Many budding PR professionals often want to delve into working for nonprofits or associations to give back to their communities. While conducting PR for a charity or philanthropic group is rewarding, it can undoubtedly impose many challenges as well. Lauren McMillin is the PR and Communications Manager for the American Camp Association, and while conjuring campaigns to excite parents and camp professionals about the benefits of camp is thrilling, working for a legacy nonprofit is a delicate art that takes a unique skill set. Today, Lauren covers how to effectively communicate to stakeholders and relevant audiences and what everyone should know about PR in the nonprofit world.
imPRessions Season 2 Episode #8 Transcript
Jenn: Hey, Kalli. Quick question. What do you think of when you hear the words summer camp?
Kalli: The Parent Trap!
Jenn: Ah, I had a feeling you were going to say that. I personally think of Friday the 13th, which is what makes our synergy so amazing on this podcast. But yes, no matter what you are into, camp is a prominent part, I think, in a lot of our childhood lives. I was a camp counselor. Did you go to camp?
Kalli: Um, I went to dance camp in high school. That’s fun. Yes. I had lofty aspirations.
Jenn: Well, today, we’re going to be talking to Lauren McMillin, who is heading the PR for the American Camp Association. They’re doing a lot of really cool initiatives to really get parents and counselors and children excited about going to summer camp. You put those phones down, go outside, touch some grass. So I think today’s episode is going to be really, really fun. Yeah, I.
Kalli: Think I’m really excited to learn about the fun part of camp when you don’t find your twin. So let’s get into it. It is our duty to infuse our client’s messaging and campaigns with creativity to really bring them to life. But when working with an association, the task goes beyond just creative thinking. Associations need awareness to effectively communicate their message to stakeholders and garner their support for initiatives, ultimately driving positive change at impact within their respective communities or industries. Lauren McMillin, public relations and communications manager at the American Camp Association, is all too familiar with striking the perfect balance between creativity and awareness for associations. Lauren, thank you so much for joining us today to dive into how you navigate this delicate balancing act.
Lauren: Thank you. Happy to be here.
Jenn: Hi Lauren, it’s been so great for us. Our agency has been working with American Camp Association. And just for our listeners, we are probably going to refer to that as ACA moving forward. You’ve been a client of ours. We’ve gotten to know you and the brand really well. Can you tell our audience a little bit more about ACA, and what led you to join the company?
Lauren: Yeah, absolutely. So, the American Camp Association is a national nonprofit in service to the more than 16,000 summer camps that annually serve 26 million kids. And to be honest, I did not know those numbers until I started working for ACA and was just kind of blown away by it. But a little bit about my background. I studied journalism and public relations in college. I went to Ole Miss Hotty Toddy and started pursuing a career in PR and journalism in the athletic space.
So, I was working in professional and collegiate sports and did that for about seven years. But during that time span and even growing up, you know, I always attended summer camp as a kid, attended a variety of camps both day and overnight, worked at camp during the summer, and then eventually found my way. It was around Covid a little bit post Covid came across ACA, and even though I grew up in the summer camp space, I was not familiar with ACA and the incredible work that they do and the role that I have now was available, and it’s just aligned with my own experience as a kid and spoke to the values that I have, and here we are today. I’ve been with ACA for about two and a half years now, and it’s been really incredible to share the positive impact of camp and to be able to kind of pull from that well that’s within my own life.
Jenn: Side note: I missed being a camp counselor. That was like one of my best jobs, most favorite jobs ever. I did it for like five years and I just miss it the best. What a life. I didn’t know what I had right at the moment. Right? Like I was getting paid to just like swim and play outside, I just… yes.
Lauren: When I worked on camp staff, I was what they called serve staff. So, like, we worked in the kitchen and helped serve all the meals throughout the day. And it was honestly just like being an older camper because they gave us free time to go around to whatever activities we wanted. But we still had that, you know, that service aspect. So it was it was the best of both worlds. Absolutely loved it.
Kalli: Yeah. My camp experience was watching The Parent Trap on repeat.
Lauren: There we go.
Kalli: And then dance camp because I’m super cool. But yes, sounds like you guys had an amazing time. And you know, it’s such an important cause and really great. And, you know, obviously, the work that you do, you know, when you do PR work for a nonprofit and, of course, specifically ACA does differ from working with a for-profit brand or company. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience and the differences that you see?
