Summer Camp Marketing: Building Retention & Loyalty Programs [Part 3]
May 07, 2025
You want camp families to see camp as more than a one-time summer experience.
You want them to cherish it as a chance to make lasting memories—to see camp as a safe place to build new friendships, learn, and test their limits as they break out of their comfort zones. You want your camp to become a tradition: part of their family’s story, a legacy passed from one generation to the next.
A lofty goal, but it’s one you can accomplish
with the right marketing strategies.
Building Your Camp's Future with Great Marketing
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed ways to Turn Uncertainty into Excitement. We tackled common worries about choosing and registering for camp.
In Tips to Engage Campers and Parents (Part 2), we outlined tactics to draw attention and boost word-of-mouth to increase registrations.
In Part 3 of our Summer Camp Marketing series, we’ll focus on strategies to encourage camper retention through year-round engagement and measurable goals.
We’ll identify marketing strategies to strengthen ties to your community. Then, explore ideas to
keep campers connected
after they leave and
reward loyal families
to
build your camp legacy.
How to Build a Camp Community & Meaningful Connections
A key part of successful
camp marketing is creating strong, lasting relationships with campers, families, and your local community. These connections help drive
camper retention and boost your camp’s credibility.
Let’s explore a few ways to expand your reach and deepen relationships with existing camp families.
Host Open Houses & Mini-Events
📣
Turn curiosity and the promise of a few hours of fun into camp registrations!
Host open houses or weekend events with activity demos, games, and camp-style competitions. Share videos, photos, and even offer virtual options for families to join the fun from home.
- Perks for New Families: Open houses and mini events let new families experience your camp’s magic before summer starts. It can help squash common hesitancies, covered in Part 1 of this series.
- Perks for Loyal Families: Inviting them to volunteer or share their experiences at these events can make them feel valued.
Partner with Schools & Local Organizations
🤝
Getting involved with the community generates goodwill.
Build your presence in the community by teaming up with schools, homeschool groups, and local businesses. Share your camp flyers and free stickers in school packets, sponsor a field day activity, or run pop-up camp activities at local markets. These grassroots summer camp marketing efforts build trust and awareness.
- Perks for New Families: Being close to your camp and seeing your marketing materials often can help ease a parent's worries about leaving a child in your care.
- Perks for Loyal Families: This can create chances to talk with others about your camp. Sharing their positive experiences and nostalgia can prompt the urge to return.
Highlighting Eco-Friendly & Purpose-Driven Initiatives 🌱
Environmentally and socially conscious families value organizations that care.
Highlight your sustainability projects, conservation efforts, and community service opportunities. Invite local families to join tree planting, garden building, or clean-up days. This helps build relationships and loyalty to the camp.
- Perks for New Families: Families with strong values often seek ways to join the surrounding community. These types of activities can place your camp top of mind before parents even begin exploring summer activities.
- Perks for Loyal Families: These purpose-driven activities also help your loyal families and campers stay involved with camp. As a bonus, they may extend casual invites to their friends to participate!
3 Ways to Keep Camp Families Engaged Year-Round
Getting a satisfied camper to return is much cheaper than finding a new one.
The key to a strong camp retention rate is building that connection. The next three ideas can help you level up camp loyalty and retention by keeping camp families engaged year-round.
Send Regular Camp Emails or Newsletters 📨
Monthly or quarterly emails keep your camp top-of-mind. Use it to share updates, initiatives, upcoming events, photos, and stories. A simple, yet powerful, camp marketing tactic that supports summer camp retention year-round.
Don't forget to measure your success! Track metrics for your emails, such as open rates and click-throughs. Tools like
iCampPro’s built-in communication module can help you build an audience from past campers. It can also help you draft and schedule emails and measure results.
Offer VIP Perks to Returning Campers
🌟
Make returning campers feel like insiders. When people feel acknowledged and valued, they’re less likely to look elsewhere. Early registration, opinion surveys, preferred treatment, small discounts or gifts, and exclusive at-camp benefits can boost camper loyalty.
VIP perks give you metrics that are more directly linked to loyalty. Measure the success of a VIP program by finding what percentage of the group is actively participating. If less than 25% of returning campers use the VIP perks, they might not be adding enough value. This could mean less loyalty if a competitor can match your offer.
Subscription Based Camp Experiences!
📦
Keep the magic alive all year with monthly activity kits. You could also try sending mailers with updates and custom camp stickers. Try inviting campers to participate in camp-themed challenges that show your camp’s values. These are creative ways to use camp marketing to build emotional connections and stay in touch after summer ends.
When a child completes an activity, a challenge, or scores some free swag, they’ll get excited. Give them a way to share their excitement and use it to track participation. For example, create a point system and ask them to share proof of completion for points toward a prize.
Participation levels show how likely a family is to spend more time and money on your camp later.
BONUS: With permission, share interactions like this in public spaces, such as social media or your website. They can help
improve your camp’s online presence!
How Else Can I Measure and Evaluate Camp Loyalty?
Great question! Next, let's look at common methods to start measuring camp loyalty.
Try a Net Promoter Score (NPS Survey)
Measure the intent of campers and their families. Sometimes, outside factors can affect registration numbers. A family may not be able to re-register for a lot of reasons. Several may be out of your control.
At the end of each event, ask, “How likely are you to recommend our camp to others?” Provide a simple numbered scale to answer with and an optional comment field. This simple question helps measure loyalty. If they wouldn’t recommend your camp, they aren't likely to return either.
Review Raw Data by Registration Numbers
Measure what’s actually happening at camp. Compare the percentage or number of returning campers, versus new campers year over year. Generate and compare lists with camper names and identifying information from each years’ events.
iCampPro has powerful reporting tools like Event Contact Reports to help camp admins download and organize lists of camper and family information! Customers can contact our support team for help.
Try breaking down data like registration numbers by gender or age groups to help identify trends. For example, you might see several loyal campers getting older and may age out of your programs soon. In that case, a “counselor in training” (CIT) program may be a good way to keep them around a little longer!
Re-Engagement Tactics for Non-Returners
As the busy season finishes, reach out to past campers who did not return this year. Simply ask them why. There are many reasons a family might not return to camp—some of which may be out of your control. But don't automatically assume they're lost forever.
Reach out to them with a simple message like, "We missed you this year! Would you mind sharing why you weren’t able to return?" This can help uncover areas for improvement or simply keep the door open for future camp registration.
What's Next?
Remember: You don’t need to implement every strategy at once. Instead, focus on the camp marketing tips that best align with your camp’s mission and values.
By prioritizing camper retention, building local connections, and providing year-round engagement, you’ll foster a strong, loyal community of camp families—ones who return summer after summer, and may even pass the tradition down through generations.
Need help getting started? Try tackling one of these tasks to move your retention and loyalty efforts forward:
- Set a date and start planning your next open house or community event
- Contact two potential partners, like local schools or businesses
- Identify & implement an eco-friendly or service-focused camp element
- Dream up a new VIP perk for returning campers
- Brainstorm a subscription-based option to keeping campers engaged
- Review last year's registration data for trends in camper retention
To finish our four-part Summer Camp Marketing series, our last article will explore common camp marketing tools. We will also discuss delivery channels and important metrics for your marketing strategies. Stay tuned for more!
