Make your mailings say, "open me first." (exciting and effective direct mail campaigns)

When teaching campers to do their best, you often encourage them to learn from the successes of others. When planning your yearly campaigns to attract new campers, you can benefit from observing the strategies of other camp marketers, too.

Several years ago, Eastman Kodak eagerly promoted their cameras as the holiday gifts that say, "Open me first!" They even put tags on the boxes and printed bows on the corners of their advertisements repeating the phrase, "Open me first!" That same sense of excitement and anticipation should be the goal of everyone who uses the mail to market a product or service. Since most camps use the mail to recruit campers, you need to discover and adopt methods that give your mailings impact.

Study Your "In" Box

Look at the promotional literature that you receive and you will find excellent examples of effective direct-mail techniques. The frequent mailings of the magazine subscription services, such as Publishers Clearing House, are excellent models. The next time one of these enters your mailbox, look at it with the critical eye of a camp marketer. A recent version featured a small manila file folder with the recipient's name computer-printed on the tab on the envelope. When opened, the file folder contained "important documents" with stickers that must be affixed to an entry form. That form, of course, was housed in the envelope - along with a big sheet of stamps, each one featuring a magazine.

The sweepstakes company has even figured out how to get people to peruse all those magazine titles on the individual stamps. They place stamps of the automobile or prize that the recipient could win in the center. To enter, the recipient must find these stickers and affix them to the entry form.

Marketing the summer camp experience and marketing a magazine sweepstakes are, of course, very different. But you must be careful not to overlook a critical lesson: Camp is about fun and involvement - and that means your promotional mailings should be enjoyable and interactive, too. If you tout your product as a supremely fun-filled summer experience, you must impart some of that spirit in the first point of contact you have with many families the arrival of your direct-mail piece.

Re-evaluate Your Program

Motivate yourself to create a better mail program by envisioning a coffee table in the home of a prospective family. Imagine four or five camp envelopes spread out in front of parents and prospective campers. How do you want yours to look?

* Does your envelope vie for attention or does it just lie there looking like one more piece of mail from a law firm or bank? Consider the value of color envelopes that bear bright stickers, splashy graphics, and an exciting reference to what awaits the recipient inside the envelope.

* Do the contents have color, texture, and intrigue? Full-color brochures are assets to the camps that use them. Tinted paper stock, different yet complementary colors, and dramatic use of colored inks are other ways to appear colorful.

* Do the contents have some sense of order? Even while trying to attract attention via different colors and different sizes, you still need to communicate a sense of control and organization. Keep your logo and the font used for your camp name consistent.

* Do the contents have dimension? Many small, inexpensive items can be added to a camp envelope to spark curiosity even before that envelope is opened. For example, small brightly colored and variously shaped erasers can be purchased in bulk and added to the envelope. They make a big impression when they come spilling out of a camp packet.

* Does your camp packet contain something expressly for the child? Children love to get mail. While parents do not always look kindly on an advertiser's attempt to approach the child directly, including a pamphlet, coloring book, or other item for the prospective camper is acceptable. An item for the child helps to reaffirm you interest in children.

Words of Caution

Even though you put a lot of planning and hard work into your promotional materials, things can go wrong at the printer or post office. Keep these tips in mind to avoid common pitfalls.

* Self-mailers are not always processed carefully. If you send your brochure as a self-mailer rather than use an

* envelope, remember that the outside cover panels are subject to the abuse of the postal system. Include only images that will survive a little smudging or mishandling.

* You do not need to use a priority mail envelope. Even though the envelope is bold and colorful, you may have an alternative and more distinctive image that you prefer for your package. You can still receive priority mail service by using labels that are provided free at post offices. Placing these labels on the front and back of the envelope and including the required postage will get you the two- to three-day delivery you desire.

* Don't use just one mailing. Unfortunately, a camp's promotional mailing may not be as precious to the receiver as it is to the camp. Be prepared to follow up with a special "reminder" mailing or a phone call, or remail the original packet.

* Don't send alumni material to prospective campers. Some camps send last year's souvenir calendar, filled with photos of last year's campers, to prospective families. This does not have a high level of persuasive value, unless a prospect happens to know some of last year's campers and happens to spot them - if they even take the time to peruse the calendar! The same goes for last year's video yearbook; it is too long and does not communicate effectively to the prospective camper.

* Be careful with postcard mailers. Some postcard scenes look great; others do not. Aerial photos sometimes make camps look like desolate dust bowls. Camp means action, and showing action from 500 to 1,000 feet in the air is difficult.

Capturing the excitement of camp in your mailings can make the difference in how many campers attend your camp. Make your package look like a special event, and it will stand out from the others.

Steve Cony is a marketing consultant who assists children's camps with the development of strategic plans and the execution of marketing materials. Camp directors may contact him at 914-271-8482.