12 Stories That Tell About Your Camp

Using angles to get good media attention year-round

By Dan Shortridge

Camp leaders need to master the art of storytelling. Not just the campfire version—the marketing kind. Without stories, you can’t get good, consistent, local media coverage, which is vital to keeping a camp in the public eye and topmost in the mind of families.

Rodrigo Souza / Pexels

 Too many camps think about public relations as a tool for boosting enrollment in the spring. Here are 12 story ideas you can tap into to obtain strong local media coverage for a camp any time of the year—and the stories don’t require doing anything new, just running the camp.

Summer Season

Summer produces the best stories about camps, but it can be overwhelming to talk to the media when you’re in the middle of managing supply-chain issues and solving program problems. These six simple stories can be easy approaches for inviting reporters and creating great coverage.

1. Staff week. Invite a reporter to do a behind-the-scenes story on what it takes to set up camp and train staff members. Prepare staff members who will be speaking with the media or featured on camera. Ensure good visuals, like a team moving tents, instructors checking ropes for the climbing wall, or lifeguards doing rescue training at the waterfront.

2. The first day of camp. A capable feature writer will be able to convey the excitement in the air on the first day of any camp season. Identify staff members—both first-timers and veterans--who can articulate what the first-day feeling is like. Get great visuals, such as a flag ceremony, welcoming cheers, or camp-wide games.

3. Enduring traditions. Every camp has its own time-tested customs and culture. Identify a reporter who’s interested in writing about your giant sundaes eaten from rain gutters, earth-ball bowling, or Thursday song nights. Bonus points if you can connect them to a contemporary trend, sentiment, or larger story. (Example: The camp dog, Maxie, is the sixth of her name to roam the trails; the current Maxie is a rescue dog from a local shelter holding an adopt-a-thon in July.)

4. A focus on food. Forget great, green gobs of greasy whatnots—there are some real culinary wizards cooking up summer-camp meals these days. Invite local food writers or bloggers to peek into the kitchen and dining hall. Share favorite camp recipes, nutrition advice, and tips on cooking for 400 people. And make sure to have some enthusiastic campers on hand to share some good quotes.

5. Trying out the job. If you have a local reporter or columnist who likes doing, not just telling, invite that person to work as a camp counselor for a day. Rotate the reporter among three or four areas and jobs—just long enough to get a sense of what they are like. Prepare some simple programs the person can run:  blowing the whistle on the archery range, sitting in the lifeguard chair at the pool, getting muddy at the pottery wheel, or refereeing a kickball game.

6. Growth and trends. If the camper numbers are increasing or have just hit a record, that’s a great news hook to interest reporters. Don’t only look at overall camper attendance, but also the interest in individual programs—archery, soccer, or llama care. Each of these can be linked to a national or regional trend, wrapped into a larger story.

Jack Cohen / Unsplash

Offseason Options

Hopefully, families and campers are thinking and talking about your camp even during cold, winter months. Maintaining a steady stream of media coverage is essential to keeping a profile up all year.

7. New leadership. Profiles of newly hired directors, lead instructors, and program leaders can make for great local features. Bonus points if they’re from the area or are camp alumni themselves. 

8. New programs. Nothing is more exciting than the launch of new program choices for campers. When the camp adds a climbing wall, ATVs, a music program, or a videography class, be sure to let the media know. Include quotes from staff members who will be leading those activities and data about those topics nationally.

9. Public experiences and events. The difference between doing and watching is huge. Don’t just hold an open house with tours—organize an adventurous day with several experiences and try-out opportunities. Let families and campers shoot on the BB range, do a basic gymnastics lesson, or try horseback riding. Invite the media to cover the event and experience it themselves.

10. Donations. Gifts of money, supplies, or equipment can make for good stories to show community support of the camp. Grants from private foundations or local or state agencies can lead to good headlines as well; grant makers often will want to announce it on their own, so work closely with funders. Conversely, a camp may make donations in support of local organizations, clubs, or nonprofits.

11. Hiring successes and challenges. Whether there’s a counselor crisis or a surplus of staff members, the media love stories about seasonal hiring trends, and are always looking for employers to talk with. If you’re facing difficulties, this is an opportunity to highlight the jobs as well as the pay and benefits you offer before a large audience. If you’ve had successes, you become the face of a positive trend. Either way, it can be a win.

12. Alumni engagement. Even if alumni relationships aren’t a core part of the camp’s model, you can still tap into nostalgia to create a big draw for the media and alums. Reach as many former campers and staff members as you can, and organize a simple alumni visitation day in the fall or spring. Open program areas, include a photo station, collect oral histories about camp memories, and let current staff and former staff reminisce. Invite the press to attend and interview alumni; if you’re not sure about turnout, take photos and video and send out a news release after the fact.

Dan Shortridge is the author of DIY Public Relations: Telling Your Story on a Zero-Dollar Budget, as well as Go Forth to Serve, a history of his local camp. Contact him at danshortridge.com or danshortridge@gmail.com.