by
Steve Cony
Do you remember the movie The Right Stuff, about the meticulous selection
and training of astronauts by NASA? If you consider every marketing contact
between your camp and the public as a mission, there are some interesting
parallels.
First, it is important to recognize most prospective camp families as
“neophytes.” While there are many families where the parents have fond
memories of camp, there are many others where the summer camp experience
has never been important or even existent in their lives. These families
shop for a first-ever camp session as if they were shopping for their
first-ever computer. They are unaware of the issues, the questions, and
— most important — the seriousness of their new purchase.
If you design your marketing messages not for the camp-is-my-life type
of parents but rather for the neophytes, you will not go wrong. Inherent
in this targeting is an understanding of the importance of people’s in-going
perceptions. Parents have expectations of what camp is supposed to be
like. You must begin with an understanding of these perceptions in order
to create a basis of acceptance for what you have to tell them. You can
address these perceptions, and you can alter some of them, but you cannot
make them go away.
Sound Friendly
Starting with the telephone, people expect a camp to sound friendly in
every way. After all, you’re that place that creates fun and friendship.
If the first voice ever heard at the camp sounds disinterested, distracted,
and — most important — a bit gruff, then your camp does not sound like
it is supposed to sound. So, beginning with the sound, you must send in
the people who are most fit for the challenge. (Like those astronauts.)
Deploy Knowledgeable Reps
Camp is perceived to be a detail-oriented place where people are knowledgeable
to a fault. These perceptions help parents muster the trust needed to
send their children off into your care. Therefore, to send someone out
into the marketplace who cannot answer basic questions such as “What are
the fees for next summer?” can undermine all confidence in an instant.
There is no substitute for sending in the pros.
When you choose representatives to staff a camp fair display, make sure
they are knowledgeable and that they understand that camp fair participation
is selling — nothing less. When you hold an open house, choose carefully
those who will speak.
Portray “Summer Ambience”
The issue of camp tours is perhaps one of the most critical points of
contact between you and your prospective families — definitely a “critical
mission,” in NASA parlance. No matter what time of year families choose
to tour your facilities, do everything you can to fulfill their expectations
of what “camp people” are like — youthful, exuberant, and knowledgeable.
Remember that midwinter tours and open houses at a camp facility can
be pretty dismal treks. You need to do all you can to make these events
cheerful and bright, evocative of the real summer ambience. Consider hiring
a senior staffer to return every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year
to lead tours with all the pep that she exhibits with campers during the
season.
Regardless of your chosen tour guides, winter tours should include a
brief video that lovingly portrays camp the way it is meant to be seen:
in session. This is a perfect opportunity to include brief interviews
with staff members who personify perceptions of camp people.
Create Memorable Images
When choosing the messages for your marketing materials, your goal is
to create memorable images. It is important to choose photos and video
clips that feature people who best match the marketplace’s perceptions
of camp folks. It is also necessary, at this point, to recognize that
perceptions do not always match reality. That realization, however, cannot
undermine the importance of those perceptions.
Some camp directors have photos and video footage of perfectly typecast
staff members but are skittish about using them because those people are
no longer employees of the camp. This is no reason to exclude them from
your marketing materials. Your brochure, video, and Web site are not expected
to be accurate rosters of your current staff. They are meant to portray
the overall direction and spirit of your operation. If a former counselor
presents the perfect image, feature that person even if he is no longer
with your camp.
A superior camp operation is founded on the importance of democracy in
action. Camp marketing is different. The staff member who gains the love
of all campers may not have the ability to communicate that same trust
and caring in a video sound bite. The camp director who demands that a
brochure or video be edited to accurately reflect the true “camp heroes”
may be bypassing the opportunity to best meet prospects’ perceptions and
expectations.
One camp had a senior group head who was an absolute legend. He could
not pass a single camper anywhere without becoming a beloved clown. Campers
spent winters daydreaming of him; he spent winters dreaming up new bits
and routines to make the summer yet more fun-filled. When it came time
to produce a new video, the camp director made it plain that this group
head must be featured prominently. But when the camera rolled, he panicked
and could not form complete sentences. The environment of camp was his
to own, the medium of video was not. A young first-year counselor stepped
in and became a mesmerizing face and voice for the camp, turning in a
performance she never expected to deliver. Viewers of the video have no
idea that she was a rookie, nor that the most beloved member of the staff
lies motionless on the cutting room floor.
Capitalize on “Mission Critical”
NASA has its own definition of “mission critical.” When you have nothing
more than a brief, fleeting opportunity to convince a family that yours
is the right place for a child to spend the first of what could be summer
camp sessions over multiplies of years, you too have a mission critical.
If you are being considered among other competing camps, the critical
nature of the mission multiplies.
Marketing is much more than chronicling; it is persuading. The persuasion
task takes place in an environment of competing messages and options.
To effectively market your camp, you cannot afford to deploy anyone less
than “the right staff.”
Originally published in the 2001 March/April
issue of Camping Magazine. |
