Myke Penfold is convinced that Canadians need another winter sport.

Penfold, of Penfold Xtreme Sports in Concord, Ont., is the sole Canadian distributor of Sled Dogs (miniature skis attached to boots) that, if u.s. parent The Sled Dogs Company has its way, will become the winter equivalent of in-line skates – very cool and extremely lucrative.

And, in the same way that in-line skating is often called ‘rollerblading’ with reference to the premiere equipment manufacturer for that sport, so the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company is hoping its self-created sport, snow skating, will eventually carry the term sled-doggin’.

In fact, a version of snow skating existed before Sled Dogs opened its doors in 1993, but it was largely considered a tool with which to learn skiing, rather than a sport in its own right, says Mary Horwath, chief operating officer and marketing director for the u.s. company.

As well, Horwath says there was a stigma associated with wearing what appeared to be short skis. ‘It said that you were not capable of doing the real thing – you’re a geek.

‘We had to change the image and change perception.’

So, the company set out to build awareness and demand.

Horwath has gone down this road before. She was the vice-president of marketing for Rollerblade for seven years before joining another former Rollerblade executive, John Sundet, at Sled Dog (Sundet is president and ceo of the young company).

According to company literature, both Sundet and Horwath led a sport and brand development effort at Rollerblade that resulted in sales growing to $128 million from $3 million.

Rather than targeting novice skiers, Sled Dog decided to go after the same people who took to in-line skating – some 20 million in the u.s., according to Horwath.

‘We’re targeting the in-line skater [who is] without a snow sport,’ she says, adding that this represents two-thirds of in-line skaters.

She points to the surfers and skateboarders who adopted snowboarding as the pioneers of alternative winter sports. Now, she says, the once-mocked sport has become more and more mainstream with whole families out snowboarding on the slopes.

To showcase the new sport to in-line skaters, Sled Dogs created an infomercial, which ran across the u.s. from September to the beginning of this month.

Entitled ‘Yellow Snow: The Ride from Black to White’ and shot by extreme sports guru Greg Stump with production house Tyee Productions (also of Minneapolis), the infomercial celebrates youth and attitude with pounding music and exciting visuals.

The half-hour spot attracted both retailers and individual consumers, with 50,000 inquiries, according to Horwath. ‘We were thrilled with the results.’

The infomercial also gave play to the company’s Web site, which has attracted 200,000 users, she says.

Also, in a sports marketing first, the company is publishing its own magazine that centres around snow skating. Slide is in the same vein as popular extreme sports magazines – irreverant, young, visually exciting – but the big difference is that it is published by the sports equipment manufacturer itself, so there’s a vested interest in making the sport palatable.

‘We wanted to accelerate things,’ says Horwath. Slide is available free at retail outlets and it’s mailed to anyone requesting information from the Web site.

The company has also compiled a Top Dogs snow skating team – 100 sponsored skaters who are given gear by the company and asked to strut their stuff on the hills and spread the word on the streets of cities across the u.s.

In Canada, distributor Penfold has outfitted 30 Top Dogs of his own to spread the word on ski hills, local parks and even snowy city streets.

Most significantly, last month he penned a deal with the Ontario Toyota Dealers’ Association to spruce up several Toyota sports-utility vehicles with Sled Dogs decals and take them to the hills. Two Toronto radio stations, Rock95 and Q107, are also involved. Penfold says that, next year, he hopes to take the Toyota cross-promotion across the country.

He says he’s also working on several other sponsorship opportunities for next year, particularly in the food and beverage industry.

The Canadian marketing strategy is a little different from that in the u.s., says Penfold. ‘Canada is a nation of winter-sports enthusiasts.’

The difference in climate means that current snowboarders and skiiers play a much larger role this side of the border. In fact, unlike the u.s. snowboarders who hail from a skateboarding or surfing background, 47% of Canadian snowboarders used to be skiiers, he says. ‘We have a lot of crossover in Canada.’

However, snow-skating appeals to a broader audience than snowboarding, says Penfold. ‘It’s not as anti-society as snowboarding,’ he says, adding that many people who in-line skate wouldn’t be caught dead on a snowboard, with its inherent grunge attitude.

However, snow-skating does carry its own attitude – or it wouldn’t sell. Popular give-aways include stickers with Sled Dog catch-phrases such as ‘Bite me,’ ‘Fetch this,’ and ‘Doggy style.’

‘The kids just love them,’ says Penfold.

Over 80% of Canadian resorts have agreed to allow snow skating, he says, and several offer rental and free testing programs, including Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Blue Mountain in Ontario.

Penfold predicts that sales of the Sled Dogs, which come in four styles and range in price from $369-$550, will reach close to 4,000 nationally this season.

Penfold Xtreme is looking at the possibility of airing the Yellow Snow spot next year. ‘There was tremendous spill into Canada,’ says Penfold, with 2,800 calls coming from this side of the border.