The document is a marketing plan proposal from Leslie Stewart Jr. to increase summer camp enrollment at YMCA locations across the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area. It provides an overview of the YMCA's summer camp programs and history of success. It then sets an enrollment increase goal of 15% across all locations. The proposed strategies include partnerships with schools, community organizations, local businesses and churches to promote summer camp opportunities. Tactics suggested are guerrilla marketing, on-site registration discounts, and cross-promotional opportunities to raise awareness of the YMCA's camp offerings and excite both parents and children about the experiences available.

1. +
+ YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
Summer Camp Marketing Plan
Proposal Prepared by
Leslie Stewart, Jr.
(Candidate Associate VP of Marketing)

2. 2
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.

3. 3
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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.

4. 4
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

5. 5
+ Target Markets
Parents
1
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
2
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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7. 7
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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

8. 8
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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9. 9
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

11. 11
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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.

12. 12
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.

14. 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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15. 15
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.

16. 16
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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

17. 17
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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[Street Address]
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YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
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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.