Lauren: Yes. When I started my career, I was working, so in college, I worked in the athletics department at Ole Miss, getting some experience in that field, and then went to work for a few different NFL teams primarily. So, the majority of my professional athletic career was with the Tennessee Titans and then the Carolina Panthers, along with the NFL headquarters themselves, but mostly with the Titans and the Panthers. And those were really awesome experiences. I think I learned pretty quickly that the hours for PR professionals in professional sports is bonkers. Quite frankly, those are incredibly long hours. I think the only people that had longer hours were the coaches, and they are there all the time, and it’s just because the media doesn’t stop, especially when you’re in season. So it was a good time for me to have that kind of position because, you know, I was straight out of college. It was just me. I didn’t even have my dog yet, so it was fine. But really awesome experiences. It is very fast-paced, and yeah, it’s so, but the opportunity to do something with a company that shares, again, my own values and aligns with things that are really important to me, that ultimately became what I wanted to pursue. Not to say that I don’t value professional football. It was a fabulous time, but if I wanted to do something else with my time or to have kind of a life outside of that, I realized that I needed to pivot a little bit. I think connecting with something that aligns with your own values and what is in. Important to you is really critical when you’re considering working for a nonprofit or a for-profit brand because I think with the for-profit companies, you know, it’s all about like the numbers getting people in the seats, increasing the team success, which is all fine and good. But in many ways it kind of misses that deeper sense of value and the difference that you’re making in the lives of your audience and educational resources and professional development. Finding a nonprofit that does have those things and is truly making a difference in the lives of other people, I mean, it just makes the job that much. I don’t want to say easier, but it makes it more valuable and more meaningful. So, you know, I think that to me is the biggest difference between working for a for-profit brand or company versus a nonprofit. And so, yeah, I think it’s important when starting out, of course, like you gotta get your experiences, and they all play in together. But if you can find something that does align with what is important to you, that’s going to change everything. And so that’s really what I found working for a nonprofit and especially with ACA.
Jenn: And what’s a little bit unique about ACA is essentially how long it’s been around. It’s been around for over a hundred years, I believe. Now, like most companies that have been around for such a long time, you have to adapt to trends. And one of those new PR marketing approaches that ACA is taking on is TikTok. So, tell us a little bit more about how you and your team kind of realized it was time to shake things up. And how you sort of get a company as old as ACA to kind of jump on board with such a new trend.
Lauren: Yeah. So you know, I think what’s really great about our team is that we have a culture where we are consistently asking what is new, what’s different, what’s interesting. Because you’re right. Like things in the media, that kind of landscape, the way that people consume information, the way that people learn, the way that people connect, that’s always changing. And it seems to be changing at a faster and faster rate. And that’s very hard to keep up with. But I think it’s worth trying to keep up with. So I think just being open to what’s out there, and being open to trying out some new things is kind of our perspective. So that’s what we thought we’d do. And it’s been fun. It’s been fun to kind of experiment and see what works. And that doesn’t mean that we’ve completely changed everything else that we’re doing. You know, we’re still kind of staying the course and working with some of the strategies and policies that we’ve had in the past, but just, you know, trying new things. And I think part of that, too, was realizing that especially with like, TikTok, being able to reach younger audiences, you know, one of our primary audiences is like college and university students for working at camp. That’s a huge piece of it. And being able to think like, okay, what are some of these younger generations? What are their perspectives? Where are they getting their information? What connects the most to them? And being open to try that is really critical, especially if we want to stay relevant. Yeah. So we decided to dive into the TikTok sphere and listen. When we first did this, I was tasked with making a TikTok video for one of our business sponsors at a regional event, and it was very fun. It was a very silly video that we made, but truly, that morning, I was googling how to make a TikTok. Like I didn’t know, but that’s just part of it. Like, you kind of have to dive in with both feet and learn as you go. And you know, the wonderful thing about people in the camp industry is everybody is so helpful and so nice. So everybody’s just like, whatever you need. Like, we’ll help you figure this out. So that’s been nice too. But one thing that we started was this series that we call Rapid Campfire questions. And it’s our own quirky, very silly, very campy kind of social media campaign. And it’s it lives primarily on our TikTok platform, and it’s where we interview folks in the camp industry and ask them a series of five questions. And the whole purpose behind it is it’s meant to share the diversity of camp experiences. You know, every camp is unique and every experience is unique. So these five questions, and they’re all like, they’re not, this is not hard-hitting journalism by any means. It’s like, what’s your favorite camp activity? That kind of thing. But the set of five questions helps us learn a lot of different camp experiences, and it allows us to share those stories in a way that is unique in something that we haven’t done before. We’re not going viral with it, but in a short year, we’ve built, we’ve built a small audience, and it’s growing, and it’s been fun to kind of watch it grow and to see, what people are interested in. And so we’re excited to continue to evolve our strategy and to grow our platform there. But all that to answer your question, it boiled down to we realized that the landscape when it comes to social media and. Content consumption is changing, and it would be a disservice for us not to try to keep up with that.
