Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Dear Kristen,

It's time to show your audience what you can do.

You've got some strong testimonials on your website but they're buried. You'd do well to bring these things out into the light of day and put them where people can see them. Then, you need to think of ways to capitalize on the strengths outline in those statements.

I'm not a parent, but if I were, I'd want to know what other parents were saying about any camp I was going to send my kids to: is it fun, are kids safe, what are the staff like, what are the ratios of staff to kids, what will my kids be doing, what will they be learning? And so on.

If I hear good things from other parents—people that remind me of me—then I'm going to be more inclined to find out more. If there really is a sense of community, I'm really going to want to find out more. And if I can see myself and my kids getting involved, that is, if I can see things playing out on the big screen of my imagination, I'll be asking where I sign and how much it's going to cost.

If the benefits to me and my family are strong enough, cost becomes a non issue.

So, having said all this, and depending on how up for a challenge you might be, how about putting on a free show?

By this I mean you and your staff (and some choice, younger volunteers) put on a play, or some kind of small town, community event that tells a powerful but compelling story, a story that hammers home the values and the benefits of pulling together, of working as a team—against a common foe, which in the case of most kids is boredom.

Some of the best stories of children working against a common foe are C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", and R.L. Stevenson's "Treasure Island" (the latter of which may not be covered by copyright in the United States but I'm not sure about Canada).

There may be royalties payable on certain plays, so perhaps the best way around this is to write your own, or to work with a larger, regional theatre and ask their advice. They might even be willing to lend you props and equipment.

If you can adapt the story so that it connects locally, you'll create powerful anchors that have greater meaning, and if you can make some of the characters into real people (locals playing themselves?), again, you give weight to your tale and you create leverage.

If you can make this show work and make it free to attend you just might be able to get new families to try you because they'll then see for themselves what a great experience going to a summer camp can be and they'll be more inclined to see the benefits of using the daycare (and/or compare the price to that of daycare), and to see that they really do NEED summer care in the first place.

I know this might be a little "wild and out there" in terms of an idea. But a play is less likely to be seen as a sales pitch. In essence, it becomes and event, which as far as making an impression is concerned, is one of the best anchors you can possibly drop.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Gary's right - you need to show, not tell about your program. If you have videos of previous camps (and the signed releases from all the kids' parents), show the kids in-action. You're selling to the parents, but first the kids need to be convinced and the words on your website aren't kid-friendly. Consider rewriting the home page as a letter from a kid who's attending the camp to other kids (maybe their friend). Have them include photos of them doing fun things, laughing, etc. Yes, safety/training of staff is important -- but it at some level is assumed. Also - make your "New Camper Clause" something stronger - a 100% money back guarantee seal.

Let's decifer what you are saying.

First, you say you are competing against several others in daycamp. Well they have all of the issues you have- one parent home, grandparents, etc. But they are out manovering you for sales. So that takes a lot of excuses off the plate.

2nd, turn the negative to a positive. Yes, they are franchises-- but the advertising they do helps you. It starts to educate the consumer and start planning for summer day camp.

It's like when Walmart started selling organics. The smart smaller guys were thrilled - -cause they were bringing awareness to help the entire industry. Let them bring awareness, you book the kids.

Next, again turning a negative to a positive. You have what franchises don't. The ability to adapt your programs customized to the group of children-- your atmosphere, etc as you outlined. Franchises can't be so flexible to turn on a dime. Tout that. You don't need to be the lowest price in town.

You also have no royalty fees, franchise fees, etc etc. They aren't getting any rent discounts cause they are a franchise. You guys are on a level playing field here. in fact you have a leg up.

But those fees buy advertising. Those guys rely on it, and they may be passive in actively asking for the business.

Parents who both work and can't rely on grandma know they need daycamp. What they may not know is -- can they afford it? Is it convenient? Am I putting my child in a safe environment?

Be lazar sharp in your marketing. Don't waste your time with kids with stay at home moms or grandma's willing to step in. They are not your customer. (BTW, grandma might have an appointment somewhere and you could be back up plan). A lot of these things people are telling you are stalls, not real objections- -learn pivot statements to bring them back on trck.

Build advertising around "do you just want a babysitter or a summer camp experience"? And go where the working parents are-- the professional offices nearest your area. Go the schools. Do open houses. Do an arts an crafts show of work done by your students. (I'm thinking of the way 4H shows their projects ) Take on a consultative sales approach to educate the parents on daycamp options. Don't expect them to come to you, go to them.