Promotional Films for Summer Camps: Shortform Teasers

Welcome to our 4-part series on how to build a top-performing summer camp brand (which our films have helped do multiple times) — or how to turn a struggling camp around, from being in the red to thriving in the black within just one year.

This series is designed for camp directors, fundraisers, and marketers who know: great programs don’t sell themselves. Great marketing films, strategies and tactics do.

What You’ll Learn in This Series

Each post covers one major channel in the summer camp sales funnel and shows how strategic video marketing, deployed at the right time, can increase:

• Open rates

• Applications

• Conversions

• Second-session enrollments

• Waitlists

And it’s all based on real case studies from our leading camp clients, pairing actual film samples and their performance results.

The Four-Part Funnel

1. Shortform Teasers – Spark interest. Get families to click, watch, and RSVP to the Open House.

2. Promotional Films – Seal the deal. These are your immersive, story-driven enrollment closers.

3. Branding Films – Elevate perception. Topical micro-films that make your camp stand out in a crowded market.

4. Special Purpose Films – Move the needle. Targeted short films to boost late-season enrollment, alumni re-engagement, and community energy.

Part 1: Why Teaser Films Matter

Before any phone call, website visit, or enrollment—there’s a teaser. And in today’s market, the first five seconds of a film determine whether a family considers your camp at all. In other words:

A teaser campaign is in direct relationship with how many final applicants you'll end up with come summertime. The more people the teaser reaches, the larger the pool of applicants you have to work with.  

These shortform teaser films (typically 30–60 seconds) don’t explain the camp—they let you feel it. They aren’t here to teach. They’re here to seduce.

They work because:

• They’re optimized for social (Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp)

• They get watched fully—and shared widely

• They tap directly into emotion, energy, and atmosphere

Case Studies

1. Camp Tamarack – 30-Second Commercial

With this film we wanted to use tight, high-energy editing for a TV spot that would pique the interest of local viewers. Launched in early spring—this commercial drove the highest single-week spike in web traffic for Tamarack’s site that season.

2. Camp Yavneh – “Activities”

With this film our goal was to create a visceral, high-energy visual anthem. This film alone accounted for over 60% of clicks to the enrollment portal in the week it launched. Since one of Yavneh's major competitors for summer signups was local specialty camps, our goal right off the bat was to redirect the thinking of potential campers who could take their desire for specific skills and redirect it to Yavneh.

Final Takeaway

Shortform teasers are not afterthoughts—they are the top of your funnel. If families aren’t watching these… they’re not watching anything else. And if they are watching—and feeling something—you’ve just bought yourself the right to say more.

Up next in the series: Part 2 – Longform Promotional Films That Close the Deal.