordinator of the Bozeman, Mont.-based retailing firm. “All of our customers think that winter should be our busiest season.”

And the firm is busy. With customers using their spas year ’round, Flament’s chemical sales continue at a steady pace throughout the snowy months. What’s the secret to getting customers out of the cold and into a spa? The firm focuses its marketing program on year-round promotional messages.

“We stress the importance of using variety in our promotions,” Flament says. “If I run a promotion in the spring, I’ll use photos of spas in sunny settings with great landscaping. In the fall, we’ll picture the hot tubs with snow all around them.

“The biggest thing with an ad is that you want to make them want it now,” she says. Showing a spa in the appropriate setting makes all the difference.

Research has found consumers pointing to the year-round usability of spas as an important reason to buy one. For example, a study conducted by P.K. Data Inc. of Atlanta, for the National Spa & Pool Institute asked consumers to consider 26 statements about spas and judge their believability and strength as a reason to buy. The statement “A spa provides year-round enjoyment” ranked third overall.

Another retailer, Rocky Mountain Pools & Spas Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, also gets the word out about wintertime spa use. The firm’s service trucks are affixed with posters and decals bearing the irresistible image of children enjoying a wintertime soak.

“That image says everything we want to say about spa ownership,” notes Andrew Kondi, company president. “The look of pure joy on the faces of those kids, with the snow-covered trees in the background, shows how fun and exciting this product can be.”