The CampHacker Podcast

As summer camp leaders we need to market to moms in order to reach the person in the house who has the greatest influence on purchasing decisions.

In this CampHacker Podcast we talk about ways that camps can be as effective as possible at reaching out to mothers of camp-aged children.    We addressed online tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and discussed some basic camp marketing strategies that have worked well for other camps.

Thank you to Jessica Smith from CampEasy.com for joining us and adding so much to the discussion today.

Jessica was kind enough to send us along some Google Alert recipes for you to try:

• "sleepaway camp" -camping  (to get Google alerts around news, blogs, and conversations for sleepaway camp but not camping)
• "homesick at camp" (this will search for the phrase in quotes)
• "packing for camp"
• summer + camp (results will include both keywords)
• sleepaway OR "day camp" (will search for either/or)

What do you know about who does the “buying” with your camp families?
Please leave us a note in the comments below or tweet us @CampHacker with your suggestion.

• Travis: Text Expander
• Joe: Story Cubes
• Jessica: Google Alerts for Blogger Relations

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.org
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Christian Centre
• Jessica Smith, Vice President Sales & Marketing, CampEasy

When Toyota wanted to find ways to save time and money in their manufacturing process they began to create a system that has come to be known as Lean.   In the Lean system you examine all areas of your business to make sure you are “creating more value for customers with fewer resources” (Lean.org).

It was our pleasure to have Jack Schott with us for this discussion.  Jack was the program director at Camp Stella Maris last summer and he and Laura Kriegel are spending their time touring and volunteering at camps this fall and winter.

We were inspired to start this discussion because of a cool YouTube video that I had seen on inventory management at a Hospital.

Jack was invaluable in the discussion because his education has focussed on industrial systems.  He was able to give us some background and talk through ways of implementing the system at camps.

Check out this inspirational video:

In what ways have you changed systems at your camp to save time and money?

Travis: Kanban Flow - task management 
Joe: Rubber Maid Bins - clear top and clear sides - teambuilding equipment storage
Dan: Wiffle Ball stadium @ Camp Jewell
Gab: Ted Talk: Why we have too few women leaders
Jack: Grout Sponges

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.org
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Christian Centre
• Dan Weir, Director of Camping Services - Frost Valley YMCA
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Jack Schott - Camping Coast to Coast

As we get ready for a super busy summer at camp the four original CampHackers take time out to discuss the thing that makes it all worth while – family.  For some of us camp is something that unites us as a family and for others the camp life is a strain on our personal relationships.

I can think of no greater place to raise a family than camp but I know that it can be hard to set aside the time to make that place special for everyone in a family.

Listen in as we share with you how we all have learned to succeed in our personal relationships while excelling at our jobs.

How do you find the healthiest balance between camp life and family life during the busy summer months?

Tool of the Week – make yourself a better Camp Director

• Dan – Ning social networking site
• Joe – Pick Punch: make your own guitar pick
• Gab – Gas Buddy smartphone application
• Travis – Google Sketchup 3D sketching program

(please note: Amazon products are affiliate links)

Your Hosts:

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.org
• Dan Weir, Director of Camping Services – Frost Valley YMCA
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Christian Centre
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

Thanks for the evening, friends.

We all know that the kitchen is the heart of camp.  In this CampHacker podcast we shared our experiences and ideas for making the kitchen a wonderful place to work and to visit.

It was a real treat to have Jacqui Raill with us this week – we’ve heard so much about her from Gab (and me, too, probably – I look up to Jacqui a lot).

If you get a chance you should check out what Marc does outside of his camp job – he’s an artist.   Look at his Marc Cooper Art.

Tool of the Week – make yourself a better Camp Director

• Dan: Teaching Archery to Kids
• Jacqui: 101 Cookbook for Vegetarians
• Marc: Facebook Questions
• Travis: Little Bits – snap together electronic kits

(please note: Amazon products are affiliate links)

• Dan Weir, Director of Camping Services at Frost Valley
• Jacqui Raill, Director/Owner at Camp Ouareau
• Marc Cooper, Director at Camp Tamarack
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Leadership and Marketing Consultant at Walking Maverick