The week of lasts – First Days

Today was the first day of camp. Anticipation and excitement for the summer oozed from our staff. They are ready.

I remember that feeling when I was part of the Day Camp team.

As a counselor, was I ready? Yes, I was! I trained for a week to learn skills on working with kids. I sang the songs, played the games, and somehow had unlimited energy. I was ready.

As a program director, was my programming good enough? That was a tough question. I knew what was successful before, I knew what the campers liked, I knew how to improve each activity… But, was it good enough? The bar was high and summer after summer we continued to raise it.

As director, was my team ready? They were, but I never slept the day before camp started. I was always too excited.

The week of many lasts

Being that this is my last week at camp, I thought I’d reflect on some memories that have made my time unforgettable and so special.

I got my first job at camp through a friend in the kitchen. It was March 2002. My responsibilities included washing pots, dishes, the floor, and helping to serve food. Come June I knew I wasn’t going to make it through the summer.

My supervisor suggested I talk with our Day Camp director. OK, I liked working with kids. That summer was the beginning of my tenure at Day Camp, which would eventually lead me to one day becoming director.

Here are a few moments I noticed today. No I haven’t teared up:

• I introduced for the last time my very close friend who presents the week’s slideshows. The staff loved her work, as they should.
• I took my last all staff photo. It went much smoother than years past.
• I posted on Facebook for the last time the annual “When will the first camper arrive?” question.

Because who wants to watch a 5 minute video?

One of the most important things I’ve learned on YouTube this year is keeping things short and sweet.

Yes, there are key videos that need a storyboard, but as I walk around camp with my trusty Droid X, video opportunities such as this one seem to appear from every angle. I find my creativity peaks when I’m looking at the entire picture, not just small sections.

Making shorter videos also allows creative content to be shared almost instantly. The above video is a great example. Thursday night we had a staff beach party. People danced, they had a great time. Thursday night I was able to upload this video to YouTube and Facebook.

When I’m talking to other camps about videos I give them three pieces of advice.

1. 2-5 minutes
2. Storyboard key videos, let everything else come naturally
3. Take it, edit it, publish it. Never sit on material, it will most likely be forgotten.

NOTE: If you do happen to visit New York YMCA Camp’s YouTube Channel you will find videos that are longer than 5 minutes. These longer slideshows are posted for participants of weekend programs. I doubt anyone anyone other than the participants watch them in their entirety.

Camp marketing: 90 minutes a week will yield results

Typing up this weeks marketing minutes gave me an idea for this post.

One of my responsibilities as communications coordinator at @nyycamp is holding weekly marketing meetings. By committing just 90 minutes each week toward our camp marketing we have seen a 16% increase in enrollment. Consistently evaluating our strategy has allowed us to respond to our community in an appropriate manner that yields results.

What have we done? Here are 5 points that make our meetings a success. I’ve kept them brief, each point goes many layers deep, but they are a great place to start. I hope you find them helpful in starting your own marketing meeting at camp.

1. Get the right people in the room.
Our core group consists of our executive director, associate executive / summer camp director, camp registrar, analytics staff, and myself. These are all individuals who have unique perspectives on marketing and communicating. They also have the power to make things happen.

2. Be clear on individual rolls.  
I think this goes beyond who runs the meeting, who reports on what, and who takes minutes. Here are a few roles that members fill.

• Executive Director – How does our discussion relate to our mission.
• Associate Executive – Who do you need, where, when, and what are they doing? How is it all getting done?
• Camp Registrar – What stories and relationships are developing between camp and families?
• analytics Staff – Strictly data driven. Great stories are wonderful, but don’t necessarily translate into registrations.
• Communications Coordinator – Keep discussion moving and protect the brand. Balance stories with data.

3. Track enrollment against marketing campaigns.
Take time to look honestly at enrollment vs. marketing projects. Cut projects that are unsuccessful, evaluate others for their usefulness, and strengthen / improve existing project. This is the most productive conversation I have all week.

Lots of minds being honest. What worked, what didn’t, worth improving, or trashing?

4. Assign weekly reports
Leave no surprises when it comes to member expectations. Our weekly reports are:

• Weekly cume of camper enrollment
• Marketing results calendar
• Completed projects
• In-progress projects
• Upcoming projects
• Marketing opportunities

5. Assign tasks during the meeting
Make sure everyone leaves the meeting knowing what is expected of them. Nothing is worse than having a 20 minute discussion with a great outcome, but no one to execute it.

BONUS: Share minutes with everyone
People who didn’t attend the meeting care. They want to know what your think tank is doing. We have an open invitation for anyone to join us each week. Do they come? Hardly. But do they notice when the minutes are late? Of course.

I hope you found these ideas helpful. I’m interested in hearing any ideas you may have. What can we be doing better?