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YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas Summer Camp Marketing Plan

Proposal Prepared by Leslie Stewart, Jr. (Candidate Associate VP of Marketing)

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YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas

Overview The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas has a history of providing amazing summer experiences for thousands of children. In attempts to continue creating life-changing experiences the YMCA is looking to increase summer camp enrollment and registration.

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Children laughing, balls bouncing, young swimmers splashing, kids chatting are just some of the typical sounds that you hear during the summer at your local Dallas Metropolitan YMCA. Summer camps have been a staple of the Y for many years. With an array of different camps, children of all ages spend their summer engaged and excited. This year is no different. The YMCA has fun-filled activities aimed at enriching the lives of all its attendants.

Current Analysis & Goal

Introduction In my 10+ years in marketing, I had the pleasure of working with some great companies and advertising agencies. My marketing experiences creating marketing plans for Fortune 500 companies and non-profits give me the insight to put together broad appealing strategies that deliver on objectives. In all of my positions, I created cause-marketing strategies that built relationships and brought money to the bottom line. My passion for youth development led me to volunteer at the Dallas Boys and Girls Cub and Dallas Kappa Alpha Psi Youth Development Program. This experience led me to see how they consume products and most importantly what grabs their attention. I believe this plan grabs the attention of youth but more importantly provides value for parents.

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With 129 years in the Dallas/ Ft. Worth Metropolitan area, the YMCA has become an integral part in youth development, and community enhancement. Known for its community involvement the YMCA has touched the lives of millions of people.

The Y has a strong brand presence and position within their local communities. Today, we need to capitalize on the position to create a strong call to action to get people excited about coming to the Y for camp.

The YMCA summer programs include: traditional day camp, teen camp, overnight camp, arts and music camp, science camp, family camp and special needs camp. Having the ability to offer multiple types of camps to youth provides an advantage over many competing summer camps. This makes the Y’s position in the marketplace unique. Having diverse quality programing in 22 locations across the DFW Metroplex, eliminates most of the summer camp market place competition.

Brand Position

The goal of this plan is to create a fresh and effective campaign that increases summer camp membership. The opportunity comes in communicating all of the wonderful programing the YMCA has to offer. We will mix fresh new tactics in traditional marketing mediums. The YMCA specializes in reaching out to the community. We will use this to maximize membership outreach and brand impressions.

I do not have any access to true attendance numbers but in Addendum #1 you will see the goals for each location based on demographic population, YMCA attendance and prior years’ attendance. I used population statistics from the cities and neighborhoods of the surrounding areas. I built a projection report based on a moderate 15% increase in attendance.

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Addendum #1

Sales Goals

*Population taken from 2013 usacityfacts.com and is the foundation for Y camp attendance

Location   Population  Total  Camp  Attendance   Goal  Percentage  

Amount  of  Increase   Total  Attendants  

Coppell   38,659   145   15%   22   167  Cross  Timbers   64,669   230   15%   35   265  

Frisco   116,989   350   15%   53   403  Garland   226,876   450   15%   68   518  

Grand  Prairie   175,964   375   15%   56   431  Irving   216,290   390   15%   59   449  

J.E.R.  Chilton   37,490   120   15%   18   138  Lake  Highlands   84,181   260   15%   39   299  

Lakewest     48,582     296   15%   44   340  McKinney   149,082   300   15%   45   345  Moorland   42,856     258   15%   39   297  Oak  Cliff   93,072   440   15%   66   506  Park  Cities     31,632   110   15%   17   127  Park  South   52,000     160   15%   24   184  

Plano   259,841   290   15%   44   334  Richardson   99,223   310   15%   47   357  

T.  Boone  Pickens   73,020   450   15%   68   518  Town  North   65,890   485   15%   73   558  Waxahachie   29,621   125   15%   19   144  White  Rock   64,065   200   15%   30   230  

Camp  Grady  Spruce       530   15%   80   610  Camp  on  the  Lake       500   15%   75   575  Collin  County  Adventure  Camp       500   15%   75   575  

           Total       7274   15%   1091.1   8365.1  

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+ Target Markets Parents

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Parents are the primary target market because they authorize the attendance of summer camps as well as pay for it.

