Camp marketing
Facebook ads that fill your camp weeks
We run your Facebook and Instagram ads and track each one to a paid registration in Activity Messenger. Fill your camp weeks and no-school days, from early bird to the last open spots.
Free 30-minute call with Jonathan, your ads specialist. No commitment.
700+ organizations run on Activity Messenger · Rated 4.8/5 on Capterra
The real problem
Why so many camp ads fill so few spots
The problem is rarely Facebook. It’s everything that happens between the ad and the registration.
The ad leads nowhere
It sends parents to your Facebook page or your homepage. They look for where to sign up, then give up.
Everything ends up on the phone
Messages, forms, callbacks. By the time you call back, the parent has already booked somewhere else.
Images that don’t look like you
Stock photos that could be from anywhere. Parents want to see your camp, your staff and your vibe.
Reports full of clicks and likes
You don’t know how many paid registrations your ads actually brought in.
The method
How it works
Activity Messenger’s ads service is one specialist who creates and runs your Facebook and Instagram ads, connects them to your registration pages and measures results in paid registrations. You approve, we handle the rest.
- 1
Call and season plan
We look at your camp weeks, the spots you need to fill and your key dates: registration opening, early bird, school breaks, summer. Together we pick what to promote first and how much to spend.
- 2
Ads made with your content
We create images and short videos from your real photos and videos. You approve every ad before it goes live.
- 3
Straight to booking
Every ad leads to an Activity Messenger booking page built for that offer. Parents pick their date and pay online, no account to create.
- 4
Weekly tracking and tuning
We track paid registrations and cost per registration, cut what doesn’t work and put more budget behind what does.
Your offers
The spots we help you fill
Every offer gets its own ad, its own booking page and its own automatic follow-ups.
Summer camp early bird
Open registrations with an early bird offer and fill your first weeks before parents compare camps.
Camp management softwareNo-school days
Announced early in the week, full before the day, paid up front. One of the easiest offers to fill.
Spring break and winter break camps
Short campaigns timed with the school calendar, launched before parents book somewhere else.
Last open spots in a week
When a week lags behind, a short campaign on that week only, aimed at the parents most likely to book it.
Themed weeks
Science, arts or sports weeks, each one shown to the parents most likely to book it.
Returning families
Ads to last year’s families when registration opens, so your regulars book first.
Camp marketing for day camps, sports camps and specialty camps
In Canada and the United States, in English and French.
Arts, dance and science camps
Specialty camps by the week or by theme.
City and nonprofit camps
Resident registration dates and school break programs.
Municipal recreation softwareThe difference
Boost your own posts, hire an agency, or go with Activity Messenger?
| Boosting your posts | General marketing agency | Activity Messenger | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The ad leads straight to a registration with payment | Depends | Depends | Yes |
| Results measured in paid registrations | No | Depends | Yes |
| Automatic follow-ups on unfinished bookings | No | Depends | Yes |
| Ads made with your real photos and videos | Yes | Depends | Yes |
| Knows camp seasons: early bird, school breaks, summer | Depends | Depends | Yes |
| Ads in English and French | Depends | Depends | Yes |
Yes: included. Depends: varies by person or agency. No: not part of it.
Tracking
We measure paid registrations, not likes
The Meta pixel is built into Activity Messenger. When a parent pays for a registration, Meta knows it, and your campaigns learn to find more parents like them.
Meta doesn’t see everything: ad blockers, declined cookies, iPhone privacy settings. That’s why every week we compare its numbers with the real registrations in your Activity Messenger.
- One number that matters: cost per paid registration
- Results by offer: camp weeks, no-school days, break camps
- Your data stays in your account
The offer
What’s included
- Strategy and season calendar
- Ad creation: images and short videos made from your content
- Ad copy in English and French
- Ad account, pixel and conversion setup
- Activity Messenger booking pages built for ads
- Ongoing campaign management and optimization
- Automatic follow-ups set up with the Activity Messenger team
- A clear weekly report at first
- Check-in calls with your specialist
How much does it cost?
