A genuine novelty this winter, these skis and snowboards catch the eye
with their sleek lines and rock-inspired graphics, being the hot fashion trend
in the 2009/2010 season: hearts, roses, eagle wings, golden crowns,
and parchment scrolls…

 Even the colours by themselves are lively: carmine red, electric blue, pastel
pink, yellow, grey - all the better to make your mark on the slopes and stand out from the crowd..

 As for the underside of the snowboard, it stands out with its comparative restraint: with a pink edging around a solid white background, its features just the face of our smiling little feline friend and the trademark signature of
Victoria Casal Couture.

  These skis will be available starting this 2009/2010 winter season in France, where the rental network is the most advanced in Europe, with the aim of establishing a presence in a representative proportion of European ski stations from the following season onwards. This will offer previously untapped visibility to advertisers on the slopes and within the ski stations themselves. This programme relies on a network of specialist selective renters, spread right across the French territories. The rental network also takes consideration of the type of snow activities practiced in each station (snowboard, freestyle, free ride, etc.), and can then also offer advertisers the opportunity to "stick closer" to their targeted audience. Last but not least, the two categories of skiers showing the most marketing promise (new adepts, women) constitute privileged targets in the Innovaski range, offering a rock solid bet as promising growth market segments.

 This new concept, forcibly targeted in the premium category given the quality of the skis and the technicality of the network, is then clearly focussed on attracting brands that primarily want to reach a youthful audience (age ranges 15-24, 25-34 and 35-44 are over-represented amongst skiers), or a high-income family segment, and even more particularly by concentrating on women and children. Advanced negotiations are currently being held with several publicity groups.

  Innovaski is a programme promoted by experienced professionals in the world of sports

 At the core of the business, the Innovaski company combines the talents and energetic enthusiasm of 5 men who have been able to successfully motivate several investors from the skiing fraternity to join their project:

- Didier Schmidt, ex-member of the French national ski team, French slalom champion in 1992, and President of Innovaski.

- Franck Piccard, ex-Olympic ski champion (gold medal in the Super-G and bronze in the Downhill at the Calgary Games in 1988, followed by the Downhill silver at the Albertville Olympics in 1992),
he has also won four titles in World Cup events (Downhill, Super-G and Giant slalom).

- Sébastien Amiez aka « Bastoune », ex-ski champion (Olympic silver medallist at the Salt Lake City Games (USA) in 2002 and Slalom silver medallist at the world championships in Sestrières in 1997). He started his winning run in 1996, taking away the crystal globe in the Slalom
event by edging out the Italian Alberto Tomba.

-Pierre Emmanuel Delattre, ex professional French skier.

-Michel Vion, the alpine skier whose career was crowned with the title of world champion at Schladming (Austria) in 1982. He was also French Downhill champion in 1981 and 1984, and French Giant Slalom champion in 1978. Since then, he moved on to coaching the French ski teams (DTN), and was then brought into the executive management team for Rossignol, charged with global management of the Rossignol, Dynastar and Lange brands.

 Innovaski's ambition is to eventually respond to two market forces: firstly, that of consumers who are increasingly opting for rental rather than purchase, but who often lack the information or guidelines that are useful when it comes
to selecting their equipment (which model for which ski style, which brand), and secondly, of the renters, who will be able to take advantage of some genuine standards, with each brand associated with a limited product series representing a particular category of skier.

  About Innovaski
 Created in 2009, Innovaski offers premium ski products for rental, with limited series productions applying imagery from well known brand names. As a novel communications medium, these top quality skis are adapted for all types of skier. Innovaski is a company which makes excellent use of the experience, knowledge and passion of its founding members, all of them accomplished professionals of alpine sports.

 Press contact – BBDO Influence Agency:
Karin Roubaudi : 01 41 23 43 27 / roubaudik@clm.bbdo.fr
Cécile Soubelet : 01 41 23 42 28 / soubeletc@clm.bbdo.fr

 La Bathie, 25th May 2009 – Innovaski and Atomic have reached an agreement for the manufacture of SkiMedia products, high precision skiing equipment issued in limited series runs – between 2000 and 5000 pairs per model - dressed in the trademark symbols of well-known trade brands and offered exclusively for rental use only, debuting this coming 2009/2010 winter season in France.

 Innovaski are launching the SkiMedia range, the first high precision skis to be manufactured in limited series runs, sporting the colours and emblems of major merchandising companies and available only through premium winter sports rental stores. Distributed through a specialist channel network of rental stores, these skis are premium product offerings adapted to each skier and their chosen downhill style.

 Atomic will be the exclusive supplier for these technical products and equipment, which have been designed specifically for rental applications.

 " We are happy that Atomic, the world's leading manufacturer of winter sports equipment, has decided to contribute their strength to support our SkiMedia project. They will manufacture our skis under an exclusive arrangement, following strictly prepared environmental standards and designed for rental distribution only ", announced Didier Schmidt, president of Innovaski.

 Franck Piccard, another of the Innovaski founders, added: "Atomic will bring us their expertise and technical know-how, guaranteeing that SkiMedia will be able to boast faultless technological quality and a wealth of presentational prowess that is fundamentally important to our advertisers. "

 SkiMedia: a project from the Innovaski company promoted by experienced professionals in the
world of sports

 At the core of the business, the Innovaski company combines the talents and energetic enthusiasm of 5 men who have been able to successfully motivate several investors from the skiing fraternity to join their project:

- Didier Schmidt, ex-member of the French national ski team, French slalom champion in 1992, and President of Innovaski.

- Franck Piccard, ex-Olympic ski champion (gold medal in the Super-G and bronze in the Downhill at the Calgary Games in 1988, then the Downhill silver at the Albertville Olympics in 1992), he has also won four titles in World Cup events (Downhill, Super-G and Giant slalom).

- Sébastien Amiez aka « Bastoune », ex-ski champion (Olympic silver medallist at the Salt Lake City Games (USA) in 2002 and Slalom silver medallist at the world championships in Sestrières in 1997). He started his winning run in 1996, taking away the crystal globe in the Slalom event by edging out the Italian Alberto Tomba.

- Pierre-Emmanuel Delattre, ex professional French skier.

- Michel Vion, the alpine skier whose career was crowned with the title of world champion at Schladming (Austria) in 1982. He was also French Downhill champion in 1981 and 1984, and French Giant Slalom champion in 1978.

  Since then, he moved on to coaching the French ski teams (DTN), and was then brought into the executive management team for Rossignol, charged with global management of the Rossignol, Dynastar and Lange brands.

  Innovaski's ambition is to eventually apply SkiMedia as a response to two key market forces: firstly, that of consumers who are increasingly opting for rental rather than purchase, but who often lack the information or guidelines that are useful when it comes to selecting their equipment (which model for which sky style, which brand), and secondly, of the renters, who will be able to take advantage of some genuine standards, with each brand associated with a limited product series representing a particular category of skier.

  About Innovaski
  Created in 2009, Innovaski offers premium ski products for rental, with limited series productions applying imagery from well known brand names. As a novel communications medium, these top quality skis are adapted for all types of skier. Innovaski is a company which makes excellent use of the experience, knowledge and passion of its founding members, all of them accomplished professionals in alpine sports.

Press contact – BBDO Influence Agency:
Karin Roubaudi : 01 41 23 43 27 / roubaudik@clm.bbdo.fr
Cécile Soubelet : 01 41 23 42 28 / soubeletc@clm.bbdo.fr