Kalli: So, it makes a lot of sense. And, you know, it definitely is fun trying something new and experimenting with different types of content. But I can imagine working with not only a legacy brand but also a charitable organization where a lot of time, there’s a lot of red tape when it comes to changing what’s tried and true. It was probably challenging to roll out a new marketing approach. Were people excited to try something new and to help boost brand awareness? Or did you see that there was some pushback?
You know, I think that one thing about our leadership and especially our team, the marketing communications team, is that we’re not afraid to try new things. So having a supportive boss is a very, very important thing when it comes to things like this. And like I mentioned earlier, it’s not like we completely just threw everything out the window that we’ve done over the past 100 plus years. But it’s more about sticking with what works and further enhancing what works. But also being brave and having the courage to take a few side expeditions and just like, try a few things over here and like, listen, if it doesn’t stick, then that’s okay, we’ll drop it and go to something else. But I think having that balance of having this strong foundation of marketing and communications that has worked well for us and leaning on that and also not being afraid to sample a few other options, that’s worked well because we’re not putting everything on the line by saying, like, we’re just TikTokers now. That’s all we’re going to do. So, with that said, I think people are always excited to try something new. And, you know, that’s one of the values of summer camp that we love to share is that camp creates an opportunity and a safe place where people can try new things. In many ways, that’s what we’re doing, too.
Jenn: And every kid at camp is on TikTok. Let’s be real. You have to be part of it. Every kid is engaging with this social media platform. Of course, it’s become one of the most popular ones. So I think it was it’s obviously great that ACA is jumping on the bandwagon.
Lauren: Yeah, absolutely. I think what we learned is that the data is that it is the fastest growing platform. So again, it would not been in our favor to ignore that and to decide that we’re just going to avoid it altogether.
Jenn: Before TikTok, I know, hard to believe a life before TikTok, but what tactics was ACA using before the social media platform took off? And, are you using them still today? Or are you kind of like solely just focusing on content creation in the TikTok universe?
Lauren: We’re still using the other platforms that existed prior to TikTok. So Facebook groups which saying that sounds like I feel like I’m dating myself so much, I’m like, oh, we’re on the Facebook. But Facebook groups have been pretty big for us in the past, as well as Instagram. But, you know, we’re seeing a declining reach across Meta’s platforms. So again, we haven’t abandoned those. There’s still strong audiences across both of those. And we’re still very much engaged with our audiences there. But again, it would have in the same way that it would have been silly for us not to explore TikTok. It would be naive for us to be just exclusively on Meta’s platform. So it’s been interesting to see how those have grown and evolved or declined. So, they still exist. And we’re kind of we’re always looking at like, how do we how do we tighten this up? What do we need to let go? Do we need to spend more time here? We’re always trying to stay aware of what is happening across those platforms. So between Facebook groups and Instagram, you know, we also have like a really we have a really strong email audience, which I think for folks in the marketing industry, you know, having your email list and your email campaigns is critical, even though it seems like it’s a dated approach, but that’s still incredibly valuable for us.
Jenn: Is meta more focused towards parents, and how is the marketing a little bit different based on the channel you’re using? Are you looking to utilize TikTok to sort of attract campers and get them excited for camp, and then maybe some of the older platforms that, you know, Gen X millennials are using, like meta, Facebook, are you using like different marketing copy and different approaches there, or is it all the same?
