ACA New England [2025]

 

Building Alumni Associations that Drive Engagement and Support


  





 

CampGPT Presentation


  





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Sample Prompts

OBJECTIVE
I am tasked with developing insightful, forward-thinking strategies to help an overnight summer camp grow after several years of stagnant enrollment. These strategies must address the two core levers of growth: attracting new campers and retaining returning ones.

ACTION
Develop three creative, actionable strategies grounded in emerging trends in youth development, family decision-making, and experience design. At least one idea should reimagine a core element of the camp experience itself, not just marketing or operations. Of the three strategies, include one “bold experiment” that challenges traditional assumptions—even if it would require piloting or phased rollout.

ROLE
Imagine you are a hybrid expert: a former Camp Program Director turned innovation strategist, a futurist in youth development, and a trend analyst specializing in generational shifts and family behavior. You have advised mission-driven organizations on designing breakthrough programs, building lasting relevance, and standing out in competitive youth markets. You understand how program design, culture, messaging, and camp structure influence both parent choice and camper return rates.

CONTEXT
The camp serves youth ages 7–15, draws families from within a one-hour radius, and has a strong reputation but little brand distinction. Enrollment has been flat for five years. There is no flagship experience or “signature program” that sets the camp apart. Leadership is committed to change but unsure where to begin. The camp operates in a crowded regional market with other high-quality options nearby and has not introduced a major new initiative in recent memory.

FORMAT
Present your response as three distinct strategies, each with a bold, memorable title, a one-sentence summary, and a short 3–5 sentence explanation. Use metaphor, storytelling, or visual imagery when helpful to help the ideas resonate with camp leaders.

AUDIENCE
The intended audience is a group of camp program directors, executive directors, and board members participating in a six-month strategic planning sprint.

TONE
Use a confident, idea-driven tone that balances vision with practicality. Aim to inspire, not overwhelm.

TIMEFRAME
Focus on ideas that could be developed or tested in the next 6–12 months, while laying a foundation for long-term impact.

RESTRICTIONS
Keep the total response under 500 words. Avoid jargon. Ensure each strategy is unique, clearly aligned with camper/parent needs, and designed to strengthen both new camper enrollment and camper retention. Avoid vague or overly familiar recommendations.

STARTING PROMPT
I’m conducting a PESTEL environmental scan for ____ summer camp located in _____ to inform our strategic planning. I will guide this step by step. Please do not infer, summarize, synthesize, or offer recommendations unless I explicitly ask you to. Each prompt will be focused on a specific domain or geographic scope. Stay within the scope I provide. If I need interpretation, I will request it. Please wait for my direction before continuing to the next topic. Acknowledge this and await my first prompt.

(Break this into four levels to maintain focus and avoid context overload.)

POLITICAL
Municipal Level Prompt:
For the town or city of [insert name], what political changes or political issues are likely to impact the operations or strategic direction of a summer camp?

County Level Prompt:
For [insert county name], what political changes or political issues are likely to impact the operations or strategic direction of a summer camp?

State Level Prompt:
At the state level in [insert state], what political changes or political issues are likely to impact the operations or strategic direction of summer camps?

Federal Level Prompt:
At the federal level, what political changes or political issues are likely to impact the operations or strategic direction of summer camps?



ECONOMICS
Trends Prompt:
What economic trends could influence family decisions about sending children to summer camp, or affect the financial sustainability of a summer camp in [insert state or region]?

Indicators Prompt:
What current economic indicators or forecasts should a summer camp monitor to understand changing financial conditions that could affect its families or its strategy?

Impact Prompt:
Based on recent economic indicators (e.g. interest rates, inflation, consumer spending), how might a summer camp and its families be affected?”



SOCIETAL
Prompt:
What shifts in societal values and behaviors are affecting the way families, children, and staff engage with summer camp—and how should a camp respond?”

Follow-up Prompt (Optional):
Given our current programs—[list your key offerings]—which societal shifts are most likely to shape or challenge them?”


TECHNOLOGICAL
Prompt:
What emerging technologies could disrupt or enhance summer camp experiences, operations, or family engagement?”

Optional Add-On:
How should a summer camp leverage these technologies to remain relevant and responsive?”


ENVIRONMENTAL
Prompt:
What environmental or sustainability trends are likely to influence how summer camps operate, design their programs, or plan facilities in [insert region or state]?

LEGAL
Prompt:
What legal or regulatory trends at the state or federal level could affect summer camp policies, staffing, or operations?”


FINAL STEP
Prompt:
Here are my notes from each section of a PESTEL environmental scan. Can you help me write a one-page executive summary (under 400 words) that captures the most important insights?”



Paste in your compiled responses from each PESTEL letter.


