Sports, art, cooking, animals, gaming, leadership, church, comedy, academics, coding, theater, STEM…it seems like there is a summer camp for everything these days. Mostly in-person, with several online choices as well – youth summer camp programs can be half day, full day, or overnight – with price tags to match.
The average cost of summer camp in the United States is around $87 a day, with sleep-away camp tuition at about $173 a day, according to the American Camp Association (ACA). With over 20,000 camps in the U.S. and 26M kids attending summer camps, it has become a multibillion-dollar industry.
After nearly two years of social distancing, summer camps grew in popularity in 2022, with parents striving to get their children out of the house, away from screens, and into more social situations. As popular camps reach capacity quickly, many parents (me included) now play the summer camp spreadsheet game as early as January each year, carefully constructing a Tetris-like grid of which camp offers a session my kid will take interest in, where might their friends also attend, what is the cost, what time is drop off and pick up, do they need extended care, and by what date do I need to register to ensure they will get a spot. Whew!
As this summer break winds down (at least in this part of the country), there are a few things to take away from all this camp stuff. First, the summer camp business is good place to be. That’s why many organizations from schools to churches to a boatload of others now operate camps and offer them to families outside of those they normally serve for additional revenue.
Second, beyond the short-term financial boost, some savvy organizations use the camp as a paid trial…you’re exposing your kid to that activity/location/concept and paying for the opportunity. Case in point, my coworker Steve’s son Deacon left one church camp with the obligatory “free” camp shirt. Emblazoned on the shirt were the words, “See you at church” as a not-so-subtle reminder to come back for worship services there. A couple weeks later, Deacon’s tackle football camp wrapped the camp on a Wednesday at 3:00pm only to follow it up with a 5:00pm email reminder to register for that organization’s winter break camp in December.
Third, while the social and learning benefits are great for the kids, the countdown to summer is often quite stressful for parents. Brands that take notice of this mind state may strike a chord with parents if their solutions can help ease the stress.
Camp season is almost wrapped but the lessons (and fun memories) are sure to last.