Lauren: It’s the same, and it’s also different. So, the answer is yes. I think for some of the meta platforms, especially Facebook groups, well, Facebook groups and Instagram, are largely used to reach our summer camp professionals. So for a long time, we had a variety of Facebook groups for different regions across the country and kind of reaching those constituents and those camp professionals, those would have been more like forums and information sharing platforms for people that are in the camp industry, you know, whether they are ACA members or accredited camps or not. You know, one of the things that we pride ourselves on is being the educational resource. So that’s where a lot of those discussions have been held. Conversations and information shared definitely towards the summer camp professionals and maybe some families in there, but mostly people that are working in the camp industry or emerging in the camp industry. And then you’re right. For things like TikTok and even a little bit with Instagram, that’s definitely more for our younger audiences. I think maybe the focus there is on reaching college and university students, even kind of some older high school students, about the value of working at camp and speaking to the next wave of camp professionals and reaching them in a way that appeals to them. So, as far as the content that we have between those platforms, I would say that Instagram and Facebook are all pretty similar. That’s where we share a lot of educational information. And then TikTok itself, we’ve kind of made its own thing, like with the rapid Campfire questions and looking at trends in ways to speak to those younger audiences in a way that is more fun and lighthearted and shares the story of camp without just being like a newsletter. So I think there is some crossover between all of those platforms, but I think we’ve done a really good job of keeping TikTok and then letting some of those older platforms cater to our professionals and maybe some older audiences. And then as far as parents, you know, our website, I think, gives the best example of how we reach different families. And that’s through, you know, if folks go to our website is ACA camps. Org, there’s two different ways that you can view the website, and one is as camp professionals. Or you can click a button and you can view it as camp families. And there’s so many resources there for families, whether it’s looking to find a camp or ways to prepare for camp. So that’s probably how we speak to current and prospective families. More than anything.
Jenn: This conversation makes me think of Parent Trap again. And how different would that movie be in today’s world? Like, oh, I have a twin. Like, yeah, I know; I already saw them on Instagram before you even got here. You know, like it’s so funny. It’s so different. But shout out to that movie, though; I love that.
Lauren: I mean, listen, can we make this podcast just like a Parent Trap podcast? I would be here for that.
Jenn: Yeah, I actually would love it if they did cut up a remake again, but they did it like in the modern world.
Kalli: I mean… I’m really excited about the Freaky Friday reboot. So I’m not going to be surprised if they do something with Parent Trap.
Lauren: Wait, I’m sorry. When is that happening?
Kalli: Oh, it’s happening. So, Lindsay Lohan’s movie on Netflix came out, and on the red carpet, and in recent interviews, she’s been asked about the Freaky Friday reboot, and she confirmed that it’s happening with her and Jamie Lee Curtis. I died on the inside. Very excited.
Lauren: Okay, so listeners, follow up for our next conversation on Lindsay Lohan movies
Jenn: Yes. Our favorite. Sorry, I digress. We always have some kind of movie or some kind of TV show in the mix in every question. Yes, because it’s hard not to. But I actually watched The Parent Trap- I’m not even lying; it was on Freeform a couple of weeks ago- and I definitely watched it from beginning to end. And it was so exciting. I haven’t seen that movie in so long. And anyhow, it brings back good memories as a counselor and everything. It was just such a happy time.
Lauren: Well, okay, so a similar one that I just, I was actually watching YouTube clips of it. Do you all remember the Mary-Kate and Ashley one? It takes two, of course.
Kalli: Of course. I based my life on that movie.
Lauren: Because that was like its own kind of spin on The Parent Trap. Let’s talk about another classic.
Kalli: My main failure in life is that I don’t have a twin, but I have a sister who, when we were younger, looked a lot alike, and we’re the same size. So I like, tried so hard to be like, let’s reenact these movies. And she was like, older than I am. And she was like, no, she’s not doing that.
Lauren: Absolutely not. But hey, we can never be too late. We can reenact it now.
Kalli: I’m up for it. So speaking about camp experiences, let’s talk about the Character at Camp Initiative. First, can you share some details on what it is for our listeners? You know, how it’ll work. And then let’s dive into how the new marketing approach will guide how you spread the word on this exciting new undertaking.
