How Does a Resident Camp-Only Camp Fair Sound?

Last updated on November 15, 2022

 Don’t Worry, Even Day Camp Directors Should Read this Post

As you may know, I put on a camp fair here in Los Angeles (specifically, Calabasas) last April where over 50 day camps, specialty camps, resident camps, and all kinds of camps attended.

We got off to a late start, deciding only in late February to host the event in April.

If I do say so myself, it was a pretty successful event considering I only had a few weeks to find a facility, recruit camps, and promote the fair to the public. Over 400 families attended.

I learned a lot from last year’s event, and I’m planning on doing it again in 2018 with many improvements made over last year’s camp fair.

The camp fair this time will take place in March rather than April. I’ll post more info here soon about dates, times and registration details. Just as before, the camp fair will be open to all kinds of camps and programs who are looking to promote their camps to the public and get more campers in 2018. We anticipate at least 500+ families to attend the fair. Please keep an eye out for more information.

What About a Resident Camp-Only Camp Fair?

No doubt about it, with so many different types of camps (day, resident, etc.) on display at a single camp fair, families have a nice opportunity to learn about a cross-section of various summer opportunities for their kids.

At the same time, these types of camp fair also have disadvantages for families and camps alike. Parents and kids might can feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available, and camps may be spending time and paying money marketing to families who don’t not have any interest in their type of program.

For example, let’s say you a resident camp and pay $200 to attend a camp fair. If you meet 150 families at the camp fair, but only a handful are interested in finding a resident camp,  that’s great for day camps but not very good for you. You still might get some new campers and it would be very worthwhile attending. However, you’d be much happier if you could be sure ALL the people attending the camp fair were resident camp prospects, right? In that case, your chances for success at the camp fair would improve exponentially, and your marketing investment is much more likely to pay off.

So I have a question for the overnight camp directors reading this post. What do you think about a resident camp-only summer camp fair?

I’m thinking of putting one on, depending on the outcome of the poll I posted below. I have some really nice potential facilities in mind, in some very affluent parts of L.A. so you’d have a fantastic base of many new camper prospects for next summer

If you run a resident camp, I don’t think you’d want to miss this opportunity since you’d be guaranteed all families attending the camp fair will be looking for resident camps exclusively. Rather than talking to someone at your booth for 5 minutes before finding out they were never interested in a resident camp in the first place, EVERYONE at the camp fair will be a match for your program already!

Here’s a poll. If you’re a resident camp director, please answer it honestly so I can be sure whether to move forward with this. If we move ahead, rest assured I’ll bust my tail to make this a very worthwhile marketing investment and event for you. Thanks!