PROMPT 1:
I work with the following organization: Camp WonderSprout. We are a summer day camp serving children ages 5–13 in a fast-growing suburban/rural community just outside a mid-sized city. Our mission is to spark lifelong curiosity, connection, and confidence through playful, nature-rooted, and story-driven experiences. Our values include imagination, inclusion, play-based growth, local partnerships, and sustainability. Current offerings include weekly themed day camps, sensory-friendly half-day sessions, a pre-teen leadership track, visiting artist residencies, family events, and pop-up micro-camps in community spaces. We primarily serve families seeking a screen-free, emotionally intelligent, and creativity-driven experience for their kids.

I want to develop a large-scale, 2-hour immersive game or experience for our campers. I will be using a series of prompts to guide this process. Please acknowledge that you understand the organization and what I’m trying to do, but do not begin generating ideas yet.



PROMPT 2
You are now assuming the role of Dr. Evera Wynn, Chief Experience Architect at the Interdimensional Institute for Immersive Play (IIIP). You hold triple doctorates in child psychology, speculative game design, and narrative ecology. You previously led creative development for open-world learning environments at the United Nations Department of Childhood Imagination and served as the principal experience consultant for the reboot of Legends of the Hidden Temple. You specialize in large-scale, emotionally resonant, story-driven experiences that blend behavioral science, movement, visual storytelling, and social connection for children ages 5–13. Your design philosophy combines the empathy of Mister Rogers, the production values of Disney Imagineering, and the visual minimalism of Jony Ive.

You have been invited to design a 2-hour immersive game or experience for Camp WonderSprout, a day camp where creativity, nature, and emotional intelligence are core to the mission. Before we begin, please confirm that you understand your role and the context. Do not begin generating ideas yet.



PROMPT 3:
Generate a list of 5 distinct behavioral archetypes that reflect the different ways children (ages 5–13) tend to approach playing games or participating in immersive group experiences. These archetypes should represent diverse cognitive, emotional, and social preferences — such as how children interact with rules, story, competition, collaboration, novelty, or physical activity. For each archetype, include a name, a short description, and their top 3 preferences or engagement needs when participating in a large-scale camp game.



PROMPT 4:
PROMPT 4: For each behavioral archetype you’ve identified, generate 5 distinct experience elements or interactive moments we should consider designing into a 2-hour immersive day camp game. These experiences should reflect the archetype’s unique emotional and engagement preferences, while encouraging movement, collaboration, imagination, and narrative play.

Before listing the 5 experiences, first generate 2–3 creative constraints or lateral thinking triggers tailored to that specific archetype. Use these constraints to push your thinking beyond conventional camp game structures. You may invent new design lenses or limitations as part of this creative process. Once your creative constraints are defined, use them to guide the design of each experience for that archetype.

Do not repeat experiences across archetypes. Each set of five should be highly tailored, novel, and emotionally resonant. All ideas should be developmentally appropriate for ages 5–13 and feasible using low-tech, low-budget materials commonly found at day camps.



PROMPT 5:
You have generated 25 novel experiential elements designed for a 2-hour immersive game at Camp WonderSprout, each aligned with a different camper behavioral archetype. Now, evaluate each of the 25 elements across the following dimensions on a 1–5 scale (5 = highest):

- Camper Delight – How likely is this experience to feel exciting, immersive, and joyful for most campers ages 5–13?

- Social-Emotional Development – How strongly does the experience support SEL outcomes such as empathy, collaboration, self-awareness, or resilience?

- Youth Development Benefit – How meaningfully does the experience support camper growth in confidence, creativity, leadership, or problem-solving?

- Storytelling Spark – How likely is it that a camper would go home and tell their parents a vivid, enthusiastic story about this moment?

- Implementation Effort – How easy is it for day camp staff to implement this idea using typical materials, space, and staff ratios? (Score inversely: 5 = very easy, 1 = very difficult) After scoring each experience element, calculate the total score out of 25 and rank all 25 elements from highest to lowest. If any elements receive the same score, break ties by prioritizing those with the highest Camper Delight and Storytelling Spark scores.

Present your ranked list along with scores and brief justifications (1–2 sentences) for the top 5 elements, explaining why they should be prioritized for inclusion in the final game experience.



PROMPT 6:
You have evaluated and ranked 25 experience elements for a 2-hour immersive game at Camp WonderSprout. Using the top 5 elements, design a cohesive, imaginative game or experience narrative that ties them together into a single adventure for campers ages 5–13.

Keep the story world simple, clear, and age-appropriate — something that a 5-year-old can imagine and a 13-year-old can get excited about. Use fun, grounded language and focus on what the campers will do, see, and feel. The setting should feel magical, but rooted in a camp environment (e.g., forest, field, cabins, trails).

You are not writing a rulebook. Your job is to paint a picture — to help camp staff, parents, and kids understand the experience by describing it in a way that is playful, vivid, and easy to imagine. Prioritize action and sensory detail over metaphor and symbolism.

Avoid poetic language, heavy lore, or abstract concepts. Describe the setting, what the kids are trying to do, the major moments they’ll go through, and how the five top-ranked experience elements fit naturally into the adventure. Make it feel big, joyful, and easy to run.





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