Lauren: Yes. So we are really, really pumped about this new initiative. And it’s called Character at Camp. Essentially, what that refers to as camp and camp experiences being this place where kids and campers have a chance to really develop strong character traits, and skills. And I think it gets into, you know, camp is not just like playing activities all day, which is certainly part of it, but it goes so much deeper than that. And the way that it helps children and young people grow into, you know, thriving young adults and then being able to thrive in education spaces and into their careers. It all boils down to, what are these really rich benefits that they’re getting? So camp is a space where their character has a strong development opportunity. And so we recently received a $45 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Company to support the creation of a multiyear initiative where we will help camps grow, improve, and celebrate character development. So, you know, there are a lot of camps out there. I think character development is something that happens inherently at summer camps. But there are also camp programs across the country that really place a strong emphasis in their programming and are very intentional about weaving and character development into everything that they do. And so this is meant to help highlight that and to support that through whether it’s funding, training, educational opportunities, professional development, things like that, to really expand upon that and to help character development really grow in our field. So it’s new, and we’re excited about it. And it’s something that I think will continue to grow and evolve. But that’s the foundation of it. And there’s a lot more to come in the next year that we’re really excited about. And there’s a whole lot more information that I’m not going to read verbatim. But if people want to find out more, it’s right on the landing page at ACA camps.org. So yeah, I would encourage folks to check it out. But what it comes down to is we’re excited to dive into this new sphere of focusing on character development at camp and how that can really transform the lives and experiences of not just campers but staff and families as well.
Jenn: Just look at the development of the two twins and The Parent Trap, and then everything you need to know about character development at camp exhibited in that movie.
Lauren: Absolutely. Well said.
Jenn: Oh, my goodness. I will stop with the Parent Trap. I can’t. So, last question, just from a pure nonprofit perspective, because that is a popular industry, especially for the younger generations. They want to work for a company or for a cause they want to do good. And PR is a great way to do that. What advice do you have for someone who’s just starting out and looking to make waves in the nonprofit world?
Lauren: Yes, I think more than anything, I think to be open to experiences and open to learning everything you can, you know, especially for new college grads or people that are just entering the career field in PR, sometimes it can be hard to be like, I don’t, I don’t know what I want to do, or I don’t know what company I want to work for it. That’s okay. I think every experience that you can get under your belt is going to help you in the long run, and it’s going to serve you well and give you a broad range of experiences. I mean, even like what I picked up from working in athletics, I mean, that’s very different from working for ACA. But those skills are incredibly valuable. And it means that I get to bring something unique to the table that maybe they didn’t have before. But at the end of the day, I mean, like, despite what experiences you’re going to get, it’s important to keep in mind, like what is valuable to you, what is something that you really care about? And what, especially in the nonprofit world, difference do you want to make? What are your own goals? And looking for something that aligns well with that. And that’s going to make a difference in your work experience, in the fulfillment of your career, finding something that you enjoy. When you find something that you enjoy, and you care about, that’s going to show through your work. Beyond that, you know, I think be open to try new things. That’s something I mentioned earlier, and that’s something that I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to do almost every day in this role. And a perfect example of that is we have a podcast that I essentially inherited with the job. It’s called the Campfire Podcast. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts, but that’s a piece of ACA that I got to take on. And yeah, it’s something that I had never done before hosting, producing all those things with the podcast. That was a completely new skill set for me in, in a way, it’s fun because it’s like I get to tap into my journalism background, but that was a new thing, and I had to kind of just learn it on the fly.
And it’s so much fun, and I absolutely love it. And, you know, just being open to opportunities like that because you never know what else they will lead to or what skills you’ll develop because of it. And then I think the other piece to keep in mind, and I would say this for any career, but especially in PR, is that being genuine and authentic will carry you far. And I say that in relation to the rise of AI, and I think that a lot of the skills that PR students learn in college and even before then, one of those is writing skills and being able to convey information in words in a way that is impactful and succinct and gets the point across. But it’s also authentic. I think that it can be very tempting to try to generate that or recreate that, and it could be easy to rely on that. Like, listen, it’s an amazing source and we use it to get inspiration and things like that. But at the end of the day, you have to rely on your own wisdom and experience and the people that you work with to convey what and, especially with the nonprofit, to convey the power of the nonprofit that you work with. That’s hard to fake. You can fake it until you make it in a lot of situations. That is one where let things like AI be a helpful tool in a resource, but don’t rely on it and trust your gut. And yeah, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I ask questions every single day from the people that I work with. And that’s how we learn, and that’s how we grow, and just be open to absorbing everything you can.
Kalli: That’s really great advice. And really, Lauren, thank you so much for joining today and sharing your insight into the intricate dance between creativity and awareness for associations and also taking us down memory lane. I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna go have some oreos and peanut butter after this.
Lauren: Oh yes.
Kalli: So, for our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share our podcast with your friends. New episodes come out every other Wednesday, and if there’s someone you’d like to hear us talk to this season, drop us a line at imPRessions@pollackgroup.com. Until next time.