Based on research about parent decision-making habits for choosing a summer camp, parents look for quality of programming, hours, camp accreditation and most importantly value1. Parents want their children to have life-changing experiences that not only educates them but give knowledge that can be applied to their daily life.

According to the “ Silicon Valley YMCA Child Care Regional Director, Lupe Ruvalcaba, BSW, MSHS, Camps are “an opportunity to develop social and emotional skills, to build on the academic process of the school year, and to discover unique opportunities of interest.1

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What do kids want in summer camps? The obvious answer is fun but how do kids describe fun? The answer is engaging activities that stimulate the mind and body. The YMCA offers structured programming that engages and motivates kids to try things that they may have not tried before. By unplugging kids from technology for a summer and connecting them with the world around them the YMCA can provide children with an outlet to really discover who they are.

"A great summer camp teaches kids without them knowing while sparking their creativity, idea of community, sense of adventure, and plain old good times” - Peg Smith, chief executive officer of the American Camp Association. 1

Children (Camp Age)

1 http://www.ymcasv.org/blog/?p=134#sthash.QfEGR0zt.dpufYMCA 2 http://www.parenting.com/article/summer-camp-kids

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Strategy Overview The strategy will appeal to parents while exciting kids about the diverse and engaging summer programs the YMCA has to offer. We want both parents and children to be enthusiastic about the camp programs. The best way to offer this is to position the YMCA summer camps as a “summer haven for kid -friendly learning and activities.” Building a campaign on through print advertising, public relations, digital marketing, strategic partnerships, brand development and sales, the Y will make a strong splash in the market and stay top of mind during the spring months leading into the summer.

Centered around “the experience” the YMCA can offer, we can roll out a campaign that touches the hearts of the DFW Community and also increases the member attendance at all of the YMCA summer camps.

These strategies will a yield a positive return by focusing on key metrics and will also build consumer insight for YMCA initiatives.

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+ Strategy w/ Implementation Tactics

Forging community partnerships are a great way to promote offerings. The YMCA was founded upon creating mutually benefiting collaborations. We can use the creditability and the brand of the YMCA to help build the summer camp attendance while sharing some great information with the community.

Guerrilla Marketing Tactics include: • Sending teams armed with flyers, door hangers and POP Posters to canvas

target neighborhoods and apartment complexes

Partnership with Schools Sharing information at PTA meetings and school assemblies about the excellent programing that “The Y” has to offer, is an inexpensive way to have direct contact with consumers. We can excite listeners by discussing the different camps, themes and the life-changing experiences campers will have. We can offer onsite registration at a mild discount, to spark immediate sign up.

Strategic Partnerships

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Partnership with Community- based Organizations There are hundreds of youth organizations that are looking for locations to practice, meet and host functions. Opening up the doors and allowing them to have events at the Y gives them an opportunity to tour the facilities and sign up. During their events we can offer day discounts to all attendants and their families. When members rents a room, if the group is in our target demographic, we can have a staff member come into the event and pitch the amazing summer camp activities.

Another viable tactic to increase membership is to partner with other days cares, churches and smaller summer camps (1-20 campers). We can increase summer camp enrollment by offering weekly camp programming or access to the aquatics center, gym and art area at a prorated cost.

These include target groups are Black Greek Alumni organizations, AAU Youth Sports teams, reading clubs, libraries, day cares, churches, youth strength trainers.

Partnership with Local Area Businesses Local businesses love to be ingrained into the communities where their businesses are located. The YMCA can take advantage of this by creating low cost cross-promotions campaigns. We can give local businesses marketing collateral to post on their cash registers and windows. This will bring more exposure to the campaign and increase impressions for the campaign. In exchange they can have space on our communities boards to advertise. Tapping into business’s cause marketing strategies and marketing budgets pay dividends.

In my career I have seen good results with cross-promoting cause marketing ideas. In every situation, the cross promotions brought good will, collaboration and more importantly mutually benefiting results to each campaign.

Key Success Indicators: • Summer Camp member enrollment increase • Membership increase from targeted neighborhoods

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Ut pulvinar elit et augue.

Digital Marketing Today when people need information, the first place they turn to is the Internet. Being top of mind in the digital space is an important piece to the success of any business. Using a hybrid combination of online advertising, guest blogging, blogger outreach, social media and SEO, we will position the Y in the digital space.

