Many of our recent “Every Other Monday” topics have been about the “best new things” we’ve tried this past summer at our different camps. Today I wanted to talk about a new program we’re introducing that we hope will turn into one of our “best new things”! It’s our new “Staff Ambassador” program, where former campers, former staff, and current staff can recruit counselors in exchange for exclusive camp gear and experiences.
This new program came about because word-of-mouth marketing continues to be our best source of staff recruitment (I bet it’s similar for many of you!) We wanted to create a way for those in our camp community to be more motivated to recruit within their networks, even if they weren’t able to return on staff themselves. We created an Ambassador application, and outlined the ways that Ambassadors could interact, host events, or create content online to earn “Flames.” These flames could then be exchanged for a variety of rewards – both tangible (like camp branded swag) and intangible (like dinner with the directors or a weekend at camp in the off-season).
Since this program is brand new, there are sure to be some kinks that we’ll work out. Will the Flames be too easy to earn and cost us too much money giving away swag? Will the rewards not be appealing enough for Ambassadors to make the extra effort? Or will it successfully help us market the camp counselor experience to more people? Only time will tell! If you’re interested in seeing more details about our new program, you can visit fallingcreek.com/ambassador (and if you have a similar program at your camp that has worked successfully, I’d love to hear your ideas for rewards that motivate young adults!)
Annie Ramsbotham