Two things: a monthly management fee, and your ad budget, paid directly to Meta with your own card. You stay in control of every dollar.
The fee depends on how many offers and locations you promote. You get a clear price after a first call.
Get my free ad planYour specialist
You talk to the person who runs your ads
Jonathan Paquin
Meta ads specialist, Activity Messenger
Jonathan has been running online ads for more than 10 years. He’s the one who runs Activity Messenger’s own Facebook and Instagram campaigns, so he knows the software from the inside. From the first call to the reports, you talk to him. Based in Québec, he works in English and French.
The system behind your ads
Booking pages that already work
Your ads send parents to your Activity Messenger registration pages, on the platform used by 700+ organizations.
Nex Level Ninja automated its birthday party bookings with Activity Messenger: online booking, deposits, payments and invitations. The result: more than $15K in extra revenue a month.
“I vowed I was going to find a great automated system so I would never have to make a birthday party phone call again, and then I found Activity Messenger.”Kelly Denti, owner of Nex Level NinjaRead the case study
Want your ads to land on pages like these?
Let’s plan your next season together: which offer to promote first, what to spend, and where parents will book.
Get my free ad planFAQ
Frequently asked questions
When should a camp start running ads?
6 to 8 weeks before registration opens, with an early bird offer. For most summer camps, that’s in winter. Then we push the weeks that still have spots.
Can you fill one specific week?
Yes. When a week lags behind, we run a short campaign on that week only, aimed at the parents most likely to book it.
What about no-school days?
Announce early in the week, full before the day, paid up front. It’s one of the easiest offers to fill.
How much does the ads service cost?
Two things: a monthly management fee, and your ad budget, paid directly to Meta with your own card. The fee depends on how many offers and locations you promote. You get a clear price after a first call.
How much should we spend on ads?
It depends on your offers and the season. To properly test an offer, plan at least $15 to $20 a day for a few weeks. Then we adjust based on cost per registration.
Do we need to use Activity Messenger?
The service is built for organizations that use Activity Messenger, because that’s what lets us send parents straight to checkout and measure paid registrations. Not using it yet? We’ll talk about it on the call.
Do you use our own photos and videos?
Yes, that’s the foundation. Parents want to see your camp, your staff and the energy of your groups. We start from what you already have (Instagram, Facebook, your phone) and tell you what to film if something’s missing. We only use content you have the right to publish.
Do I approve the ads before they go live?
Yes. You see every new ad before it runs.
How long before we see results?
Ads can be live a few days after we get your content and access. The first weeks are for learning: we keep what brings registrations and cut the rest. For summer camps, the best time to start is in winter.
Who owns the ad account and the data?
You do. The ads run in your own Meta ad account and registrations land in your Activity Messenger. If you stop, everything stays with you.
We already boost our posts. Why do it differently?
Boosting a post means paying for more visibility. A real campaign targets the right parents, takes them straight to registration and learns from payments. That’s what brings the cost per registration down.
What about parents who start a booking but don’t finish?
Activity Messenger can send them an automatic reminder. We set it up with the Activity Messenger team when your ads launch, so those registrations don’t slip away.
Are you a Facebook ads agency?
This is Activity Messenger’s own Facebook and Instagram ads service. You get what a good agency offers (strategy, creative, management, reports), with one difference: your ads plug straight into your registrations and payments, in English, French or both.
How much of our team’s time does it take?
Mostly at the start: a first call, your account access, and your photos and videos. After that, a few minutes a week to approve new ads.
What reports will I get?
A simple report every week at first: paid registrations, cost per registration, best ads and next steps. Once things are running smoothly, we move to every two weeks, then monthly.
Get your free ad plan
Leave your details, then pick a time for a free 30-minute call with Jonathan. You’ll leave with a plan for your next season, even if we don’t end up working together.
- A plan for your next season: first offer, daily budget, audience and tracking
- Your ad account and data stay yours
- You approve every ad before it runs
- Free 30-minute video call, no obligation
4.8/5 from 70+ reviews on Capterra