Online Ads Sophisticated algorhythms can now pinpoint patterns in your personal Internet history. Armed with that knowledge, companies like Ad Choice and Google Adwords are using now sending highly segmented ads to consumers. Using this technology called remarketing, we can advertise to parents/ kids that have researched “DFW Summer Camps,” “best summer Camps Dallas,” or any phrase/ websites we choose.

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Blogger sites / Content Marketing Advertising with niche bloggers and guest blogging are a great tactic that provides high quality touch points that stay true to mission of the YMCA of “building strong families.” In Addendum 2, I included an example of what a YMCA sponsored guest blog post looks like with advertising to accompany it. We can submit guest blogs to the sites mentioned on Page 11 then follow up the blog with ads highlighting the Metropolitan Dallas YMCA summer programs. There are several websites that offer large segmented followers that can increase our reach and frequency of the campaign.

In 2011 PR firms realized that the popularity of many blogs expanded more than the traditional mainstream media sources. Reaching out to influential industry bloggers became a central role in content marketing.

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Addendum #2

Sample Blog Post

Sample Ad

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http://www.dfwchild.com Twitter Followers: 1,018

Dallas Child is a part of the family of websites that include Fort Worth Child, North Texas Child and DFW Everything Family. Each website features the latest Child magazine plus website-only stories. Many of the stories are written by experts in Dallas-Fort Worth.

http://familyeguide.com Twitter Followers:10.8k Facebook : 3,716

Family eGuide is an extremely comprehensive calendar of family events for the North side of the DFW metroplex. You can sign up for a weekly e-newsletter which is an organized overview of what is happening close to home.

http://dallas.todaysmama.com Twitter: 6.5k Facebook: 20,758 Their vast network of mom bloggers in Dallas brings ideas, experiences and solutions for work and family life balance. They also cover best places to go with kids, and offer advice on everything for families.

Key Success Indicators: • Summer camp online membership applications • Number of downloaded Summer camp applications • Website visits • SEO increase

Primary Target Blogger/ Influncers Outreach Sites

http://www.metroplexbaby.com Twitter Followers: 37k Facebook: 67.7k

Metroplex Baby & Kids is a website for “MetroMoms”. It has a calendar, list of events, area directory, and a social network where moms can connect with each other and post to forums. The network has current and frequent postings.

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Social Media Campaigns Social Media marketing is a popular media outlet. If done correctly businesses that use it can instantly increase their brand presence and awareness. Reaching to the right demographic is key however, engaging the right demographic is imperative. Crafting key messages soliciting summer camp members with the help of the above mentioned bloggers would put us in the position to increase membership.

Primary Social Media Platforms:

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Key Success Indicators: • Summer camp online membership subscriptions • Number of downloaded Summer Camp Applications • Increase in engagement (like, shares, retweets, follows, favorites, & repins) • Page/Post views

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Name Twitter Handle Twitter Followers

Facebook Likes

Dallas Moms & Dads @DallasMomsnDads 1,031 185 Carrie Lindsey @CarrieElleBlog 4,083 1,339 North Texas Kids @NorthTxKids 1,848 3,464 Texas Parenting @TXParentingMaga 37k 5,417 mom2momdfw.com @mom2momdfw 1,063 2,247 Kidactivitiesblog.com Quirkymomma.com

@texasholly

11k 271,128

Nancy Churnin / Dallas Morning News

@nchurnin

2,328 1,856

+ Primary Target Blog Sites & Social Media leaders

Radio (Radio Disney) Radio can yield strong results if done correctly. Using highly customized campaigns, on a targeted station can build mutually benefiting relationships that meet each group’s goals. Commercials with a strong call to action provide moderate success but creating a one-of-a- kind event centered around the YMCA’s summer camp sign up will draw in listeners, fans, and families. Picking a station like Radio Disney Dallas (#3 Kid’s Station in US) can excite the targeted youth audience. The best times to get the most value from Radio Disney events sponsorship and radio remotes are March and September. The month of March is the prefect time to start signing kids up for summer camp.

Print Segmented Direct mail pieces

Direct mail still serves as a strong marketing tactic. If properly executed, direct mail allows us to specifically target households. Being able to put a direct mail piece about a Y sponsored sport in the hands of a family with 3 kids that play sports in McKinney, dramatically increases the likelihood of membership signups.

Billboards (Out of Home) Consumers spend 70% of their day outside of their home and 2-3 hours in their cars. Billboards have a strong effectiveness when coupled with other mediums. OOH advertising for the YMCA can stand as a reminder for parents to enroll their children into the Y summer camps, when combined with digital media, and other marketing strategies. To increase campaign effectiveness we can strategically place billboards between locations in high traffic areas (i.e. malls, shopping centers and child friendly locations).

POP Posters Point of Purchase Posters serve as a great branding piece to actively engage people to sign up for summer camp. These can be used at Y’s in the Metroplex and in local businesses through strategic partnerships. Key Success Indicators:

• Summer Camp enrollment increase • YMCA inquires • Direct website hits

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Magazine Print Ad (DFW Child) DFW Child has a strong print presence and supplements the magazine’s efforts online. They boast having access to over 250,000 families in the DFW Metroplex. The most attractive feature is their publication Thrive. Thrive is a monthly magazine dedicated to special need families. This is a perfect connection to target for our special need camps. Like Radio if we create an integrated campaign that involves our digital marketing, social media and partnerships we can position our ads with added value. This added value will include online display ads, inclusion on email blast, event presence, social media mentions and press coverage.

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+ Sales

Building Relationships

Face to face selling still gets the best results in sales tactics. If we are willing to pay outside bloggers, advertisers and local business to get families excited about the summer camp, we can pay/ incentivize our own employees to do the same. Getting YMCA employees to actively participate in growing the YMCA will keep them motivated and engaged. Y team members already are intimately involved in the member’s lives. Having a contest where team members can earn prizes or commission for getting people to sign up their children or finding other children, will greatly increase the numbers for camp attendance.

Each child that signs up under a staff member gets one point. Y’s that achieve their goal can receive a prize. Prizes can be given to an entire Y staff or an individual top seller. Prizes can include an Apple iPad (tablet), additional time off, gift cards, bonuses or sports tickets.

Key Success Indicators: • Summer Camp enrollment increase • Employee participation

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PR/ Media Relations Example Public Relations

If the old PR adage is “There is no such things as a bad press,” then the new Dallas YMCA PR adage should be “good press sells memberships.” The idea is to create buzz events that can be replicated if necessary and done on a big scale.

Everybody loves a good kids’ performance. Flash mobs have been and still are one of the hottest trends in the world. YouTube showcases flash mob features the generate thousands of views. The YMCA will have a flash mob with kids from different locations at the new Klyde Warren Park in Dallas during peak times. The children will dress in different clothes representing the different camps including:

• YMCA Sports Jerseys representing sports, • Business attire with YMCA lapel Pins representing teen leadership camps • Swimsuits representing the aquatics centers • Animal costumes representing Animal- Mania Week, • Pajamas representing sleep away camps • Pirates representing Treasure Island Week…etc

The theme is “Summer is Finally Here.” During and after the performance, we can pass out branded collateral about how they can sign up for fun summer camp activities. We can alert the local news teams, print and radio partners for press coverage to add impressions. In addition we can invite national YMCA partners and local business partners for branding sponsorships. We can upload the recorded performance to YouTube, brand it and push it virally through social media pages, bloggers and subsequent articles under the hashtag #YMCACampFunDFW.

Examples

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Disney sponsored flash mob at Time Square, New York City

Youth and Firefighter flash mob during Fire Prevention Week in Ontario, Canada

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Closing Summary By bringing together partnerships, digital, print, radio, sales and PR/ media relations, I created a campaign that targets our demographics and will move the needle. With this plan the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas can penetrate the market and increase their summer camp enrollment by a minimum of 15%. On the next page you will find the marketing budget. It will cost $3,181.81 per YMCA location to complete this highly integrated plan using all of these mediums. Each of these strategies and tactics can be independently executed, evaluated, packaged and sent to National YMCA parent organization as a Best Practice. Successful campaigns and tactics like the above-mentioned that are implemented across the country can bring even more recognition to the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas.